Blogs

Read our response to the BBC's recent episode of the Secret Garden. 

Many would agree that an ideal lawn looks very different from an ideal field, meadow or moorland – others might feel the opposite. Yet despite these differences, there are shared lessons in how we manage grassy places and what they can offer nature.

We would urge all members and supporters to respond to the consultation on the Schedule 2.1 quarry list review to help ensure regulation is based on evidence. Defra is proposing several changes, which have little data to support them, fail to acknowledge evidence of self-regulation and voluntary restraint, and risk being counterproductive.

The EFRA Select Committee is calling for evidence of wildfire risk and response from experts and members of the public with direct or indirect experience

A year into his role as director of GWCT Scotland, Dr Nick Hesford is on a mission to ensure that science, not political assumption, determines the fate of our most cherished landscapes.

Something I have continued to experiment with this winter is what I call the “conservation lay” approach to hedgerow management. 

Last summer we shared an update on the Corn Bunting Project, explaining how detailed fieldwork and chick diet analysis were helping us understand why this once‑common farmland bird continues to struggle. Since then, another breeding season has passed, and it proved to be a challenging one.

Mild winters, periods of flooding and then extended dry spells are increasingly becoming part of the UK’s new climate reality. Managing these extremes is no easy task for farms, or for the people and wildlife that depend on them.

The Wheat Genetic Improvement Network (WGIN) is a Defra-funded partnership undertaking comprehensive research with view to enhancing wheat crop resilience and adaptability. 

Over the last few years, it’s become increasingly clear that farming businesses cannot rely on stability as a given.