GWCT News Blog

In recent decades, farmers have been steadily re-establishing hedges, but accurate national data on how many have been planted, and crucially, on their condition, remains patchy at best.

The just published RSPB/Leeds University paper on the negative impact that prescribed burning has on air quality through modelling provides a useful contribution to the debate on the role of prescribed or managed burning in ecosystem service delivery. But it should not be the sole basis for policy determination.

Thanks to all those who took part in the survey. The briefing provides background evidence for why the following points should be considered when reviewing the quarry list.

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.