It seems we've been talking about bringing green areas to urban spaces for years, but at this year's Chelsea Flower Show (which runs until 27th May) it's clear this theme remains a top priority writes LAURA BRIGGS who pays a visit to the world's best known flower show
… bees loved this garden as much as I did; bean flowers, lime trees, bearded iris and geranium …
Before taking to a low impact lifestyle aboard his narrowboat, PAUL MILES imagined foraging - especially in springtime - would keep his galley larder well stocked but learns the reality is very different ...
… the towpath. But perhaps these pretty flowers are nothing more than garden escapees … the sunny pompoms, like small dandelion flowers, give colour to a boggy patch of … guidebook, A field guide in colour to wild flowers . My desire to name the nature I see …
Aspen trees are one of the most important in Scotland, yet due to deforestation and deer its population is falling. ALAN WATSON FEATHERSTONE reports on how Trees for Life are working to help the Aspen tree.
… in the UK. However, because it very rarely flowers in Scotland today, aspen almost never …
Two major studies have warned that temperature rises due to climate change could leave millions of people hungry, reports G.B.S.N.P VARMA from India
High temperatures drive down sorghum yields G.B.S.N.P Varma | 3rd October 2017 News Temperature Earley Sorghum Food Crop Staple 405405.jpg Two major studies have warned that temperature rises due to …
The Save Our Magnificent Meadows partnership hopes to demonstrate the fragility and importance of our fast-disappearing Great British meadows.
… shelter to vast varieties of animals and wildflowers - and must be saved Laura Briggs | 30th June 2017 News Wildflowers Meadows school children meadow safari … and home to more than 80 species of wildflowers, the Save Our Magnificent Meadows …
The threat posed to vital honeybee populations by neonicotinoid pesticides has long been a cause for serious concern. Now industry funded research proves that those concerns are well founded.
… and had access to a wider range of wild flowers to feed on. Dr Woodcock suggests that …
Just imagine: gas for your cooking and heating made by composting home-grown British grass, writes Almuth Ernsting. What's not to like? Well, it would need almost all the UK's grassland to match our gas demand, leaving cows and sheep to starve or forcing them into sheds to eat foreign-grown feeds. And methane leakage could easily wipe out any climate benefit.
… flowering meadows which would support wildflowers and the pollinators and many other …
Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. How can we best manage our own funerals in order to reduce the negative impact on the environment? LAURA BRIGGS reports
… in a wicker casket, mourners arriving with flowers in their hair - maybe that’s the sum … a wicker casket, and mourners arriving with flowers in their hair and more trees to plant, …
The Gwent Wildlife Trust is fighting to save the Gwent Levels, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, from the expansion of the M4 Motorway, all in order to save 10 minutes of journey time. JACK ALEXANDER reports
Critical moment in fight to save internationally important wetlands Jack Alexander | 11th October 2017 News Gwent Gwent Levels M4 Wales SSSI 405439.jpg The Gwent Wildlife Trust is fighting to save …
Ecologist Arts Editor, GARY COOK, visits a new exhibition showcasing the plight of the British bee - those species already sadly lost and those on the verge of extinction
UK Artists showcase the plight of the disappearing British bee Gary Cook Arts Editor | 7th July 2017 Comment Bees Conservation Endangered Extinct The Arts newman.jpg Ecologist Arts Editor, GARY COOK, …
With the diversity of food crops falling dramatically and just three giant corporations controlling over 75 per cent of the global seed supply, it's no wonder people feel disconnected from their food. LAURA BRIGGS learns more about a new UK Seed Co-operative which aims to redress the balance
No Seed... No Food Laura Briggs | 10th May 2017 Ethical Living Seed Food And Farming Biodiversoty Resilience seed cooperative.jpg With the diversity of food crops falling dramatically and just three …
Will the UK keep Theresa May's promise to 'leave the environment in a better state than it found it' in the Brexit negotitions? Or is the government bent on the 'bonfire of red tape', including environmental protections, demanded by right-wing former and serving ministers? Viviane Gravey sets out four 'green lines' by which to judge the Brexiteers' true colours.
… Brexit Politics Law EU UK Farming wild-flowers-cut.jpg Will the UK keep Theresa May's …
A planning application to build thousands of new houses on Lodge Hill, one of the last strongholds for nightingales in the UK, has been withdrawn. More than 12,000 people objected to the application to build on the Site of Special Scientific Interest, leading to a Public Inquiry being scheduled for March 2018. BRENDAN MONTAGUE reports
… habitats, including bats, and rare grassland flowers and ancient woodland. People that …
Ecologist Arts Editor, GARY COOK meets an artist determined to put plants centre stage with her new Leafscape project which includes a new exhibition this month and a crowd-funded book
… which required portfolios of dissected flowers, alongside in-depth study of … leaves with dead leaves, and berries with flowers all at the same time as nature makes …
Bees in Britain are looking enviously at their EU neighbours. The EU is set to extend a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides - but agri-chemical lobbyists have the ear of pro-Brexit Tories, argues Molly Scott Cato MEP. The member of the European Parliament’s Agricultural Committee responds to our report in The Ecologist on Friday about new corporate funded research confirming the threat to bees. She argues it is now time to redouble our efforts to protect our vital pollinators.
Brexit is not a good time to be a British bee - claims Green MEP Molly Scott Cato MEP | 3rd July 2017 News Brexit Bees Tories Greens MEPs Neonicotinoids Pesticides 13580817565_fbf0bcafee_o.jpg Bees …
New research suggests that we are heading for an "ecological Armageddon" that will affect all life on the planet, including humans. COLIN TODHUNTER investigates.
… insects are vital because they pollinate flowers. Moreover, many, not least bees, are …
Get your planner out says HAZEL SILLVER. Here's 12 eco-minded and outdoorsy festivals to book and enjoy in 2017
EARTH FESTIVALS 2017 Hazel Sillver | 2nd March 2017 Ethical Living Eco Festivals Green Living wilderness.jpg Get your planner out says HAZEL SILLVER. Here's 12 eco-minded and outdoorsy festivals to …
A vicious cycle of climate change, cattle diet and rising methane has been revealed in a new scientific study: as temperatures rise, forage plants get tougher and harder to digest, and cause more methane to be produced in bovine stomachs. And with cattle numbers rising and methane 85 times more powerful a greenhouse gas over 20 years, that spells trouble.
Spiral of doom: hotter world increases cattle methane emissions Oliver Tickell | 27th March 2017 News Climate Change Farming Ecology cattle-india-cut.jpg A vicious cycle of climate change, cattle …
In this long-anticipated volume, Robert Cameron introduces us to the natural history of slugs and snails of the British Isles, writes Martin Spray, also venturing across the world to explore the wide range of structures and ways of life of slugs and snails, particularly their sometimes bizarre mating habits, which in turn help to illuminate the ways in which evolution has shaped the living world.
… in field and garden, persecuting favourite flowers, mowing down seedlings, and eating …
Bhutan is well on its way to becoming the greenest nation on the planet. In his Special Report for the Ecologist, photojournalist MICHAEL BUCKLEY explores the reasons why the country's ecosystems and dazzling biodiversity remain intact - and highlights the one thing that threatens this admirable integrity...
Ecologist Special Report - Bhutan's stumbling block to becoming the greenest nation on the planet Michael Buckley | 1st March 2017 News Bhutan Conservation Biodiversity Energy bhutan-02.jpg Bhutan is …
Biodiversity refers to the variety of all living things on Earth, but people often have very specific ideas of what it means. If you run an online search for images of biodiversity, you are likely to find lots of photos of tropical rainforests and coral reefs. Those ecosystems are invaluable, but biodiversity also exists in many other places writes ecologist, CHRISTOPHER SWAN
Special Report: The growing importance of Urban Biodiversity Christopher Swan Ecologist | 11th July 2017 News Biodiversity Urban Biodiversity Environment biodiversity new york.jpg Biodiversity refers …
In search of stillness and silence, our Nature Editor, Elizabeth Wainwright, spent a night under the stars in the wilderness (Devon's Dartmoor) which left her feeling reflective about the price we are all paying - humans and Nature - for increasing noise pollution
Nature's soundscapes: protecting personal and planetary silence Elizabeth Wainwright | 4th July 2017 Comment Wild Camping Noise Pollution Silence Nature silence in nature.jpg In search of stillness …
Growing coffee is both a point of pride and a significant economic driver for Colombia but a changing climate is now threatening the harvest. FOREST RAY reports on the new challenges facing growers from that country
… troubles, the higher temperatures cause fewer flowers to grow, from which coffee beans …
Colombia is now closer than ever to finding a peaceful resolution to generations of violence. With so much to gain in a post-conflict world - as much for the Colombian people as for their environment - the sudden prospect of losing it all will make for tense months ahead writes FOREST RAY
Ecologist Special Report: Ecological Conservation in Post-Conflict Colombia Forest Ray | 10th February 2017 News Colombia Conservation Conflict Ecological Restoration Biodiversity hillsidevillage …