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13/05/2024

Cotswold volunteers contribute 51,000 hours

A group of volunteer wardens have dedicated more than 51,000 hours to maintaining the landscape of the Cotswolds.

More than 350 voluntary wardens support the Cotswolds National Landscapes team, and have been doing so since the 1960s.

They work all year round across five districts in the area and are involved in a variety of work - from maintaining access to education.

The Cotswolds is the second largest protected landscape in England after the Lake District.

In the 2023-24 year, the wardens contributed 51,351 hours of work, led 319 guided walks for 3,634 people, patrolled 7,867 miles of path and planted 1433 trees, the Cotswolds National Landscapes said.

They work on maintaining the many miles of routes across the Cotswolds, including working to look after Cotswold Way.

The wardens check routes, replace stiles, repair footbridges, clear scrub, install gates, fix steps and install hand rails, improve signage and waymarking, and pick up litter.

In addition, wardens plant trees, lay hedges, create habitats for nature, clear waterways, and repair dry-stone walls.

The Cotswolds is the second-largest protected landscape in England after the Lake District.

It covers 787 square miles (2,038 square km) stretching from Warwickshire and Worcestershire in the north, through Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, down to Bath and Wiltshire in the south.

24/04/2024

Two baby camels born within a week at Bridlington Animal Park

Two baby camels have been born within a week at a Bridlington park.

The male and female calves, Gillie and Billie, of the double-humped Bactrian species, increased Bridlington Animal Park's herd size to six, owners said.

Curator and director Paul Woodward said he believed his herd was the "biggest" in Yorkshire after the pair were born on 15 and 22 April.

Wild Bactrian camels are native to China and Mongolia but are classified as critically endangered.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed numbers to be about 950 in the wild.

Despite domesticated Bactrian camels numbering in the millions, Mr Woodward said: "Only a handful are born in the UK each year."

Bactrian camels were thought to be extinct in the wild until an expedition in 1957 sighted a small herd of them on the Mongolian slopes of the Altai Mountains.

05/04/2024

Storm Kathleen: Strong and fast winds will bring disruption across NI

Weather warnings have been issued ahead of potentially damaging and disruptive winds from Storm Kathleen this weekend.

The system is likely to bring widespread gusts of more than 50mph across Northern Ireland on Saturday.

Some exposed and coastal areas could see gusts reaching higher speeds of up to 70mph.

A Met Office warning for strong winds has been issued for Northern Ireland from 08:00 BST until 22:00 on Saturday.

The Met Office has warned of possible travel disruption, power cuts, and a risk of injuries from large waves around the coast.

The strongest winds are forecast to reach the south coast of Ireland early on Saturday morning before moving north.

As a result, a Status Orange weather warning has also been issued for Cork, Galway, Kerry, Mayo and Waterford from 07:00 until 17:00.

A yellow warning has been issued for the rest of the country between 07:00 and 20:00.

Met Éireann is warning of some coastal flooding, travel disruption, and fallen trees.

Sunday will also be a windy day with widespread gusts of more than 65km/h (40mph).

Agnes, Ciarán and Olga among 2023-24 storm names
Storm Kathleen is the 11th named storm of the season which runs from 1 September 2023 until 31 August 2024.

It is also the first time storms have reached the letter K in the alphabet since Storm Katie in late March 2016.

Storm Jocelyn brought major disruption to the road network across Northern Ireland in January.

Met Éireann named Storm Kathleen after computer programming pioneer Kathleen 'Kay' McNulty from County Donegal and crystallographer Dame Kathleen Lonsdale from County Kildare.

11/03/2024

Red squirrels row over Cockermouth housing plans

A housing development in Cockermouth is to be reassessed as campaigners say it threatens red squirrels.

West Cumbrian businessman Bill Dobie wants to build six homes and a four-storey apartment block of 10 flats.

Approval had already been agreed last year, but Cumberland Council did not issue permission when it emerged that an ecological report into the presence of red squirrels was out of date.

Planners are now due to re-consider the proposal in light of a new report.

It states that although there have been sightings of red squirrels at the site, there was no evidence of nests - known as dreys - or breeding.

But the Protect Cockermouth Wildlife campaign group says it has evidence from local red squirrel protection groups that the protected animals are present in the area, known as the Sidings.

'Not surprising'
Red squirrels are an endangered species and any development that would damage their nests would be unlawful.

Gabrielle Sanders, who is campaigning against the plans, said experts consulted by the campaign group advised them that surveys should not be carried out during breeding season - between January and March - as it would be difficult to spot the squirrels.

"So when the author [of the report] says there is no evidence of squirrels, it's not surprising," she added.

Planners at Cumberland Council acknowledged squirrels may be less active in winter, however they said the animals do not hibernate and dreys would be more visible on trees with no leaves.

Mr Dobie said this is the third expert ecological reports provided for the site, with all confirming there are no habitats there.

He added: "Equally, we are in discussion with local red squirrel groups and are developing plans whereby we can hopefully encourage the red squirrels to return to our area of development."

The homes would be built on the site of Cockermouth's old fire station, which has already been converted into flats by Mr Dobie.

Planning officers at Cumberland Council are recommending the project be approved on condition that six affordable homes are provided within the development.

Another condition would be that trees are planted at nearby Harris Park to replace more than 50 removed by the proposed development.

27/02/2024

Japan Moon lander survives lunar night

Japan's Moon lander has survived the harsh lunar night, the sunless and freezing equivalent to two Earth weeks.

"Last night, a command was sent to and a response received," national space agency Jaxa said on X.

The craft was put into sleep mode after an awkward landing in January left its solar panels facing the wrong way and unable to generate power.

A change in sunlight direction later allowed it to send pictures back but it shut down again as lunar night fell.

Jaxa said at the time that Slim (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) was not designed for the harsh lunar nights.

It said it planned to try to operate again from mid-February, when the Sun would shine again on Slim's solar cells.

"The news that SLIM has rebooted itself after the cold lunar night is significant," said Dr Simeon Barber from the UK's Open University. "Surviving lunar night is one of the key technological challenges to be overcome if we are to establish long-lived robotic or human missions on the Moon."

Dr Barber explained that Slim landed near the Moon's equator, where the lunar surface reaches more than 100C at noon, but then plunges to -130C during the lunar night.

Jaxa said that communication with the lander was terminated after a short time - it was lunar midday, meaning the temperature of the communications equipment was very high.

But it posted the following picture on X, which it said was taken from the lander while it was back in action.

05/02/2024

Ten years on, can Somerset be saved from flooding?

Ten years ago, Somerset suffered unprecedented flooding. Whole villages were completely marooned and hundreds of people had their homes swamped.

Millions have been spent since then building stronger flood defences, and this winter they were tested again.

Another very wet winter saw record rainfall in one of the lowest-lying areas of the UK, the Somerset Levels and Moors.

As climate scientists predict wetter winters and greater flood risks, Somerset is seen as a test case of how possible it is to prevent flooding.

What happened in 2014?
On February 5 2014, a police helicopter hovered over the village of Moorland.

"Flood danger imminent," residents were told by the Skyshout system. "Evacuate immediately."

Many people had left already, and by the end of February, 165 homes had been wrecked by floodwaters.

More than 25 square miles of Somerset was under what officials estimated was 100 million cubic metres of floodwater

Dozens of roads were closed and hundreds of animals had to be moved. The council put the cost of the damage at £118m.

Huge pumps were shipped in from the Netherlands while Royal Marines went out in boats to rescue villagers, mounted police patrolled abandoned flooded houses.

Prince Charles visited the stricken villages, which had become islands in the waters.

He said it was a "tragedy that nothing has happened for so long" in terms of flood prevention.

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, came too, and vowed to do "whatever it takes" to make sure it never happened again.

What defences were improved?
The most visible change is the road into the tiny, ancient village of Muchelney. The name means "great island" and all four roads into the village were submerged under deep water in 2014.

This was hardly new. In the 12th Century, William Malmesbury remarked on the famous abbey that "in summer it may be reached by horse, but in winter - never".

Ten years ago, Prince Charles arrived by boat.

This year, the waters rose once again, and three of the four roads into Muchelney were closed, but the the causeway across the moor to Drayton stayed dry.

Why? It had been raised 1.5 metres, in work commissioned by the newly-formed Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA).

24/01/2024

Haddon solar farm plan rejected by councillors again

Plans to build a 65,000-panel solar farm have been rejected following concerns about "the irreversible loss" of agricultural land.

Wessex Solar Energy said the 102-acre farm at Haddon, Cambridgeshire, would generate enough renewable energy to power 7,713 homes a year.

Huntingdonshire District Council's planning committee turned down the application for the second time.

Wessex Solar Energy was approached for comment.

The proposal attracted 106 objections and 49 comments in support, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported. said.

In December, the plan was rejected for the land north-east of Bates Lodge in Peterborough Road.

Council officers described how the application "failed to demonstrate it would not lead to the irreversible loss of best and most versatile agricultural land".

The proposal was brought back in front of the committee following a change to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which said authorities needed to "attribute significant weight to the need to support energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements".

A new report from the council, regarding the application, supported the transition to low-carbon alternative energy generation, but nonetheless, eight councillors voted against it and one voted in favour.

08/01/2024

Electric car vandalised by climate activists in Bristol

Environmental activists targeting SUVs have deflated the tyres of an electric car.

A man living in Clifton, Bristol, said he saw his Tesla's tyres were deflated when he went out to walk his dog.

On the windscreen he found a leaflet saying "your gas guzzler kills" and other cars were also targeted in the street.

He said there was "something comical about it" but he felt "slightly violated".

The Tesla owner added: "It's ironic, because I was trying to do the right thing by buying an electric car.

"It's ridiculous and inconvenient.

"I get why [climate activism] is happening, but I'm not seeing the point of this."

The group claiming to be behind the deflating calls itself the Tyre Extinguishers.

Mark Moran MBE, Chief Executive of Hydrate for Health Ltd, also had his tyres let down.

"Many [drivers] have been hit multiple times - mine twice for tyres and once for paint," he said.

Mr Moran said there was "no debate" we need to "do the best we can to improve the environment, reduce waste, reduce pollution".

But he said the campaigners did not seem to understand that the cost to the environment of replacing the tyres was "far in excess of any saving their smugness will make".

"They are simply a faceless bunch of eco warriors who want to force their will upon people, with zero rational debate."

Mr Moran won a Queen's Award for Innovation in 2013 for inventing a hands-free drinking system to help reduce dehydration for hospital patients and care home residents.

Avon and Somerset Police said they received four reports that car tyres had been let down in the Clifton area overnight from Thursday to Friday.

"We believe these incidents are connected to a national environmental protest group, which has previously targeted SUV vehicles in the area," the force said.

"On this occasion, one of the vehicles was scratched after the suspects were unsuccessful in letting down the tyres.

"We are encouraging anyone with any CCTV or doorbell footage in Merchants Road, The Fossway, Clifton Down Road or Manilla Road areas to get in touch."

27/12/2023

Guernsey States encouraging Christmas trees recycling

People in Guernsey are being reminded to recycle Christmas trees after the festive period.

Trees could be taken to five different recycling sites to be shredded and composted into soil conditioner for islanders to use, officials said.

Guernsey Waste's campaign aims to reduce the waste that is produced during the holiday season.

Waste Minimisation and Sustainability Manager Tina Norman-Ross said the scheme was "great for the environment".

She said: "The trees will certainly be put to good use, and we hope that as many people as possible will consider recycling them.

"Not only is it great for the environment, but it is also a very convenient way to dispose of them, and we hope that having so many drop-off points makes this as easy as possible.

"Just remember to remove all your tinsel, baubles and trimmings before dropping them off."

The States said more than 6,000 trees were recycled each year as part of the free-of-charge service.

Recycling sites at Queux Plant Centre, Le Friquet Garden Centre, Chouet Green Waste site and Longue Hougue Household Waste & Recycling Centre will be open from 27 December.

All sites are due to accept Christmas trees until the end of January, bosses said.

22/11/2023

PM defends 'severe' Just Stop Oil sentences
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended sentences handed to two Just Stop Oil climate campaigners following criticism from the United Nations.

Morgan Trowland, 40, was jailed for three years and Marcus Decker, 34, for two years for causing a public nuisance after scaling the Dartford Crossing Bridge.

The UN had warned the government in a letter that the "severe" sentences could stifle protest.

Mr Sunak said in response in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that those who break the law should feel the full force of it.

"It's entirely right that selfish protestors intent on causing misery to the hard-working majority face tough sentences," he said.

"It's what the public expects and it's what we've delivered."

02/10/2023

Arching over 8,849 metres (29,032ft) into the sky, Everest is the world’s tallest mountain. But will it always be? Aurora Elmore was approaching Mount Everest's South Base Camp in Nepal. But rather than taking the traditional 12-day hiking route, she was soaring between the frozen peaks, the rotor blades of her helicopter slicing through the thin air with a whap, whap, whap.

22/09/2023

Considered an appetiser of choice for British royalty for centuries, Brown Windsor Soup has long held a peculiar role in the national psyche. And it likely never existed at all. With the exception of the recently announced "Coronation Quiche", the menu for King Charles III's big-day banquet has yet to be made public, but the smart money says it will not kick off with a steaming bowl of Brown Windsor Soup.

05/09/2023

Northern Ireland can be a testing centre for artificial intelligence in the UK, according to a group representing the software industry.

Belfast-based IT firm Kainos announced it was investing £10m to develop the use of generative AI in its business.

David Crozier, new head of The Software Alliance, believes more companies in Northern Ireland will follow suit.

He described the Kainos announcement as a "super statement of intent".

He said Northern Ireland had "historically been very strong at developing enterprise software solutions" so it was "no surprise" technology companies here were investing in research and innovation.

25/08/2023

More than a thousand species of palm tree are at risk of extinction, according to a study.

Scientists used artificial intelligence to assess risks to the entire palm family, from tall trees to climbing plants.

The data gives a much better idea of how many, and which, palm species are under threat.

Palms are a huge plant family that provide millions of people with food, drink and shelter.

24/08/2023

It is hot. Very hot. And temperatures show no signs of easing.

Nearly a third of Americans - over 113 million people - are under some form of heat advisory, the US National Weather Service said.

Across the US, temperatures are shattering decades-long record highs. In El Paso, Texas, temperatures have soared to above 37C - triple-digits Fahrenheit - for 27 consecutive days, overtaking a record last set in 1994.

In the UK, the June heat didn't just break all-time records, it smashed them. It was 0.9C hotter than the previous record, set back in 1940. That is a huge margin.

There is a similar story of unprecedented hot weather in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

No surprise, then, that the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather forecasts said that globally, June was the hottest on record.

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