We all love to get outdoors with our dogs, for the fantastic exercise and the chance to explore together. Please be an aware and responsible dog walker and help us keep Tees Valley’s wildlife safe this spring. The celebrated song of the skylark or burbling call of curlew are evocative and welcome spring sounds,...
Naturally Native Monthly Blog
Habitat Fragmentation In last month’s blog we wrote about the power of slowing down and observing nature in your local green space, and the benefit that this can have on your emotional connection with the world around you. We hope you’ve managed to find a minute to stand still in your local park; to...
Get Yours Now!
Get your Tees Valley Wildlife Trust t-shirts now from our NEW Teemill shop. Follow the link or visit www.teeswildlife.org. Teemill t-shirts are made from organic cotton, processed using renewable energy and packaged using plastic-free recycled materials. You can be confident that buying your Teemill t-shirt will support Tees Valley Wildlife Trust. It will also...
The humble house sparrow
Tom Hibbert, birdwatcher and content officer for The Wildlife Trusts, takes a closer look at one of the UK’s most familiar birds. House sparrows may not be the most colourful bird in the UK, or the most impressive singer, but they’ve long been one of our favourites, because they live in such close proximity...
Sir David Attenborough backs new phase of 30 by 30 ambition
£8 million raised in 6 months for The Wildlife Trusts’ nature recovery plans Sir David Attenborough backs new phase of 30 by 30 ambition The Wildlife Trusts have raised almost £8 million just six months after launching their 30 by 30 ambition to kickstart nature’s recovery across 30% of land by 2030. Funds will...
Say no to Peat compost
We need an immediate end to peat sales Peat used in our compost is dug out of wild places, damaging some of the last remaining peatlands in the UK and overseas. This process also releases carbon into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change. Ten years ago, the Government set a voluntary target for the horticulture sector...
Gardeners urged to help beetles
Beetles are the unsung heroes of the garden and need our support urge the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and The Wildlife Trusts, as they launch 2021’s Wild About Gardens campaign. The two charities are calling on gardeners to create habitats for these important but often overlooked insects which are a vital part of every...
Volunteering on your local patch – what we can learn from looking down…
In May 2020 the Knepp Estate’s white storks became the first to successfully fledge chicks on UK soils for over 600 years. And in 2019, white-tailed eagles were released on the Isle of Wight – the first to take to the island’s skies since 1780. These were truly wonderful moments for everyone with an...
Government falls short of delivering promised ‘green Brexit
Leading green groups issue final Brexit report card that finds static or weaker protections for the environment, urging government to strengthen plans A coalition of the country’s leading green groups has today concluded that environmental protections in areas such as nature restoration and air quality are either no stronger or weaker than they were...
Naturally Native: saving the north east’s water voles
Introducing Mark Slaughter – Naturally Native Project Officer at Tees Valley Wildlife Trust Thinking back to my childhood, our family holidays invariably involved tents, rain, and queues for lukewarm showers. To my school friends, these sounded like key ingredients for a week of misery. “We’ve been on the beach in Spain for a week”, they’d announce proudly. “Boring”, I’d murmur. Because whilst our family trips did entail tents and rain,...
Stay of execution for bees in 2021
Today’s announcement that a banned neonicotinoid will not be used on sugar beet is good news – but does not halt the risk to wildlife in future years Bees and other wildlife may have won a temporary reprieve and could now avoid being poisoned by a toxic pesticide due to the recent snap of...
Government inertia on peatlands risks international embarrassment
Two-year delay to England peat strategy as damage continues to vital carbon stores This year, as the UK hosts the global climate conference, COP26, all eyes will be on the UK’s own action to tackle climate change. The Wildlife Trusts believe that the Government’s failure to address a key issue – how to end the damage to carbon-storing peatlands and restore a significant proportion of those that are already harmed – will be a major embarrassment. Peatlands are the UK’s largest on-land store of...