It’s that time of year again when the strawberries are out, the flags are up, and every sports fan in the country has one eye on the tennis and the other on the football. But spare a thought for the patch of grass outside your back door because with a bit of love and the right know how, your lawn could look every bit as good as Centre Court or worthy of hosting the World Cup final.

Conservationists are rolling out an emergency rescue plan for a bird so rare that survey teams searching across 12 mountains in Java failed to find a single one. Chester Zoo has played a central role in developing the plan for the Javan green magpie - a species so close to extinction that fewer than 250 may remain on the planet - and is now working with partners to put it into action.

Britain’s longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel celebrates 25 years since landmark restoration and reopening With a constant year-round temperature of around 8°C, a trip through Standedge Tunnel provides the perfect escape from the summer heat and this year the Canal & River Trust is hosting celebrations to mark 25 years since the reopening of the UK's longest, deepest and highest canal tun…

SealStop, the Yorkshire-made automatic shut-off valve designed to eliminate water waste, is now being stocked by Longacres, the UK's premier independent garden centre chain. It is the first major nationwide deal landed by the multi-award-winning device.

Ask anyone what flower they’d most like in their garden and the answer is almost always the same. Roses are the quintessential British flower with their attractive colour, the scent, the way they look climbing over a fence or tumbling out of a pot, there’s nothing quite like them.

Climate change could push UK rivers to dangerous extremes and see more frequent rapid swings between wet and dry conditions - a phenomenon known as hydroclimatic whiplash - according to research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA). Researchers analysed almost 700 river catchments across the UK to project how river flows may change at 2°C and 4°C of global warming.

Nestlé is teaming up with regenerative food and farming brand Wildfarmed, working with a community of British farmers to trial regeneratively farmed wheat in the nation’s favourite chocolate bar. As KitKat marks more than 90 years as a much-loved British staple, Nestlé is proud to be working with Wildfarmed to bring their environment-restoring wheat into the unmistakable KitKat wafer.

Last week was a reminder of what British summers can now look like with the first heatwave of the year. With long dry spells arriving earlier and lasting longer, it's worth thinking about how you water, because a bit of care goes a long way when the ground is baked solid, and your plants are struggling.

Chester Zoo and Malagasy conservationists are carrying out the biggest ever butterfly survey in Madagascar – and they have high hopes of “uncovering what an extraordinary forest is hiding”.

Three giant otter pups have started learning how to swim at Chester Zoo. Born to first-time parents Bonita and Manu, the adorable triplets have remained tucked away in their den for the first few weeks of life. Now, at 15 weeks old, the youngsters have had an unforgettable introduction to life in the water as they experience their very first swimming lessons.

Three spectacular species are neck and neck in Lancashire for the coveted title of Britain’s Favourite Butterfly and every vote could make the difference. Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is calling on the people of Lancashire to back their favourite butterfly as the race to crown the nation’s champion reaches its final stages.

Whether you’ve been nurturing houseplants for years or you’re thinking about buying your very first one, there has never been a better time to bring the beauty of the garden indoors.

Zookeepers at Chester Zoo have stepped in to help raise a newborn aardvark, bottle-feeding it warm milk every few hours to help it grow. The tiny arrival – only the second aardvark ever born at the zoo in its 94-year history – was born healthy, but mum Oni wasn’t producing enough milk to fully support the youngster.

It’s World Bee Day today and bees are some of the most effective pollinators we have - not just helping plants to grow, but helping crops including broccoli, cabbages and apples, to thrive. But sadly, UK bee populations have reduced by around a third in the last 30 years – prompting the RSPCA to highlight what people can do to help the nation’s buzzing buddies.

Did you know Yorkshire is one of the only places in the country where you can see puffins without a boat? Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s annual festival on 6th and 7th June celebrates the return of this much-loved but threatened seabird to their internationally important breeding grounds at Flamborough cliffs.

To mark the Trust’s 80th anniversary, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust wants to spotlight the unsung heroes of local and regional wildlife conservation. Through ten award categories, the Wildlife Hero Awards will celebrate the individuals, businesses and community groups making a real and lasting difference for wildlife. Award winners will be announced at a special ceremony during the Trust’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday 3 October at York College, and will receive a prize.

RHS Garden Bridgewater has announced an extension to its popular Salford Free Tuesdays scheme, allowing Salford residents to continue enjoying free entry every Tuesday until 18 May 2027. The news comes as the garden prepares to celebrate its fifth birthday on 18 May, marking half a decade as a much-loved community hub where people and nature thrive together.

New data from seven common snipe being tracked as part of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s (GWCT) project to map the routes to their breeding grounds has so far shown five of the birds travelling to Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Germany.

A national award will celebrate the educators inspiring young people and encouraging the UK to go green. Nominations are open for Chester Zoo’s National Education Awards until May 17, and the zoo’s Conservation Education & Engagement team is urging teachers and educators from Lancashire to get involved.

Spring is the perfect time to refresh outdoor spaces with a burst of colour, and as part of the Make It Bloom campaign, British Garden Centres is encouraging gardeners of all abilities to get creative with vibrant spring planters. Whether brightening a doorstep, patio or garden, creating a professional‑looking display is simple with the right plants and a few easy steps.

A new stage show all about sharks, hosted by world-renowned wildlife conservationist and TV presenter Steve Backshall, is coming to Chester Zoo this May half term.

The Hedgerow Cards Collection, designed exclusively by Welsh artist Lizzie Spikes, has a beautiful, seasonal illustration for every month of the year. As the artist at Driftwood Designs, Lizzie’s passion is creating colourful illustrations that can be translated to any number of items.

The first young white-clawed crayfish raised in Yorkshire’s first crayfish hatchery site have been released into the wild yesterday, marking a turning point for rare and endangered native populations clinging on across the county. 182 juvenile crayfish have been released into Haverdale Beck in North Yorkshire, where their pregnant mothers were collected back in summer 2025.

The RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch results are in, and while the familiar faces still top the charts, a troubling decline further down the rankings has prompted the charity to issue new guidance on how we feed our garden visitors More than 650,000 people across the United Kingdom took part in this year's Big Garden Birdwatch — the world's largest garden wildlife survey — counting upwards of ni…

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust was founded in 1946 as Yorkshire Naturalists Trust to care for Askham Bog nature reserve, gifted to the Trust by confectioners and naturalists Sir Francis Terry and Arnold Rowntree. The charity is launching a new community fundraising pack to encourage the public to take meaningful and impactful action for wildlife across the county. There will also be a bumper year of events and activities, including a poetry competition, wildlife hero awards and a region-wide birthday celebration.