#natural england

[niqvassieart]

Gouache painting of long-tailed tits for the upcoming book about my local nature reserve.

Long-tailed tits make stretchy nests from a base of moss and spider silk. On the outside they’re covered in lichen for camouflage and inside are lined with feathers for cosiness!

[unkn0wnvariable]

Ling Flowers

The delicate pink flowers of ling (aka common heather), soaking up the sun in one of the clearings at Holme Fen.

[petitworld]

Asthall Manor, Oxfordshire, England by Stacy Cartledge

[maureen2musings]

Halnaker Hamlet, West Sussex

chrishayward.uk

[rosechata]

Laura Pashby

[theknitpotato]

In 1850, a farmer found a secret village. It was later determined to be older than the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Archeologists estimated that 100 people lived in this village named Skara Brae, the "Scottish Pompeii." The houses were connected to each other by tunnels, and each house could be closed off with a stone door.

[seabeck]

Floating

[reasonsforhope]

"In a major move for rivers up and down the land, last week it was announced that Sussex’s River Ouse is set to be granted its own rights. 

A new charter that has just been approved by Lewes district council officially recognises the Ouse as a living entity. Based on the Universal Declaration of River Rights, the charter gives the waterway eight rights, including the right to flow, to be pollution-free, to have native biodiversity and to undergo regeneration and restoration. 

The decision to give the Ouse legal personhood was actually made two years ago when the council passed a rights of river motion. In the two years since, the likes of Lewes district council, Environmental Law Foundation, Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust and Southwood Foundation have all worked together to create the charter. 

Matthew Bird, director of the Love Our Ouse campaign, said: ‘This is a momentous moment for the river and goes some way towards recognising that the river is an entity in its own right and that its voice needs to be represented in decisions which affect it. The river faces numerous challenges including pollution, climate change, over use and development.

‘The Charter provides a common framework through which to address these challenges which we hope the other major stakeholders on the Ouse will feel able to endorse. We hope Lewes District Council’s decision to support the Ouse Charter will encourage communities throughout the UK to pursue charters for their local rivers.’

Emma Montlake, co-director of the Environmental Law Foundation, added: ‘By supporting the Rights of Rivers, Lewes District Council has set a precedent that could transform the way we safeguard our rivers. The River Ouse is an essential part of the region’s ecosystem and cultural heritage—this decision ensures a better future for the River’s health and protection.’

The charter isn’t actually legally binding just yet. The next stage will involve working with statutory agencies, communities and landowners along the river to make sure that that the new rights are implemented."

-via TimeOut, March 3, 2025

Note: This is part of the broader Rights of Nature movement, and I believe the first natural body to be granted personhood/rights in Europe [edited for accuracy 3/12/25]. (Let me know in the comments if there have been others!) It's a whole new paradigm for how to view nature - and grants us a new set of powerful tools for legally defending nature from degradation and pollution. In other words, this is pretty exciting. Read more about the Rights of Nature movement here and here.

[janasojka]

Night drive, daffodils.

[ancientsstudies]

Bishop's Palace by wordyelaine.

[niqvassieart]

Painting I was commissioned to do for an upcoming book about my local nature reserve here in North Yorkshire, UK.

All the digital paintings i made for the book are of real places. It was so lovely to be asked to illustrate my home and fun trying to capture the seasonal light and mood of somewhere I know so well!

Here is a lesser spotted woodpecker visiting the area in winter. Pictured with barn owl, roe deer and gulls coming into roost on the floodwater.

[unkn0wnvariable]

Foxglove Flowers

The bright pink trumpet flowers of a fox glove, flowering in a sunlit clearing in Holme Fen.

[petitworld]

via

[maureen2musings]

York

_neonnine.photography_

[pangeen]

" SIGNS " // © Neil Burnell

[rosechata]

Christie Fitzpatrick