Nature

The little tern has just enjoyed its most successful season in almost 30 years

The little tern has been in serious decline, but 2019 has seen a welcome boost for the species.

The power of flowers — how they accompany us, heal us and ‘make us gasp with pleasure’

‘Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower,’ wrote Hans Christian Andersen. Jay Griffiths explores their emotional pull.

A farmer in Norfolk has accidentally turned one of his fields into an entire field of sunflowers

Fakenham sugar beet grower Robert Hambidge added 'a few more' seeds to his mix and ended up with a vast expanse of sunflowers

'There is real potential here... things we are already doing' — IPCC gets positive about climate change in latest report

In praise of nightingales: 'I’ve listened to Gregorian chants in Gothic cathedrals — but the greatest musical performance I ever heard was outside my bedroom one night'

It’s 200 years since Keats penned ‘Ode to a Nightningale’, but this otherwise drab bird’s rich, sorrowful song is worth listening out for says John Lewis-Stempel.

Revealed: How to stop seagulls from stealing your chips

Seagulls begging for food are the scourge of many a day at the British seaside — and where there is a problem, there is a team of researchers trying to find a solution. And the team at Exeter University looking into the seagull problem have come up with a plan that simply needs steely resolve and an even-steelier-glare.

In praise of ponds, the water havens that 'teem with life as fantastic as anything in science-fiction'

A chance reading of George Orwell brought John Lewis-Stempel to the realisation that he'd neglected his own ponds. He explains how he has been inspired to change that.

Glow-in-the-dark pocket shark discovered by scientists

The diminutive species, the American pocket shark or Mollisquama mississippiensis, has been found in the Gulf of Mexico.

Trial aims to reveal the secrets to beautiful hanging baskets

A new trial aims to reveal the best way to achieve beautiful hanging baskets without using too much water.

Lyme Disease: What it is, how you catch it and everything else you need to know

The fine weather of spring and summer brings with it ticks – and with them, fears about Lyme disease. Charlotte Peters explains what you need to know.

World’s first protected area for basking sharks to be set up in Scotland

Scotland wants to create the world’s first protected area for basking sharks

Our sand dunes are under threat, but new funding could restore them to health

Sand dunes are an much-loved part of our coastline, but they have been in decline for decades. Now a new project aims to protect the dunes and the rare animals who live in them — with over £4m of funding.

The world tree planting record has been broken by Ethiopia as they lead the world in this clever way to tackle climate change

The project aims to counter the effects of deforestation, with the goal of planting a total of four billion indigenous trees by October.

The confusingly enormous hummingbird hawk-moth that looks set to become a regular fixture in British gardens

Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s a hummingbird hawk-moth. Simon Lester takes a closer look at this most unusual moth, which is probing flowers in your garden now.

In Focus: Ruskin, Turner and the ‘prophetic warning of impending environmental catastrophe’

Simon Poë is blown away by ‘Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud’ at the Abbott Hall Art Gallery in Kendal, an exhibition about climate change and mental health, plus the pleasures and pains that come with seeing clearly.

A walk through the Forest of Bowland: 'I feel the immensity of the history of this place and am deeply moved by it'

A solitary dawn walk through the Forest of Bowland is a magical experience, says Fiona Reynolds.

Peregrine falcons: The 240mph predators living peacefully alongside us in our church spires

How a chance visit to a Jersey prompted Gerald Durrell to turn his menagerie into a beautiful zoo

The island that most of us associate with Gerald Durrell is Corfu, where he spent his formative years. But it's a different island where his legacy is most keenly felt today: Jersey.

Why conservation must start at home: 10 British species we need to save to protect our food chain

Simon Lester sends out an SOS for 10 species that we must save to help repair an increasingly fragile food chain.

The things we need to do to save the planet, by Alan Titchmarsh, Minette Batters, David Bellamy and more

From cutting the population to growing insect-friendly plants, campaigners and commentators tell Rosie Paterson about the environmental issues that worry them most and what they’d do to save the planet.