Tag Archives: national parks

Britain’s national parks dominated by driven grouse moors, says study

The Guardian reports national parks supposedly at the heart of efforts to tackle the climate crisis and boost nature are dominated by intensively managed grouse moors, according to new research.

Driven grouse moors, which are associated with the controversial burning of vegetation and the illegal persecution of birds of prey, make up 44% of the Cairngorms national park, 28% of the North York Moors and a fifth of the Peak District, a study by the charity Rewilding Britain has found. A total of 852,000 acres – an area more than twice the size of Greater London – inside Britain’s national parks is devoted to driven grouse shooting. 

England’s national parks announce a ten-year plan to make their land work better for nature and public health

I NEWS reports England’s national parks have collectively announced a ten-year drive to make the land work better for nature and the public by improving health and wellbeing and inspiring a deeper connection with the environment. Under the plans, the parks will work with doctors to provide nature prescriptions such as “health walks” for people with mental health issues. And they will work with the Youth Hostel Association to offer trips to people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Boris Johnson’s pledge to return third of Britain to nature could see Lakes and Dales rewilded

The Telegraph reports conservation groups have argued that although 26 per cent of England is technically ‘protected for nature’, these areas are not sufficiently biodiverse and actually contain less trees and nature than some of our cities. The five-year plan for Natural England promises to make our national parks “richer in wildlife”, and sources at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have suggested this includes radically changing the landscape of our most iconic national parks. 

England’s national parks ‘must do more to protect nature’

The Guardian reports National Parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty have not done enough to protect nature or welcome diverse visitors, and extra government funding must help drive radical change, according to a review.

The independent review, commissioned by the former environment secretary Michael Gove, praises the work of England’s 44 “national landscapes”, including the Lake District and Dartmoor, but calls for a new focus to stop declines in nature and welcome working-class and black and minority ethnic visitors.