Useful Websites and Reports

BIODIVERSITY

 

Biodiversity - hundreds of of interesting articles published in 'The Conversation' - "academic rigour, journalistic flair"!

 

The Wiltshire Chalk Partnership - website - helping protect, augment and enhance the Wiltshire Chalk landscape to create a thriving and resilient landscape that will support biodiversity as our climate changes.

 

Biodiversity Toolkit for Nature - excellent document packed full of information and resources
from the European Commission (2021).
 

Living Planet Report 2022 - Building a Nature-Positive Society by the WWF and ZSL
This 2022 update report confirms the planet is in the midst of a biodiversity and climate crisis, and that we have a last chance to act. A nature-positive future needs game changing shifts in how we produce, how we consume, how we govern, and what we finance. "This report is designed as a springboard for action, to provide food for thought and to act as a catalyst for transformational change. We hope it inspires you to be part of that change."

 

THE ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

 

Live Sustainably - how to be a conscious consumer (Friends of the Earth)

 

Green & Eco-Friendly - tips & products (Green-EcoFriend)

 

50 ways to Go Green - simple ways to go green (Green-EcoFriend)

 

Things You Can Do About Climate Change: make a difference! (The Wildlife Trusts)

 

Pesticide Action Network UK - charity focusing on promoting safe and sustainable alternatives to hazardous pesticides, and tackling the problems caused by pesticides - website and key issues page

 

Environment information and resources from the UK National Association for Environmental Education (NAEE)  - supporting teachers and learners across the UK.

 

Wiltshire Climate Alliance - website

 

What is the Triple Planetary Crisis? - United Nations Climate Change

 

Act Now! - the App for living sustainably in the modern world - United Nations ACTNOW Campaign
"Help Take Care of Our Planet! Every one of us can make a difference"

Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy - report by The UN Environment Programme, May 2023.

 

Report on Climate Change - IPCC 2023 - new report released in May 2023 by theIPCC (the scientific body that advises the UN on rising temperatures). It contains an important summary of six key pieces of research completed over the past five years. The scientists say technology is providing solutions but the climate forecast is worsening. Headline statements.

 

Turning off the (plastic) Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy - UNEP 2023 report proposing a systems change to address the causes of plastic pollution, starting by reducing problematic and unnecessary plastic use, redesigning the system, products and their packaging and combining these with a market transformation towards circularity in plastics.

 

NATURE

 

** The State of Nature Reports 2023 ** "The Most comprehensive report on the UK’s current biodiversity. State of Nature uses the latest and best data from biological monitoring and recording schemes, collated by the incredible work of thousands of skilled people, most of whom are volunteers, to provide a benchmark for the status of our wildlife."

      England: summary (pdf)  &  web page

      UK:  full report (pdf)  &  infographic (pdf)

 

Lots of free downloadable resources for kiddies and adults from The Wildlife Trusts, including ID guides, scavenger hunts, outdoor activities, art activities, activity packs, mini projects, etc.

 

Starting a Nature-Friendly Allotment - from The Soil Association. Handy guide from preparing your plot, working out your soil type and deciding what to plant.

 

Plantlife – the global voice for wild plants and fungi - website

 

The Woodland Trust - website

 

Protecting and celebrating forests - The Soil Association

WATERWAYS

 

WildFish - campaigning and working to protect wild fish and their waters - the charity's website

 

Simple changes you can make to massively benefit our local rivers and the wildlife that depends on them! - BART everyday action

 

The Canal and Rivers Trust - website

 

Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) - website and latest (good!) news and projects

 

A spotter’s guide to waterway wildlife - from the Canal & River Trust

 

Chemical Pollution: The Silent Killer of UK Rivers - 2022 report by WildFish, RSPB, Buglife and The Pesticide Collaboration. Results showed a decline in the diversity of riverflies, aquatic invertebrates that are essential to a healthy ecosystem. During drought conditions, low water levels will reduce the dilution of chemicals and exacerbate the impact of chemical pollution on rivers ecosystems even further.

SmartRivers Progress Update 2023 Report

 

WILDLIFE

 

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust - loads to explore and see -  website  and  blog

 

Why are bees important? - lots of great information - from the Soil Association

 

Bumblebee Conservation Trust - website

 

Bee, Beetle or Bug?  An Introduction to Insect Morphology! - get more familiar with the different insect groups with these informative and accessible infographics highlighting each insect group’s key features - from the Field Studies Council

 

Butterfly Conservation (and moths!) - website is packed full of information, guides and ideas, including Make a Space for Nature,  The State of the UK's Butterflies 2022,  How You Can Help, Learn to Identify a Butterfly, Moths, and Why Moths Matter.

 

Buglife - Help Buglife save the small things that run the planet! - website

 

Hedgehog Street Campaign - making make sure the hedgehog, the UK’s only spiny mammal, remains a common and familiar part of British life :-)  Great website includes the big heldgehog map where you can see how many hedgehogs have been sighted in your area.

 

British Hedgehog Preservation Society - website

 

Swift Conservation - organisation's website provides guides, advice, news, resources and ideas - "find out here all about these amazing birds, why they matter, and how you can help them".

 

RSPB - The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - fantastic website packed with resources, guides, activities and much more.

 

British Trust for Ornithology - website

 

The State of UK's Butterflies 2022 Report

Get Your Community Spaces Buzzing - Handy 4 page guide (pdf) from the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust, including 'top pick plants' for bees.