29 Aug 2017

Local communities urged to get ‘smart’ on tackling litter with launch of the new Government Litter Innovation Fund. Almost £500,000 will be awarded to community projects to tackle the blight of littering, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey announced today. The money will support the development of new innovation and approaches for tackling litter, from behavioural research for […]

22 Aug 2017

Two articles illustrating the challenges of Brexit to environmental regulations Defra recruiting 1,400 policy wonks to pick up the pieces after Brexit The Register ‘Exclusive Defra – the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs – is hiring 1,400 “business policy” folk so it can untangle itself from Europe after Brexit, according to multiple […]

09 Aug 2017

For those people working with farmers this could provide a valuable source of funding for all sorts of projects in relation to farm scale improvements that support catchment work. Defra highlight on-farm reservoirs and using water more efficiently. Defra: ‘Funding for rural businesses that will generate thousands of jobs and provide new support to expand […]

26 Jul 2017

Applications are being welcomed to fund peatland restoration across England A £10 million grant scheme to restore England’s iconic peatlands has officially opened for bids, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey announced today. In England, peatlands cover 11 per cent of the country and provide a key habitat for birds such as the merlin, dunlin and golden plover. […]

22 Jul 2017

Secretary of State Michael Gove sets out his vision on the future of our natural environment Safeguarding our future  RE: This is a remarkable speech by Michael Gove and he has gone out of his way to distance himself from some of his baggage which was remembered in detail when he was appointed. There was never […]

22 Jul 2017

  Check this carefully because there are at least four links to new Government information on plastics and microbeads. Also this is just one element of the Green Brexit speech give at WWF HQ. Defra ‘Environment Secretary Michael Gove pledged action to reduce plastic waste choking our oceans as he set out his ambition for […]

22 Jul 2017

At one level this will probably be the driest report of the year but it is loaded with information on all sorts of Defra related activities. Not least of these is how the Department is structuring to deal with Brexit and generally approaching this. The tweet I picked it up on was highlighting the Department’s […]

01 Jul 2017

This is the same piece as above but it focuses on the marine litter and plastics elements. In particular the commitments UK Government has made to work with international bodies on this. I have added links to these programmes which are not the original. UK takes centre stage in global marine protection – the litter […]