Environmental charity to prioritise water capture and storage as it urges gardeners to prepare for ‘new normal’
The Royal Horticultural Society has unveiled emergency plans to protect its gardens from major water shortages in the future.
The environmental charity, which owns and operates five renowned public gardens in England, said on Saturday it will invest in more water-capture and water-management projects in 2026 after severe droughts last year.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
01/24/2026 - 01:00
An extraordinary mosaic of wildlife has made Britain’s urban jungle its home
London is the only place in the UK where you can find scorpions, snakes, turtles, seals, peacocks, falcons all in one city – and not London zoo. Step outside and you will encounter a patchwork of writhing, buzzing, bubbling urban microclimates.
Sam Davenport, the director of nature recovery at the London Wildlife Trust, emphasises the sheer variation in habitats that you find in UK cities, which creates an amazing “mosaic” of wildlife.
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01/24/2026 - 00:00
Wolves killed more than 2,100 reindeer in Finland last year, and herders are blaming the Ukraine war
Juha Kujala no longer knows how many reindeer will return to his farm from the forest each December. The 54-year-old herder releases his animals into the wilderness on the 830-mile Finnish-Russian border each spring to grow fat on lichens, grass and mushrooms, just as his ancestors have done for generations.
But since 2022, grisly discoveries of reindeer skeletons on the forest floor have disrupted this ancient way of life. The culprits, according to Kujala: wolves from Russia.
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01/23/2026 - 16:29
Jarno Coone, the winner of the international 'world's ugliest lawn' competition, says he doesn't let his garden grow wild to annoy his neighbours in the regional Victorian town of Kyneton. He says he is 'proud to get the message out there for water conservation and living more harmoniously with nature'. 'I really do believe it is better for the environment,' he says
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01/23/2026 - 12:17
US president asks ‘whatever happened to global warming?’ Well, it could be making our winter storms worse
Donald Trump has erroneously cited an enormous winter storm that is set to deliver freezing temperatures and heavy snow to half of the US as supposed proof that the world is not heating up due to the burning of fossil fuels.
Trump, who has repeatedly questioned and mocked established climate science in the past, posted of the storm on Truth Social: “Rarely seen anything like it before. Could the Environmental Insurrectionists please explain – WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???”
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01/23/2026 - 09:00
Region has higher share of net zero economic output, data shows, and Labour leaders fear Reform would dismantle industry if it wins power
Rachel Reeves has been urged to put the north of England at the heart of the UK’s net zero strategy as research shows the sector contributes a larger share of the region’s economy than it does nationally.
The Labour peer Julie Elliott said the north must be “front and centre” of the Treasury’s growth strategy for clean energy.
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01/23/2026 - 08:00
Architect of government’s water plan says nationalisation might not fix everything and the current system can work
The privatisation of water in England is not the reason for its failings, the architect of the government’s water plan has said, as he warned there was no one “simple solution” such as nationalisation.
Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former Bank of England deputy governor who was involved in reforming banking regulation after the 2008 financial crisis, was enlisted by the Labour government to write a report on the water industry. He was tasked with addressing problems such as the sewage scandal, frequent tap water outages and lack of preparedness for drought.
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01/23/2026 - 05:45
Canadian backpacker, 19, was found dead on K’gari island earlier this week surrounded by pack of wild dingoes
The autopsy of Piper James, whose body was found on K’gari surrounded by a pack of dingoes, has found “physical evidence consistent with drowning and injuries consistent with dingo bites”.
The Canadian backpacker’s trip to Australia ended in tragedy when the 19-year-old was found dead on a beach on Monday on the world heritage-listed island formerly known as Fraser Island off the Queensland coast.
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01/23/2026 - 03:00
This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
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01/23/2026 - 01:00
Experts say climate crisis, corruption and lack or misuse of infrastructure among factors driving water conflicts
Water-related violence has almost doubled since 2022 and little is being done to understand and address the trend and prevent new and escalating risks, experts have said.
There were 419 incidents of water-related violence recorded in 2024, up from 235 in 2022, according to the Pacific Institute, a US-based thinktank.
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