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The first round of the new Landscape Recovery scheme has opened for applications. The Landscape Recovery scheme will support 'more radical and ambitious' land-use change and habitat restoration, such as establishing new nature reserves, restoring floodplains to help reduce the risks from flooding, or creating woodland and wetlands. Environment Secretary, George Eustice, commented on the announcement: "The focus of our Landscape Recovery scheme...

To achieve a net zero future, planners and operators should consider leveraging the opportunities that lie at the intersection of energy networks, Carlo Brancucci, Co-Founder and CEO of encoord, tells ICON in his thought piece. More than ever, we are looking for ways to decarbonize energy systems. Traditionally, energy networks, such as electricity and gas, were designed to operate independently...

A Bill to make British Sign Language (BSL) a recognised language in the UK has passed ‘second reading’ and is on its way to becoming law. The British Sign Language Bill, a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Rosie Cooper MP, aims to recognise BSL in legal statute as a language in its own right and places a duty on the Government...

Water regulator Ofwat and innovation foundation Nesta Challenges have announced the expert judging panels for the two streams of the £39 million Water Breakthrough Challenge, which aims to bring forward industry-leading innovation that deliver benefits for water customers, society, and the environment. Split into two streams, the Catalyst Stream will award approximately £5 million to entries seeking funding of between...

Food service giant Compass Group UK & Ireland is banning air freight of fresh fruit and vegetable produce to further increase the use of local and seasonal products, and is encouraging its chefs to rework their menus to accommodate these changes. Along this decision, the foodservice company, which prepares, cooks and serves more than three million meals every day, has...

Without policy clarity, urgent investment in research, skills training and the introduction of a new advisory service for farmers and land managers, the Government’s ambitious plans for nature-based solutions are at 'severe risk of failure', Science and Technology Committee states in a new report. According to the committee, while nature-based solutions are not a ‘get out of jail free-card’, they...

A new drive to encourage farmers and landowners across England to plant and manage more trees has been launched this week by the Forestry Commission and Defra. The campaign draws attention to the grant schemes and free specialist advice available and highlights the range of public and environmental gains for biodiversity and people that growing trees on farmland can provide,...

New Higher Education Student Statistics show a new overall record number of students enrolling in Scottish institutions - an increase of 8.6% compared to last year. This includes a new record high of Scottish domiciled students enrolling at university. A large increase in the number of non-EU domiciled students – up 17% on last year. Commenting on the figures on the...

Common air pollutants from both urban and rural environments may be reducing the pollinating abilities of insects by preventing them from sniffing out the crops and wildflowers that depend on them, new research has shown. Scientists from the University of Reading, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, and the University of Birmingham found that there were up to 70%...

£1.17bn worth of fruit, veg and bread is wasted every year by Brits, according to new research from Sainsbury’s. The news comes as the retailer investigates changing attitudes towards New Year’s resolutions, revealing that that the average British household throws away nearly three items a week, or 75.6m as a nation. Eating healthily is reported to top the resolution list this year,...