Welcome to our good news blog to keep you in high spirits!
Fossil fuels made up 29% of the UK’s electricity in 2024 – the lowest level on record. A Carbon Brief report showed renewable sources more than doubled from 65TWh in 2014 to 143TWh in 2024 (+122%).
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uks-electricity-was-cleanest-ever-in-2024/
2) Bumblebee populations increase 116 times in Scotland
Surveys of bumblebees in a 90 acre site near Perth, recorded around 50 bees in 2021. By 2023, after the site was rewilded, bumblebee numbers had topped 4000, with the number of different bee species doubling.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/bumblebees-increase-by-more-than-100x-in-remarkable-scotland-rewilding-project-from-35-bees-to-over-4000/
Letchworth was granted ‘Bee Friendly’ status from the Bee Friendly Trust in 2024.
North Herts council planted more bee friendly shrubs on roundabouts, rewilded grass verges, put up more bee hotels, and made and gave away bee seed bombs.
The council allocated £10,000 to develop more bee corridors in North Herts, with Royston next on the list!
https://www.north-herts.gov.uk/news/award-winning-letchworth-bee-corridor-coming-royston
The council allocated £10,000 to develop more bee corridors in North Herts, with Royston next on the list!
https://www.north-herts.gov.uk/news/award-winning-letchworth-bee-corridor-coming-royston
4) Funding in Hackney for bees
£250k worth of funding was allocated to create bee corridors around Hackney in 2024. Funded by the National Lottery Grant, the 3 year project aims to plant a green passageway with the help of local residents, to encourage bees and other wildlife.
https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2024/04/08/environmentalists-buzzing-250k-funding-bee-corridor-hackney/
See a bug-life video below about b-lines & how local corridors can help insects flourish:
5) Community windfarm to fund a million trees in Hebrides
Trees are being planted in the Western Isles of Scotland in old abandoned crofts. The seeds, sourced by Hebridean Tree Ark, are harvested from local trees found clinging to cliffs as well as from uninhabited islands.
Four-fifths of the funding is from the £900,000 annual profits, made by three wind turbines owned by Point and Sandwick trust.
https://www.theenergymix.com/community-wind-farm-empowers-hebrides-reforestation-effort/
6) New rainforest in UK funded by Government Species Fund planted by drones
In a project led by the Woodland Trust, high-tech drones scattered 75,000 seeds across Bodmin in Cornwall.
The Woodland Trust hopes the new seeds will triple the area of temperate rainforest in Devon and Cornwall, to 24% of land area by 2050.
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/press-centre/2025/03/drone-sows-75000-native-tree-seeds-in-cornwall-and-devon/
Learn more about English rainforest conservation below:
https://www.positive.news/environment/restoring-britains-lost-rainforests/
https://www.positive.news/environment/restoring-britains-lost-rainforests/
In 2024, the West of England became the first region to publish a Local Nature Recovery Strategy. They’re aiming to create a new forest area of 2,500 hectares of woodland by 2030 - with a longer term plan to plant 20 million trees by 2050.
https://www.wenp.org.uk/priority-programmes/western-forest
8) Irish company giving a new life to wind turbines
Decommissioned wind turbines can be put to good use. Bladebridge (which is a spin off of Re-Wind) is giving new life to old blades, including parts of a bridge, bike stores & an e-hub.
See more at: https://www.bladebridge.ie/
Another cool idea is a small house built inside one of the blades, developed by a Swedish company in the Netherlands https://www.positive.news/society/the-decommissioned-wind-turbine-that-became-a-tiny-home/
Another cool idea is a small house built inside one of the blades, developed by a Swedish company in the Netherlands https://www.positive.news/society/the-decommissioned-wind-turbine-that-became-a-tiny-home/
9) Prisoners help to recycle old fishing nets
A recycling scheme that collects & sorts fishing equipment has been renewed for another 3 years. Port of Jersey started the scheme in 2023 & 430 lobster pots, 66 tonnes of rope & 9000m of nets, had been collected through the scheme.
The project is run by the Jersey port; alongside the government, Jersey Fishermen's Association and the prison service.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwydjv94q22o
10) Green washing to be banned in the EU
The EU wants to make sure that all information on a product’s impact on the environment, longevity, repairability, composition, production and usage is backed up by verifiable sources.
MEPs approved the agreement in January 2024 - EU countries have 24 months to incorporate the update into their national law.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20240111STO16722/stopping-greenwashing-how-the-eu-regulates-green-claims
Can you spot green wash claims? Try this quiz by Greenpeace:
https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/spot-the-greenwashing-quiz/
Check out our post too on green washing: Green Wash and Wish Cycling
The EU wants to make sure that all information on a product’s impact on the environment, longevity, repairability, composition, production and usage is backed up by verifiable sources.
MEPs approved the agreement in January 2024 - EU countries have 24 months to incorporate the update into their national law.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20240111STO16722/stopping-greenwashing-how-the-eu-regulates-green-claims
Can you spot green wash claims? Try this quiz by Greenpeace:
https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/spot-the-greenwashing-quiz/
Check out our post too on green washing: Green Wash and Wish Cycling
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⚘⚘ Reasons for climate hope in 2025 ⚘⚘
Ignore your lawn in May, to help pollinators thrive!
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https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/ is a great resource too!
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