Autumn News 2026

Your Good News Stories for Autumn 2026

Some news stories to help you & the planet feel better!

1) Plastic from seaweed resin

Companies are looking at ways to use seaweed as an alternative to plastic & to slow down deforestation. A Welsh start up company ‘Plant Sea’ uses seaweed infused paper to reduce the amount of virgin wood pulp. 

The sea weed is also incorporated into plastic free film; this breaks down without micro plastics which could be useful for dishwasher or laundry capsules. 

https://plantsea.co.uk/

Seaweed acts as an excellent carbon capture which could be farmed to help with alternative packaging as well as capture the carbon at the same time!

Video below describes the durability of seaweed following a company in America

For some other companies utilising sea weed head on over to https://www.plasticsengineering.org/2024/04/seaweed-an-eco-alternative-to-single-use-plastics-packaging-004526/#

2) Reducing ships carbon emissions with lime pebbles

A London based company ‘Seabound’ has developed an interesting carbon capture system. They convert exhaust fumes from ships into limestone by flowing these fumes through quicklime pebbles. The limestone with CO2 captured can then be stored or sold on as required!

More info can be found at:

https://www.positive.news/science/technology/shipping-has-a-big-carbon-footprint-can-this-lo-fi-solution-shrink-it/

3) Stop floating plastic in the sea by 2040

The team at ‘Ocean Clean Up’ plan to clean up 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040 using barriers that scoop up plastics as it goes. The Great Garbage Patch (reported in a previous post) is being cleaned up (which along with smaller clean ups in rivers will help prevent plastics making it out to sea).

By 2026, 50 million kg of trash has been collected so far according to their timeline. They have been able to repurpose some of that plastic - one of the interesting projects was to use plastic salvaged from a river near Guatemala city, which was used to produce a Coldplay LP!

https://www.positive.news/environment/young-inventor-plans-to-stop-90-of-floating-sea-plastic-by-2040/

Some links to eco friendly vinyl:

https://pressonvinyl.com/ / https://www.normanrecords.com/eco-vinyl / https://atlasrecords.co.uk/blogs/all-about-vinyl/what-is-eco-vinyl

4) Gilbert the plastic eating robo fish!

The University of Surrey have created a plastic eating robot fish called ‘Gillbert’. Designed to swim through water eating up microplastics.

About the size of a salmon this 3D printed fish even has a tail to help steer it. Artificial gills help to guide water through mesh filters which trap the particles. The robo fish have been tested in lakes with the aim to make larger versions in the future.

https://ecoservantsproject.org/this-robo-fish-eats-microplastics-and-may-help-save-our-oceans/

Also check out this eco bot helping to cut back water pollution in the video below:

5) Seabed life triples after bottom trawling ban in Scotland

Scientists in a marine reserve, South of Arran, found life on the seabed increased significantly after a trawling ban was placed 10 years ago. 

In a sample they recorded more than 1,500 organisms in around 100 litres of sediment. This equates to three times more seabed organisms and twice as many species compared to nearby waters.

https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/seabed-life-triples-after-bottom-trawling-ban-in-scotland-protected-area/

6) Ocean plastic clean-up for Commonwealth games Glasgow

There was a target of one million plastics to be cleared up from waterways in Commonwealth areas before the Commonwealth Games July 2026. This was reported by Positive News in June 2026, when 625k pieces of plastic had been collected.

On checking the Commonwealth Games website they have now made their target of a million. A job well done!

https://www.positive.news/environment/the-commonwealth-games-relay-taking-aim-at-ocean-plastic/ / https://www.commonwealthsport.com/kings-baton-relay/plastic-clean-ups

7) Deforestation rate is reducing – at last!

A new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) showed that deforestation has slowed in every region of the world over the past decade with more than half of forests now covered by long-term management plans. More work is needed to decrease it further.

https://www.positive.news/society/good-news-stories-from-week-44-of-2025/

8) Restoring England's wildlife (selection of funds)

💚 A new campaign has been kick started by DEFRA called 'Wild Again: Restoring England’s Wildlife'. As part of this campaign, Natural England have pledged £90m in Apr 2026. 

£60m over 3 year period will fund a 'Species Recovery Programme' with a further £30m going to the National Forest. This will help reintroduce threatened species, protect against habitat loss plus support & restore our native woodlands.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/largest-ever-government-investment-in-threatened-species-recovery

🌳 A Community Fund has been pledged to help plant 500,000 trees by March 2030, with an additional monetary boost to local Mayors to help support nature & climate protection within their local community.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/local-communities-to-receive-79-million-to-restore-nature

🦅 Meanwhile, the government also pledged £1m for the reintroduction of Golden Eagles in England with juveniles set to be released in the North of England next year. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/iconic-golden-eagles-to-make-comeback-in-england 

9) Green bridge over A3 for wildlife

A new heathland bridge designed for safe animal crossing has been built over the A3 in Surrey which will connect two rare heathland areas. Funded by the National Highways, the 98ft wide bridge will also include a path for walkers, cyclists & horse riders to enjoy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx24zw8ye57o

10) Building society launches savings account to aid Marine Conservation

In June it was announced a new savers account at Ecology Bank will be launched where 1% will go to marine projects supported by the charity Sea Changers. 

For information on the ‘Sea-Changers Impact Saver’ account go to:

https://www.ecology.co.uk/hub/new-partnership-ecology-savers-support-marine-conservation/ / https://www.sea-changers.org.uk/

If you are looking for other good ethical accounts try the pointers below at:
https://good-with-money.com/2026/06/24/top-9ethical-savings-accounts

⛄ A Christmas gift idea ⛄ 

For children - The Green Planet: For young wildlife-lovers, inspired by David Attenborough's series on BBC Earth (ages 6-9) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Planet-wildlife-lovers-inspired-Attenboroughs/dp/1405946687

For adults – A Wilding Year Gift Book by Hannah Wrendale of Wrendale Designs https://www.wrendaledesigns.co.uk/pre-order-a-wilding-year-gift-book

Check out more on Hannah’s work in re-introducing 

beavers & kingfishers into her wildlife area
https://www.wrendaledesigns.co.uk/wildwrendale

🍁

For other book ideas go to: 

For adults: https://www.lovelierplanet.com/2019/12/plastic-free-books.html 

Children: https://www.lovelierplanet.com/2020/01/eco-friendly-books-for-children.html

Items for sale in our store:

https://www.lovelierplanet.com/p/for-sale.html

Posts from Christmas Past:
https://www.lovelierplanet.com/search?q=christmas

🍁 Have a great Autumn/Winter - see you again soon! 🍁

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Lovelier News Apr

 Lovelier News for Spring 2026

Welcome to our latest round-up of Positive News - Enjoy!

1)  Liquid Air is on the Horizon

A new ‘liquid air’ plant at Manchester is thought to be the first commercial-scale endeavour in the world.  Air will be cleaned & compressed to a very high pressure. When cooled the compressed air turns into a liquid form for storage.

When energy is needed, the liquid air is evaporated & turned into gas, which can be used to drive turbines & generate electricity. 

The turbine is set to begin operating August 2026, which will help to stabilise the electricity grid. What an ingenious idea!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20251009-the-liquid-air-alternative-to-fossil-fuels

2)  UK to Ban Plastic Wipes

Wet wipes are often found littering our beaches & waterways. During a Defra beach monitoring survey they reported an average of 20 wet wipes littering every 100 metres of beach across the UK - yikes. 

Wet wipes can easily block sewers too. New legislation by the UK government will now require companies to phase out plastic wipes by 2027.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plastic-wet-wipes-ban

3)  Beavers Make a Splash Back

Last year, Pensthorpe estate confirmed the first free-living wild beaver recorded in Norfolk for several hundred years. New camera footage confirmed two individual beavers now occupying a substantial lodge within Pensthorpe’s restored wetlands. 

The discovery confirms the presence of a settled wild pair in Norfolk for the first time in 500 years.

https://www.pensthorpe.com/beavers-at-pensthorpe/

More good news - a pair of Beavers (named Beryl & Bertie) were released in a wetland area North of Shrewsbury last year. They have been seen on video with baby beavers making the first recorded evidence of beavers breeding in Shropshire, for 400 years. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4dw7p2dlvo

4)  900% Increase after Rewilding in Sussex

A disused farm at Knepp Estate, Sussex reported a 900% increase in breeding birds after a successful rewilding project including turtle doves & nightingales. Butterflies & damsel flies have increased in large numbers too. A win, win – old land put to good use & an increase in biodiversity.

https://www.positive.news/environment/how-a-dysfunctional-english-farm-became-a-biodiversity-hotspot/

5)  Rewilding Scotland Reaches Milestone

The Northwood Rewilding Project in Scotland was started in 2021 & so far 100 landowners have taken part. 

The results are astonishing with over 300 thousand trees planted, 300 ponds created, kilometres of hedges planted & 35 beavers released, plus loads more besides! https://www.scotlandbigpicture.com/northwoods

6)  British Wildlife to Feature on New Bank Notes

The Bank of England are planning to add British Wildlife to new bank notes being printed soon. A public consultation will go ahead this summer, to ask which animal should be printed on the notes. Do you have your own favourite?

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2026/march/wildlife-feature-on-next-series-of-banknotes

7)  Thin Lizzy Guitarist joins Fox Project

Thin Lizzy’s lead guitarist Scott Gorman has recently joined the Fox Project based in Kent as a patron. He became fascinated and beguiled by the foxes in his garden and wanted to do more to protect the species.

He joins 2 other patrons Chris Packham & Anneka Svenska (a TV host who founded You Tube’s Animal Watch). 

https://foxproject.org.uk/pages/about-us

8)  Horse Power in Scotland

Tarzan the logging horse has been enrolled to clear non native trees from islands on the shore of Loch Arkaig in Scotland. Non native conifers were planted in the 1960’s, drowning out native Caledonian pines. 

A custom made barge has been designed to help carry the timber across to the main land with Tarzan helping to pull trees from inaccessible areas. 

The barge whose Gaelic name is Each-Uisge translates as 'Water Horse' – how fitting!

This lovely project was funded by players of the Postcode Lottery.

https://www.postcodelottery.co.uk/news/charity/straight-from-the-horses-mouth

9)  Crane Chick Numbers Start to Fly

The species of Crane became extinct in the UK 400 years ago, but we’re starting to see a turn around. Last year there were 87 pairs across the UK with 37 chicks, bringing the total population to about 250.

The Fen at Lakenheath, Suffolk have created a haven for crane chicks including a runway for adult birds to take off (they are over a metre tall!) The site has seen 26 chicks being raised since 2007, which is a record number of chicks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgr45pdz35o

10)  Butterfly Friendly Town in Dorset

A town council in Dorset has pledged to become the first official Butterfly Friendly town in the UK. Gillingham have previously received nature-friendly Green Flag Awards for their biodiversity plans.

They hope to create a special 'moon meadow' - an area with dedicated planting for night-flying moths and other nocturnal creatures.

https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/dorset-council-pledges-to-create-butterfly-friendly-town

In other good news, the large tortoiseshell butterfly, previously thought to be extinct, has been spotted in several counties across England & the Isle of Wight. 

https://insideecology.com/2026/03/10/extinct-butterfly-the-large-tortoiseshell-seen-across-england-in-suspected-de-extinction-process/

 

Did You Know that 22^nd April is Earth Day this Year?

🌍 Check out the Earth Day page for more detail - plus pick up some tips on reducing plastics: https://www.earthday.org/factsheet-landing-page/ 

🌍 Ecosia are hoping to plants 250 million trees by Earth Day. Ecosia is a free web browser you can use for every day web searching:  

https://www.ecosia.org/browser/

🌍 Check out the new mobile phone provider Eco Talk who use their profits to help rewilding projects. Chris Packham is one of the members on the team: 
https://www.ecotalk.co.uk/

🌍 Eco Kids Magazine – suitable for children age 7-11, an award winning magazine to inspire children to love and protect our planet:
https://www.ecokidsplanet.co.uk/

🌍 Crave more Happy News? Check out our previous posts at: 

https://www.lovelierplanet.com/p/lovelier-news.html

💚💚💚

To see if there’s an Earth Day event near you, head over to: 
https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2026/