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We know that teachers are busy, so we have created a guide to our free resources based on the National Curriculum for Key Stages 1,2, 3 and 4. ​ For each Key Stage subject area we have highlighted which of our resources support the National Curriculum learning objectives, by subject. Try it out for yourself here.

Henrietta Appleton, GWCT Policy Officer, brings us new evidence on heather burning. Policy decisions made on the basis of simple answers from evidence “at a point in time” or over short (3-5 year) time scales are therefore more than likely going to be ineffective or wrong (or both). Consequently, it is not a surprise that on-going research led by Associate Professor Andreas Heinemeyer at York University into upland management systems is beginning to show that the results of earlier research based on pre- and immediately post-burning evidence are too simplified; and even wrong when it comes to judging the carbon consequences of managed burning. Read more here

By Henrietta Appleton, GWCT Policy Officer In August this year GWCT chief executive Teresa Dent wrote a letter to Greenpeace’s Interim Executive Director in response to its petition calling for a complete ban on controlled burning in the uplands. GWCT received a reply outlining Greenpeace’s position, which despite our presentation of evidence to the contrary, reiterates the viewpoint that the “weight of scientific evidence shows heather burning, in particular, is damaging to English peatlands,” and, significantly, omits to mention the important role controlled burns can play in wildfire mitigation. This is in spite of the fact that wildfires are no longer exceptional occurrences, breaking out with increased regularity and intensity. Follow the details of the response here

The age-old question... Q. What's the difference between a stoat and weasel? A. A weasel is weasily wecognised and a stoat is stoatally different. The smallest carnivore on earth, the weasel (Mustela nivalis), pound for pound has a higher bite force than a lion, tiger or polar bear, which for their body size is very impressive and makes it one of the most unparalleled predators on the planet! GWCT's Megan Lock tells us more here.

Spotted on the GWCT Blog posts In late May Greenpeace launched a petition calling for a total ban on controlled burning in the UK uplands. In response, GWCT chief executive Teresa Dent CBE wrote the letter below to Greenpeace’s interim UK Executive Director, Pat Venditti Esq. offering to meet to present the scientific evidence. "Dear Pat, We write in response to points made in your recent article on the extent of controlled heather burning during the last burning season in the uplands of England (Unearthed 30th May 2022) and your response to a GWCT member who questioned the validity of your petition to “Comprehensively ban peatland burning in law and properly fund its enforcement.” Read the full response here

Just as it feels like the summer season is winding down for the cooler months and plants are dying back, one species is just waking up and raring to go, as its food plant comes into bloom providing an abundant source of pollen – the ivy bee (Colletes hederae). This month GWCT's Megan lock looks more closely at the Ivy Bee. Click here for the full article

From the C4PMC site comes this robust and forthright article regarding the imbalances in conservation legislation, process and the inability of conservation organisations to act. "When the curlew and lapwing have all gone, it is very clear where the blame will lie, and it won't be with the gamekeepers and moor owners who have to watch the massacre of the chicks, it will be with those who kept silent, and those who were too frightened to simply do the right thing." Read the full article here

Within properly functioning ecosystems, deer play an important role by maintaining open areas, which can enhance the biodiversity and habitat quality of a woodland. However, without numbers being correctly controlled, large deer populations can have a devastating effect on their environment. This month GWCT's Megan lock looks more closely at the Fallow Deer (Dama dama). Click here for the full article

Written by Anna Hare - Education Officer, Countryside Learning I write this on a rare quiet day. The summer term has been wonderfully busy for countryside education, and as one of Countryside Learning’s Education Officers, we have been all over the UK- from Hertfordshire to Staffordshire to Yorkshire and Lancashire, supporting and delivering Countryside Days on estates and farms to over 6000 children. I am always struck by the teamwork and collaborative spirit at these events and the way that different organisations come together for a common goal. This goal can be summarised; ‘to educate, inform and inspire children, parents and teachers, so that they can appreciate the countryside and have a better understanding of the issues surrounding it’. By no coincidence this is the mission of Countryside Learning but also, I believe, what all of us involved in countryside education are aiming to do. The most important verb for me is ‘to inspire’- as without the spark being lit, the information and education is dry. All the wonderful organisations I have worked with this summer have inspired. The National Gamekeepers Educational Trust staff have led buzzing nature walks, and dissected owl pellets, BASC have organised tracking trails, and ‘spot the poo’ games, LEAF have engaged children on farming matters, the NFU have got classes considering the big questions of food miles. Alongside these (and other organisations) inspiring individuals have planned, resourced, and delivered engaging activities such as how to make a cow happy, what footprints match which animals, cooking popcorn on open fires, river haikus, how to stay safe in the countryside and natural sculpture. The starting point for any education must be the inspiration and this comes from the enthusiasm of the people delivering and the enthusiasm of the schools taking part. We rely on teachers who appreciate the importance of learning outside and learning about ‘The Outside’- once we have the teachers on board the rest is easier. This brings me to consider how we engage teachers (and subsequently the pupils) when the teachers are not enthusiastic, when taking a class out to the countryside fills them with horror and when they don’t see the benefits of being in the natural world. I am not sure what the answer to reaching the traditionally unreachable is, but I think that if all of us involved in countryside education keep on doing what we do the word will spread in a softly creeping way. Certainly, each year we do this we have more and more demand, and we never have any problems filling our days. A general wider interest in the nature, and programmes such as The Blue Planet is good to see, but we also need to inspire children to know the nature on their doorstep and to notice the simplest things around them. I love to hear the people delivering activities on the days we are involved in stop and suddenly say to 30 children, ‘did you hear that cuckoo?’ or ‘did you just see that butterfly?’. It is by showing our enjoyment in the simplest things that we may be able to inspire others. When it’s raining (again) and the gazebo (if you are lucky enough to have one) blows away (again)- we need to remind ourselves that the simplest things can trigger a lifelong love or interest in our natural world. You could be the teacher who inspires that next David Attenborough. It’s a hugely rewarding job and hugely important. As one teacher remarked to me earlier this year as her class of year 1’s (age 6) described the environment they were in using all their senses ‘all lessons should be like this’ - I couldn’t agree more. Anna Hare

Ruby Woollard, GWCT Farmland Ecology Placement Student explains more about how the Owl Box Initiative helps us to understand more about local barn owl populations and their use of habitat... ...and yes it does involve dissecting owl poo! But, as Ruby explains, we can learn so much from this process. Read more here

The GWCT has found it necessary to respond to premature conclusions drawn by a Scottish newspaper and a Scottish government minister regarding the population recovery status of the endangered mountain hare. The response opens... "Sir, As part of the project group established to increase recording of mountain hare presence right across Scotland, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust is dismayed that following the first year of this expanded survey capacity, the National newspaper has hailed this as marking an increase in mountain hare numbers following protection (“Mountain hare numbers increase after gaining protection”, 27 May). This is highly misleading, and your headline and the Minister in her quotes have expressed conclusions which will take regular monitoring and science much longer than one year to establish." Read the full response here

Richard Bailey’s job title, Conservation Manager, describes his work on the moors of the Goyt Valley, delivering a host of public goods including habitat for some of the UK’s rarest wildlife. A good example is the curlew, which has declined by 64% across the UK since 1970 and is globally threatened. Like other grouse keepers in the Peak District, Richard employs measures to provide suitable nesting space for the much-loved wader and a host of other nationally declining species by restoring moorland vegetation through conservation grazing, controlling invasive bracken, and cutting and burning heather. He said: “Curlew and golden plover prefer shorter vegetation. I’ve got footage of us cutting in March and them nesting on that ground six weeks later. I’m also delighted that counts show most grouse moors in the Peak District did really well with their waders last year in spite of continuing national declines.” Read more about his success as a Conservation Manager here