As thousands across the UK complete their Big Garden Birdwatch counts, British Garden Centres is encouraging participants not to let their bird-watching efforts end with the weekend. The annual RSPB event, now in its 47th year, saw families spend an hour recording garden visitors between 23rd and 25th January.

As temperatures drop and natural food sources become scarce, the team at the UK’s largest family-run garden centre group, British Garden Centres, is calling on gardeners to help wildlife through winter, as native species face tough conditions during the coldest season.

Gardeners don’t expect much in winter but there is not much to be dissatisfied over in recent weeks. Recent rainfall has recharged the soil water levels after they hit a low point in the very hot, dry summer last year. There is still some winter left and therefore time to add more water butts to capture and store rainfall.

Actor Sean Bean is the new host of Get Birding, the multi-award-winning podcast for all birders, from first-timers to experienced field observers. A passionate birder himself, Sean will host the new, always-on series of Get Birding, with the first episode earlier this week – just in time for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend.

Chester Zoo has announced a new spring 2026 date for its 10K, 5K and one-mile running event. The return of the national zoo’s much-loved Run For Nature will take place on a new springtime date, Sunday 29 March 2025, with funds supporting the zoo’s wildlife conservation efforts in the UK.

A camera study has captured amazing images of hedgehogs interacting with UK species in urban settings. Food was found to be the biggest driver of hedgehog visits – but wildlife feeding needs more study. Data supports the theory that gardens are increasingly important habitats for hedgehogs More than four hundred households took part in the survey, perhaps the biggest single-species camera study to take place in the UK.

The vast landscapes and environment of North Yorkshire are due to be given help to recover through a new strategy aimed at halting the decline of habitats and promoting nature for generations to come. The Local Nature Recovery Strategy has today (January 20) been agreed by members of North Yorkshire Council’s executive.

Expert surveys have confirmed that grasslands in Nidderdale are of international and national importance for rare grassland fungi, including waxcaps, highlighting the value of long-established grassland management in the area. Grassland fungi specialist Steve Hindle surveyed three sites in Nidderdale, recording 62 species of grassland fungi, including 32 waxcap species.

In 2025, it is suspected that a total of seven RSPB satellite-tagged Hen Harriers were illegally killed on or near grouse moors in northern England, with one Hen Harrier confirmed poisoned and six more disappearing in suspicious circumstances – all sending their final transmission on or near land managed for grouse shooting.

January can feel like the longest month of the year - it’s still dark by 4 o’clock and pay day is an age away. But as it’s also National Walk Your Dog Month, there’s no better excuse to pull on your boots and beat the winter blues with some fresh air, open skies and a scenic walk with your four-legged companion.

The third Monday in January (January 19th), dubbed Blue Monday as the year’s most depressing day, brings dark skies, post-Christmas slumps, and endless cold temperatures. But the team at British Garden Centres has a greener antidote to beat the blues: immerse yourself in gardening.

The world’s largest garden wildlife survey returns this month, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to watch and count the UK’s garden birds over the last weekend in January for the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch. Nearly 600, 000 people took part in 2025, counting more than nine million birds. This year’s event takes place on 23, 24 and 25 January 2026.

A rare Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo joey has emerged from his mother’s pouch at Chester Zoo - marking a major conservation milestone for one of the world’s most threatened marsupials. The newborn joey, a male, arrived to parents Kitawa (mum) and Kayjo (dad) as part of an international conservation breeding programme that’s ensuring the continued survival of the species.

The Ribble Rivers Trust has won a prestigious new national award for wild salmon conservation, supporting a community-led river restoration project that will both protect an endangered British species and help reduce local flood risk.

Chester Zoo has welcomed two senior jaguars - a mother-and-son duo - to a specially designed “retirement” habitat for big cats. Bonita, a 16-year-old female, and her 11-year-old son Remi have arrived at the zoo, where they will be cared for by its specialist carnivore team.

Rangers have completed the repair of one of the most well used public paths in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Stone pitching has been installed at Brackenbottom near Horton in Ribblesdale on the traditional Three Peaks route up Pen-y-ghent, with re-surfacing works also carried out.

A project which aims to reduce pollution and improve the water quality in the River Aire has received vital funding from LNER. The Aire Rivers Trust is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the River Aire and its tributaries.

Yorkshire Water is taking steps to remove its drought permits, following a tenth week of increases to its reservoir levels. As a result of continuous heavy rainfall over the last seven days, reservoir levels are recovering well at 84.6%, up from 80.5% last week, and Hull aquifer levels are 49.4% - up from 46.6%.

The team at a Bradford-based garden centre group has collaborated with its managed print supplier to celebrate National Tree Week with a childcare provider in Wakefield.

Work is now well under way on one of the most ambitious features of Kynren – The Storied Lands, as construction begins on the vast new Lost Feather Arena, a signature experience set to open in summer 2026. Shaped like an enormous bird nest, the 3,600 seat arena is already taking form, with the first structural elements now rising across the landscaped site.

From robot farm hands to laser weeders and artificial lakes, to 3D tour guides, Futurist predicts what the future holds for the UK’s rural communities UK Altnet brand, Fibrus, has released a report which challenges long-held assumptions about rural decline and highlights the extraordinary potential of the UK’s rural communities as engines of growth.

Winter does not have to mean a dull, lifeless garden, as we all need colour and warmth to cheer us up in the shorter, darker days. With the right plants and a little care, you can enjoy a beautiful outdoor space full of colour and interest throughout the winter months.

Conservationists at Chester Zoo have welcomed two very special new arrivals - Northeast African cheetah brothers, Kendi and Tafari. The one-year-old siblings have travelled from Yorkshire Wildlife Park to Chester as part of an important conservation initiative to help safeguard their species from extinction.

Every autumn, spiders become more visible. They are present all year round but we really only begin to ‘see’ them and their webs from late summer into winter. Outside, masses of cobwebs will dazzle us with their dewy or frosty finish early in the morning. Inside the home, we might also be lucky to see male house spiders leaving the safety of their funnel webs as they go exploring for a mate!

A critically endangered Bornean orangutan has been born at Chester Zoo. The tiny infant was delivered safely by experienced mum Leia in the early hours of Tuesday 7 October, following an eight-and-a-half-month pregnancy. Primate experts at the zoo have hailed the birth as “an important step forward” in efforts to safeguard the species and report that both mum and baby are doing well.

A groundbreaking new vaccine - the first of its kind - can now be rolled out globally to help in the battle against a deadly virus that has devastated endangered elephant populations.

After an extremely dry summer, the rain has arrived and with it, signs of Autumn are appearing. While the break from relentless sun is a positive for British gardens, the changing seasons represent some dangers to our outside spaces.

The hot summer weather followed by a warm and wet autumn has created the perfect conditions for fungi this autumn. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s second Fungi Festival includes foraging walks, ID walks, log inoculation workshops, talks, craft sessions, and storytelling. The Trust is also encouraging young people to join a mushroom march with DIY mushroom hats.