News

New Junior Naturalists Club Launches at Tophill Low Nature Reserve, Saturday, Jan 24 from 10 am to 12 pm!

Tophill Low Nature Reserve is launching a monthly wildlife club designed specifically for young naturalists aged 6-12.

The club offers children hands-on opportunities to explore the reserve, discover its resident wildlife, and learn how the site is actively managed for conservation. Through a mix of outdoor exploration, nature-themed crafts, games, and practical activities, young participants will develop their understanding of local ecology and environmental stewardship in an engaging, accessible format.

Age range: 6-12 years
Frequency: Monthly sessions (10 sessions throughout the year)
Cost: £5 per child, per session

This is an excellent opportunity for children with a budding interest in the natural world to learn through direct experience, guided by knowledgeable reserve staff in a setting that encourages curiosity and outdoor exploration.

Interested? Visit Eventbrite for registration details and upcoming session dates.

Get Involved: Supporting Badger Conservation in East Yorkshire

If you’re passionate about local wildlife and want to contribute to conservation efforts in our region, consider joining the East Yorkshire Badger Protection Group (EYBPG) this January.

Operating since 1987, EYBPG is an entirely volunteer-run organisation covering a vast area of our region—from Filey to Spurn Point, and from Malton (east of York) to Goole, including the Selby District. Their core mission is straightforward but vital: to locate, survey, record, and monitor badger setts across East Yorkshire, protecting both badgers (Meles meles) and their habitats.

Badger sett interference remains a significant threat, whether through deliberate criminal activity or simple lack of awareness among landowners and developers. EYBPG works to prevent both, providing advice and guidance to the public, delivering educational talks, and offering practical assistance including site visits when concerns arise.

The group collaborates closely with North Yorkshire and Humberside wildlife officers, Rural Crime Task Forces, and the RSPCA to uphold legislation protecting badgers under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Membership is open to anyone with an interest in badger protection—no prior experience necessary. The level of involvement is entirely flexible: some members conduct regular sett monitoring, while others simply keep “eyes on setts” during their usual countryside walks. Even if you’re unable to participate actively, membership fees and donations provide crucial funding for camera equipment, rescue operations, and ongoing protection work.

EYBPG also supports The Badger Crowd (www.thebadgercrowd.org), which challenges government badger culling policies through legal action and provides reliable, science-based information on badger ecology and conservation.

Ready to join? Visit the East Yorkshire Badger Protection Group to sign up this January and help protect one of our region’s most iconic mammals.

Last year’s Big Garden Birdwatch saw an impressive turnout, with over 590,000 participants across the UK recording 9.1 million individual birds. While House Sparrows retained their position as the most commonly spotted garden visitor, the long-term picture reveals a troubling trend: populations of these once-ubiquitous birds have declined by 60% since the survey began in 1979.

This decline forms part of a broader pattern. Over the past six decades, the UK has lost 38 million birds from its skies, a stark reminder of the mounting pressures facing our avian communities. Habitat loss, changing agricultural practices, climate shifts, and reduced invertebrate abundance all contribute to these population trajectories.

The value of citizen science initiatives like the Birdwatch extends beyond simply counting what’s present. Absence data—the species we don’t see—provides equally crucial insights into range contractions, local extinctions, and shifting community composition. Each submitted survey, whether recording abundant species or noting conspicuous absences, contributes to our understanding of how garden bird assemblages are responding to environmental change.

As pressures on bird populations intensify, participatory monitoring becomes increasingly vital. The data gathered helps identify which species require targeted conservation intervention and tracks whether management strategies are working at a landscape scale.

Make sure you take your place in the 2026 survey!

Our friends at NEYEDC are excited to announce ‘Networks for Nature: A conference celebrating 25 years of NEYEDC’, which will be held later this year at York Hospitium on Sunday 7th December 2025.

The conference will include a day of talks, workshops and activities celebrating NEYEDC’s 25th anniversary and the past, present and future of nature and its recovery in our region. More information will be available in due course, including booking information and a programme of speakers at the NEYEDC site.

Friends of MWN, HEY Smile Foundation are helping connect healthcare with outdoor and nature-based activities. Being outside – in parks, woods, rivers, or by the sea – boosts health and wellbeing. But not everyone can access these benefits, and they need your help to change that. 

Please consider donating 10 minutes of your time to take their “Opening the Outdoors” survey! Complete it by Sunday 19th October to be in with a chance of winning a £50 Love2Shop voucher!

The dates: Saturday 27 September – Sunday 2 November 2025

We’re excited to share news of York Environment Festival 2025, featuring over 60 free events that we think will be of great interest to MWN members. For full details you can check out their website!

You’ll find engaging talks and film screenings covering various environmental topics, alongside hands-on workshops where you can develop practical skills in gardening and foraging. For those who love exploring, there are guided walks showcasing York’s local environment, plus nature-inspired poetry and music events.

The festival celebrates the outstanding work of environmental groups, campaigners, businesses, universities, schools, and arts organizations throughout the York area.

This year’s theme is ‘hope through action‘, inspired by writer and activist Rebecca Solnit’s words: “hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope.” In these challenging times, the festival explores what it means to cultivate hope through practical action – from repair cafes and community workshops to local meet-ups where like-minded people can connect.

We those who might be interested in making the journey to York to explore the full programme. It’s a fantastic opportunity to see how other communities are tackling environmental challenges and to gain inspiration for our own local efforts.

Please note: This festival is organized by YEFest in York and is not affiliated with MWN, but we’re happy to share this inspiring example of community environmental action.

Yes, it’s that time of year again, it’s the Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count!

It will be interesting to see the results of this, anecdotally from our wanderings around the Parish we think there might be more this year due to the successive summery heatwaves we’ve had (we’ve also seen a lot more ladybird sightings across the UK this year).

However, the 2024 results of the survey mean that a butterfly emergency was declared due to the dwindling number of these beautiful ecosystem indicators.

The count runs from the 18th July to 10th August, and for more information on how to take part, look at the BCBBC pages!

Do you have a pair of binoculars you no longer use or a bird guide collecting dust? Donate them to the BTO Equipment Donation Scheme and help support the next generation of conservationists!

If you’re under 21 or represent a school or university group, you can apply to the BTO receive donated optics or identification guides.

For more information on the scheme check the BTO website.

We wanted to share information about an upcoming webinar being organised by the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) as part of Nature Friendly Farming Week. This inspiring event will feature two remarkable farmers discussing how farming can work harmoniously with nature.

The webinar will showcase two farmers who are champions of nature-friendly agricultural practices:

• Ruth Ashton-Shaw from Low Auldgirth in Scotland – A former design consultant who transitioned to farming with no prior background. She now runs a 30-acre organic smallholding producing quality meat, eggs, and wool from native breeds.
• Debbie Wilkins from Norton Court Farm in Gloucester – A former food scientist at Unilever who returned to manage her family’s 950-acre mixed farm, focusing on soil health and biodiversity.

The event will be hosted by Martin Lines, CEO of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, who manages an arable farm in South Cambridgeshire. This webinar promises to be enlightening for food lovers, nature enthusiasts, and anyone curious about sustainable agriculture.

Register on Eventbrite here!

This event is organized by the Nature Friendly Farming Network. We are sharing this information as we believe it may interest our community, but we are not affiliated with the organisers.