
This animal could be the key to drought prevention
The 'Riverlands' project, launched in 2020, involved restoring the River Aller to its natural 'stage zero' state and reintroducing beavers into enclosures.
This approach has created a new natural landscape with channels, pools, and marshes that slow water flow, hold water to combat drought and flooding, and reduce pollution.
The project demonstrates how natural solutions, including beaver reintroduction, can build landscape resilience against extreme weather and provide benefits like healthier grazing.
The National Trust is now seeking permission for licensed wild beaver releases on the estate, aiming for the animals to integrate with and manage the restored river landscape.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Nine out of 10 homeless women missing from official government figures, charities warn
Nine out of 10 homeless women are missing from official government figures, charities have said. Solace Women's Aid and Single Homeless Project have said their research shows that the current rough sleeping snapshot, carried out by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, is inadequate. The charities blame gender-biased collection methods and say 54% of homeless women are missed out of the official government counts because they spend the night in places not classed as rough sleeping - such A&E departments, bank foyers, or on public transport. According to the charities, women are less likely to visibly "bed down" on the street for the night due to the threat of gender-based violence. Instead, they choose to shelter in places such as buses and trains or 24-hour cafes, meaning they are overwhelmingly missed off traditional homelessness counts. Lucy Campbell, head of multiple disadvantage at Single Homeless Project has called it a "systemic failure", calling for the government to change how it carries its count of homeless women. The new figures have been outlined in a census report for England, which has assessed the gap between government counts and data gathered by 88 Local Authorities. The charities say that the government counted 680 women across 296 local authorities who were rough sleeping in 2024, but that Census Local Insights meetings identified 1,777 women across 37 local authorities that year. Sky News followed outreach workers at Single Homeless Project for the day as they searched for women with nowhere to sleep. Finding evidence of rough sleeping in the corner of a London park, Elise Godsal, specialist women's navigator at Single Homeless Project, said: "This is typically where you would find women, maybe more in the day, maybe in the night as well. It's somewhere quite secluded, still tucked away in the corner. But also, you're still in public. So if something happened and you felt like your safety was at risk, you could still make some noise." Visiting a busy train station, Eabha O'Farrell, also a specialist women's navigator at Single Homeless Project, said train stations are attractive places to rest because food and toilets are easily accessible and the women feel safe being "around a lot of other people". Sky News also spoke to Nadia, who grew up in care and became homeless at 21. She recounted how she went to sleep outside a Santander bank, but woke up being "kicked in the head". She told Sky News: "I've got kicked, I've got pissed on. I'd sleep in car parks, in blocks of flats, in bin sheds. Yeah, I can make home a cardboard box if I need to". A third of women (37%) reported they had been in some form of homelessness accommodation before sleeping rough, according to the 2024 Women's Rough Sleeping Census report. It concludes that current services are not meeting women's needs and aren't enough to prevent them from sleeping rough. A woman who completed the survey said: "I feel vulnerable. You have to rely on people who you can't trust and don't feel safe with. I don't have the money to go into restaurants for shelter and have to put myself at risk and do things I don't want to so I can get shelter for the night." Another said: "To keep safe for a woman is more difficult. I have been raped by people while sleeping rough in a bank doorway. I now ensure I am with a male rough sleeper at all times. I believe this is the safest option, but it doesn't mean I am safe." A Ministry of Housing spokesperson said: "We inherited devastating levels of homelessness and rough sleeping and know women can be particularly affected, including those hiding from harm.


Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Parents told to pick up book in ‘kickstart to children's reading revolution'
Parents should put down their phones and pick up a book to tackle a big fall in children's reading rates, the education secretary has said as she launches a national campaign. The National Year of Reading will be announced today by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) and the Department for Education (DfE) and will bring together schools, libraries, charities and businesses to kickstart 'a reading revolution'. Starting in January, its aim will be to increase reading particularly among children under five, teenage boys and also parents, who will be encouraged to act as role models by reading more often for pleasure. Only a third of children aged eight to 18 years old now read in their free time, according to the NLT, as books struggle to compete with smartphones and streaming. The collapse in reading is particularly stark among eight to 18-year-old boys, halving in a decade from 52 per cent to 26 per cent.


Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Violence plummets in men's prison - after inmates were taught about ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism
Violence at a jail has plummeted after inmates were given lessons in the ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism. Inmates at HMP Wayland, Norfolk, were taught how to live virtuous, peaceful lives based on resilience, rational thinking and self-discipline. Since the classes were rolled out, physical attacks on staff and other prisoners have reduced drastically – turning Wayland into one of the least-violent prisons in the country. Inspectors from the Independent Monitoring Board praised the 'innovative' effort to help prisoners find their 'inner resilience'. 'Staff [led] a course heavily influenced by the Greek philosophy of Stoicism,' their report said. 'Voluntary courses are well-attended and well-received and, due to demand, are almost continuously scheduled now. 'This sort of effort distances [the prison] from punitive and simply educative approaches and, instead, seeks to increase a prisoner's inner resilience. 'The governor's approach has significantly reduced the level of violence against other prisoners and against staff to one of the lowest amongst comparable prisons in the country.' Stoicism, founded by Zeno of Citium more than 2,300 years ago, centres on four cardinal virtues – prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice – that help followers lead a 'well-lived life'. Stoics believe we should only concern ourselves with things within our control and accept what we cannot control, like other people's behaviour or external events. They argue that emotions like anger or envy are not triggered by actual events but by our interpretations of them, so if we can change our thinking, we can master our emotions. Modern Stoicism often means using daily reflection, journaling, or mindfulness to keep perspective, remain calm under pressure, and make ethical choices. Famous Stoic thinkers have included Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, Roman statesman Seneca the Younger and Greek philosopher Epictetus. One prison worker said the courses at HMP Wayland, a category-C jail with 900 inmates, said the courses were a 'great idea'. 'Prisoners are known to enjoy a bit of philosophy,' he said. 'The philosophy section of the library is among the most popular. 'These courses appear to have helped replace violence with peace and harmony.' A Prison Service spokesperson said: 'Education helps reduce prison violence and encourages offenders to turn their backs on a life of crime.' Prisoners can choose from dozens of educational courses to help them leave their lives of crime behind. The Prisoners' Education Trust currently offers qualifications in 130 subjects including yachting, yoga, beekeeping and feline studies.