Creating a fox-proof haven for endangered eastern quolls required a high, encircling fence. But what about the other wildlife?
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Eastern long-necked turtles are known for their “ridiculously cute grin”, says Nick Dexter, and a much less charming ability to release a pungent stink to ward of predators.
But what they’re not good at, unsurprisingly, is climbing fences.
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09/07/2024 - 15:00
09/07/2024 - 15:00
The problem: a fence that protects eastern quolls threatens long-necked turtles in Booderee national park at Jervis Bay. The solution? Turtle tunnels. Nine water-filled tunnels were built beneath a 82-hectare fence that surrounds the botanic gardens which keep out feral predators, providing a safe passage for the reptiles to go between watering holes. Over a period of 123 days, conservationists recorded 73 successful instances of the turtles using the tunnels
‘A symbol of our nation’: waratah among 20 more species added to Australia’s threatened wildlife list
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09/07/2024 - 08:05
Jacob Rees-Mogg criticises plans for 2.6m members to decide on increasing share of vegan and vegetarian options
National Trust members are being invited to vote on a plan to make 50% of the food in its cafes vegan and vegetarian as part of the charity’s commitment to reach net zero by 2030.
Cafe menus at the trust’s 280 historic sites are already 40% plant-based. Now, the trust’s 2.6 million members will get to vote on whether the charity should gradually increase this figure to 50% over the next two years.
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09/07/2024 - 08:00
Burning with unquenchable resentment, Restore Trust is making another attempt at taking over the institution
The leaves are starting to change and there’s autumnal coolth in the air. Which means that the opaquely funded private organisation called Restore Trust is once again making its annual attempt to take over one of the country’s most successful and best-loved institutions, the National Trust. Burning with unquenchable resentment about a 2020 report that truthfully stated that Winston Churchill opposed Indian independence; armed with inflated stories about mushroom bans, cancelled Easters and vote-rigging; and furious about a single disco ball in one room of one of the National Trust’s 230 historic houses, Restore Trust has once again put up a slate of candidates for the National Trust’s council, with a view to turning their grievances into policy. If you’re a member of the National Trust, and you’d rather not see it turned into a platform for an angry minority, vote now for its recommended candidates.
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09/07/2024 - 00:00
Big River Watch scheme asks general public to help monitor state of rivers after years of deregulation
Rivers will be checked for sewage and other pollution by the general public this month in an attempt to assess the health of British waterways.
Cuts to the UK regulators and a change in the law to allow water company self-monitoring of pollution in England mean there is little independent monitoring of the state of rivers in the UK.
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09/06/2024 - 23:26
Driver, a 32-year-old man, escaped blaze in the early hours of Saturday unharmed
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Two hundred sheep have been killed in a truck fire near a remote town in western New South Wales.
A truck fire broke out on the Mitchell Highway at Girilambone, north of Nyngan and 610km north-west of Sydney, about 12.50am on Saturday.
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09/06/2024 - 13:16
Conservation efforts directed towards just 0.7% of the world's land mass could help protect one third of the world's threatened and unique tetrapod (four-limbed vertebrate) species.
09/06/2024 - 13:16
Conservation needs to scale successfully to protect nature. A new paper takes lessons from around the world to show how that might be done.
09/06/2024 - 11:45
Hottest summer on record continues, with millions from Phoenix to Los Angeles to Seattle under heat alerts
An intense heatwave across the US west has brought unusually warm temperatures to the region – some of the highest of the season – and broken heat records.
Millions of Americans from Phoenix to Los Angeles to Seattle are under heat alerts. Even before this latest bout of extreme weather, which began on Wednesday and is expected to last through the weekend, summer 2024 was already considered the hottest summer on record.
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09/06/2024 - 10:14
Soggy summers and warmer winters are hitting sales as climate crisis blurs seasons
When the season switched from summer to autumn, like clockwork clothing stores would swap out the racks of floaty frocks and fill them with heavy coats and jumpers.
Now, as the nights draw in, retailers are having to rejig seasonal ranges as the UK’s unpredictable weather calls for summer jackets and lighter knits.
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