As the days grow shorter and the temperature dips, gardeners across the UK are turning their attention to protecting their plants and preparing their gardens for the cold months ahead. Winter might seem like a time for gardens to rest, but the work you do now can make all the difference to how well your plants bounce back in spring.

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.

As National Tree Week approaches (November 22nd – 30th), gardeners across the UK are being encouraged to plant trees that will transform their gardens and make a positive contribution to the environment.

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.

An ambitious project to help conservationists reduce damaging human-elephant interactions has taken a major step forward. With more than 500 people and 60-100 elephants die each year due to human-wildlife conflict in India, conservation researchers are creating a map predicting where future conflicts may occur based on historical incidents.

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.

The Wildlife Trusts has published its new assessment of the effects of climate change on nature across the UK. The report, Resilient Nature, shows how much-loved species and habitats are faring across The Wildlife Trusts’ 2,600 nature reserves in response to the changing climate and extreme weather over the past year.

Conservationists are celebrating the birth of a rare coppery titi monkey at Chester Zoo - the first of its kind to be born at the conservation charity in 94 years. Zookeepers spotted the baby clinging to the back of its parents during their early morning checks.

Eight chicks belonging to a dove species that has been extinct in the wild for decades have successfully hatched at Chester Zoo – boosting survival hopes for the incredibly rare birds. Today, all remaining Socorro doves are cared for in zoo conservation-breeding programmes across Europe and North America, which are working to pull the species back from the brink.

When you think of autumn gardens, do you imagine dull leaves and fading flowers? You couldn’t be more wrong. British Garden Centres has put together a guide to instant impact plants that can make a garden burst into vibrant life, delivering both colour and joy.

A rare snow leopard cub, the first to be born at Chester Zoo in its 94-year history, has taken her first steps outside, as keepers reveal her name following thousands of public suggestions. Born to first-time parents Nubra and Yashin, the 10-week-old cub has spent her early weeks snuggled away in a secluded den with mum.

Two super rare (and super orange!) primates have made their debuts at Chester Zoo. The pair of tiny golden lion tamarins, named George (7) and Leaf (12), are the first of their kind to ever live at the zoo. Standing at just eight inches tall, the duo has been caught on camera as they explored their new home for the first time, where they live alongside other species of rare primates.

A rare snow leopard cub, which has quickly become a viral sensation after videos of its playful antics in its den were shared online, has had its first health check with Chester Zoo’s vets. The cub was examined, sexed, weighed and vaccinated by the zoo’s specialist vets and carnivore keepers - and it has been revealed as a female.

Butterfly experts have been sharing their excitement after a species from southern Europe was confirmed to have been seen in the UK for the first time. Two sightings of the Southern Small White have now been verified - one in Suffolk and one in County Durham. It comes after the UK recorded its warmest and sunniest-ever spring, which has prompted a flurry of unusual butterfly and moth activity.

Otters, trout and heron have returned to a stream in County Durham as Northumbrian Water works to improve the health of waterways across the region. As part of a new project, the company are installing data-gathering monitors in rivers, streams and becks across the North-East to monitor river quality and allow teams to respond more quickly to problems.

A duo of corpse flower blooms have captured global attention. Now conservation scientists are calling for the horticultural community to learn from this to save other threatened plants. Scientists at Chester Zoo say the attention and care given to the odorous titan arum plants currently blooming at the U.S.

The cub is the first of its kind to be born at the zoo in its 94-year history. After arriving to first-time parents Nubra (3) and Yashin (3) on Tuesday 10 June 2025, mum and cub have since spent time quietly tucked away in a cosy den - with all of their adorable early moments caught on the zoo’s ‘den cams’.

Butterfly Conservation has launched a nationwide rescue mission for the UK’s butterflies and needs the people of Lancashire to get involved! Last summer, Lancashire’s butterflies sent an urgent SOS through Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count, with citizen scientists in Lancashire spotting only 19,379 butterflies and day-flying moths during the three-week period.

The birth of an okapi has been caught on CCTV cameras at Chester Zoo. The precious calf was born in the early hours on 6 May to mum Ada, and dad Stomp, following a 14-month pregnancy.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust are absolutely delighted to announce their first-ever bittern breeding success at North Cave Wetlands nature reserve near Hull, where a juvenile bittern was spotted earlier this week. Bitterns were once declared extinct in the UK, but due to conservation efforts in recent years are starting to make a comeback.

Out of this world! Ten rare Humboldt penguin chicks hatch at Chester Zoo and are named after constellations and celestial wonders. The rare new arrivals are highly threatened Humboldt penguins – one of the most at risk out of the world’s 17 species of penguin.