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Wildflowers for bees: how to attract bees to your garden

Wild bees and other pollinators are in decline. But there are things you can do in your garden to help reverse this trend including increasing food and habitat. Includes our top nine bee-friendly wildflowers to plant in your garden.

Helen Keating  •  18 Mar 2019

Blog

Where do bees go in winter?

Ever wondered where bees go in winter? Find out where different species of bee go when the weather gets cold, and when to spot them emerging.

Charlotte Varela  •  18 Nov 2022

Blog

Why are bees important? And how you can help them

Bees are important for wildlife, for woods and trees, and even for our own lives. Find out why, discover why bees are in trouble and learn how you can help them.

Charlotte Varela  •  26 Apr 2023

Trees woods and wildlife

Bees, wasps and ants

Bees, wasps and ants all form part of the insect order Hymenoptera, a large and diverse group made up of 'membrane-winged' insects.

Blog

Types of bee in the UK: how to tell the difference

From fluffy bumblebees to pint-sized mining bees, we take a look at the key characteristics of some of our most common species.

Charlotte Varela  •  31 Jul 2023

Blog

Wildlife mythbusting: fact or fiction?

Is there any truth to these popular beliefs about UK plants and animals? From stinging bees to talking trees, the answers might surprise you. Test your knowledge with our ten questions.

Charlie Mellor  •  06 Sept 2023

Trees woods and wildlife

Woodland wildlife

The UK's native woods and trees support a great diversity of living organisms. Our species guides explore the wildlife that depends on woodland, from plants and fungi to mammals, birds, bees and beetles.

Trees woods and wildlife

Dark-edged bee-fly

Masquerading as a bumblebee, this agile mimic is a lover of all things nectar. Look out for it buzzing from flower to flower on warm, sunny days.

Trees woods and wildlife

Tree bumblebee

A new arrival and a welcome addition to the UK's bumblebees. This enterprising bee has quickly set up home across Britain and happily takes to nest boxes and other human-made spaces in our gardens.

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Survival of rare shrill carder bumblebee given hope in Kent

The survival of one of the UK’s rarest bumblebees – the shrill carder bee – has been boosted as conservation techniques see Woodland Trust site given special “champion status” for the species.

Trees woods and wildlife

Willow, white

Silvery leaved, waterside and fenland dweller. White willow feeds and shelters native wildlife and has been a source of natural remedies for centuries.

Trees woods and wildlife

Sycamore

Familiar, romantic, sticky. Sycamore might have been introduced by the Romans or in the 1500s. Since then, it’s colonised woodland, becoming a source of food and shelter for wildlife including aphids that leave behind their tacky honeydew.

Case study

Benefits of tree shelter for livestock farming

Livestock farmers explain the benefits of having trees in their sheep and beef farming systems, such as providing shelter, browsing and field boundaries.

PDF  (150 KB)

Protecting trees and woods

Saved: Coed Wern, Glasinfryn

A proposal for several holiday lodges that threatened a significant proportion of Coed Wern-ty-gwyn has been rejected.

Protecting trees and woods

Saved: Smithy Wood

After years of campaigning, the application for a motorway service station within Smithy Wood's ancient setting has finally been withdrawn.

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New population of rare heath fritillary found in Kent

The heath fritillary, one of the UK’s rarest butterflies, has been discovered for the first time at the Woodland Trust’s Victory Wood in Kent.

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Tree planting progress ‘near glacial' as Government releases new figures

Government tree planting figures published today show that targets to create new woodland in England have been missed again.

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Faughan Valley Woodlands officially opens unveiling a haven for nature and people

Small fragmented woodlands along and across the River Faughan have been connected to benefit people, nature and climate in Northern Ireland.

Trees woods and wildlife

Early purple orchid

One of the first orchids to arrive during spring, the early purple orchid is a sight to behold.

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Land Use Framework – can we make it work for nature?

Progress has finally been made on a Land Use Framework for England, with Defra publishing a version for consultation.

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Skipinnish Oak crowned UK Tree of the Year 2024

A centuries-old oak nestled in the heart of Lochaber, Scotland, has been dubbed ‘Tree of the Year’ in the Woodland Trust’s prestigious competition.

Visiting woods

Proposed peatland restoration at Portmoak Moss  

Woodland Trust Scotland has been consulting on plans to remove trees to improve the condition of the raised bog at its Portmoak Moss site in Kinross-shire.

Press centre

Scotland’s wildest wild apples gathered for ‘gene bank’ orchard in the Trossachs

A genetic refuge for Scotland’s wildest crab apple trees has been established at Woodland Trust Scotland’s Glen Finglas Estate in the Trossachs.

Video

Tree Charter in action - Sheffield

Find out how Green City Heritage have been bringing the Tree Charter to life in Sheffield after signing up as a Charter Branch.

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Loch Arkaig osprey chicks bound for Spain as Dad’s catch plummets

Two young ospreys from a nest in Lochaber have been taken into a translocation programme after their father’s plummeting fish catch began to raise concern.

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300,000 households given new access to nature, new study of Northern Forest shows

More than 300,000 households have been given access to nature they previously didn’t have, a new Northern Forest study shows.

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Windrush elders plant commemorative woodland grove

A new woodland grove has been planted in Neath to commemorate 75 years since HMT Empire Windrush docked in England on 22 June 1948.

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More than 10 million trees planted across the Northern Forest

More than 10 million trees have now been established across the North of England as part of the Northern Forest scheme, which launched in 2018.

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DAERA's Forests for our Future programme fails to meet planting targets for Northern Ireland

At the programme’s halfway point, less than a quarter of new woodland have been created – well below the level required to meet the target.

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Glasgow's Argyle Street ash wins UK Tree of the Year 2025

Standing tall on one of Glasgow’s busiest roads, the Argyle Street ash has been named the winner of the Woodland Trust’s annual Tree of the Year competition.