What would Jesus do if he owned 108,000 acres (over 60,000 football pitches) of land? Would he farm the vast majority for profit, or would he use some of it to restore forests, wetlands and meadows to help save our vanishing wildlife?   This is the dilemma faced by the Church of England whose wealthy and secretive investment arm - the Church Commissioners - own this staggering amount of land. In total the estate is worth over £10bn! Forget the churchyards - they’re just the tip of the iceberg.  How are the Church Commissioners stewarding their land in England? • Only 4% of the Commissioners’ land is covered by trees (compared to the UK’s already poor 13% average). • Over half of the special habitats on their land are in an unsatisfactory state. • The Commissioners’ land includes 5000 acres of degraded peat in the Fens which is emitting tonnes of carbon every year instead of sequestering it. As one of the biggest landowners in England, with a moral duty to care for all of creation, this is a BIG problem! Dear Church Commissioners: the Church of England, which you serve, is playing an important role in protecting all of God’s creation from the climate and biodiversity crises through initiatives such as Eco Church. Yet most of the 108,000 acres of land under your control is still part of the nature loss and climate change problem, when it could be part of the solution. The UN has recommended that we need to rewild 30% of land globally by 2030 to avert the worst environmental collapse. If you met this target,  you would be able to restore nature to land over half the size of Dartmoor! It would send a huge and powerful signal to landowners and governments around the world and could inspire a wave of rewilding action. Committing to rewilding 30% of the land you own would be an act of good stewardship for both people and nature, actively working towards a future more liveable for all. Will you invest in nature and rewild your land?

People from across Dartford are in shock with the senseless killing of a group of geese, who were viciously run down along Anchor Boulevard last Sunday. There is no excuse for such behaviour and it's been hard to come to terms with anyone choosing to harm innocent creatures in this way. Crossways Boulevard and the surrounding roads have long been dangerous for humans and wildlife alike! Whilst we acknowledge steps taken by local representatives, local authorities and the police to implement road safety measures such as Public Safety Protection Orders (PSPOs) and Dartford Council installing an ANPR camera in 2023, a speed camera being installed here would ultimately be the most effective deterrent.  We would also like to see more being done to protect wildlife! Currently there is just one wildlife warning sign by a roundabout. We are pushing for the installation of "wildlife crossing" signs at the locations where geese and other wild fowl most frequently cross over to and from the 3 lakes that are positioned in this busy location.  It's imperative that action is taken and that KCC do all they can to protect wildlife in this area, to create an environment where people and nature can co-exist more harmoniously. Dartford Animal Rescue are in contact with Kent Wildlife Police to try and bring the perpetrator to justice. Unfortunately, nothing can be done to change this appalling act of violence, with an individual choosing to behave in this cruel manner. What we can do now is to gather our strength as a community and to highlight the urgent need for road users in general to be sensitive to wildlife living along here.  Petition by: Green Party Councillor Laura Edie and Ciara O'hare, on behalf of Dartford Animal Rescue Team. 

The road in question is: Easternville Gardens, Gants Hill, Ilford, Essex. It runs parallel with the A12 Eastern Avenue, between Cranley Drive at the east side and Quebec Road towards the west side.  It's only a matter of time that an emergency would occur and if coincidentally, vehicles ARE parked (ie two vehicles on opposite sides of the road at the either end of this road, with all four wheels on the road - in accordance with LBR-Traffic Regulations) then only will it become apparent the problem this Traffic Regulation has caused. NOTE: Emergency vehicles would NOT be able to pass between vehicles parked in the manner 'legally acceptable' to LBR, as photographs taken to simulate this situation, will prove, if necessary. Having contacted the Ilford Police via an online pro-forma, with this concern, they responded by claiming 'this a matter for the Redbridge Council and not the police'.      Many drivers had previously and some currently, parked with two wheels on the footpath at the 'problematic ends' of the Easternville Gardens - especially at the end with Canley Drive - only to be issued with PCNs. Apparently, it would seem this 'absurd and ambiguous regulation' is essentially ONLY for financial gains from imposed fines and no concern for the 'latent' problems that will undoubtedly occur in an emergency situation.   

The Boardwalk allows people to view nature upfront and live, it also adds pleasure to the walks around Ferndown. The Slop Bog is on a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Local Nature Reserve and Special Protection Area. The Boardwalk provides accessibility for users who might otherwise not be able to access the heathland. If the Board walk is removed it will deny us the ability to view Nature in all its glory. It will also put an end to beautiful walks in the Bog area, it is a beautiful tranquil place to walk on summer evenings, as the sun sets! PLEASE,HELP US SAVE THE BOARDWALK ! Sign NOW

We object to the plans to remove the bench and the trees and request that the planning application is brought to the planning committee.

Thousands of luxury houses have been built on green fields and floodplains across Newcastle Great Park over the last 20 years, with local communities forced to battle for vital infrastructure such as shops, doctors and schools. Development has been allowed where development should not have been allowed, for example directly adjacent to Havannah and Three Hills Local Nature Reserve (LNR), where hundreds of mature trees and established hedgerows have been ripped out and wildflower meadows lost from the Ouseburn Catchment wildlife corridor, all because of Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey’s relentless pursuit of profit. Not content with destroying habitat around the nature reserve, Newcastle Great Park Consortium is now looking to take land from INSIDE the nature reserve. Planning application 2022/1131/01/DET would see trees and vegetation removed along the public right of way that runs directly through the LNR, from the Three Hills car park to the Great Park to make way for a new ‘strategic route’, as well as additional tree, hedgerow and scrub removal in the Ouseburn Catchment wildlife corridor. This route would be lit with huge street lights, which would extend through the nature reserve and around the perimeter of the southern boundary of the reserve, lighting it up like a beacon. Artificial light at night is harmful to wildlife and disrupts breeding and feeding patterns in amphibians, birds, mammals, insects and plants. In 2018, Chris Packham visited Havannah as part of his ‘Nature Reserves Are Not Enough’ campaign, highlighting the need to protect land outside of nature reserves for wildlife. What would this vociferous campaigner say if he knew there were now plans to develop INSIDE the nature reserve? We are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis, with two million species at risk of extinction globally and 1 in 6 species at risk of extinction in the UK. Locally we have felt these losses too, as wildlife habitats are being fenced off, eaten away and bulldozed. Havannah has already been well and truly hemmed in. Wildlife cannot exist in isolated pockets and fragmented landscapes. We cannot allow greedy developers to profit at nature's expense. In July 2022, Newcastle City Council pledged to take local measures to prevent the loss of and to enhance biodiversity. These plans, if approved, would undermine Newcastle City Council's commitments to the natural environment and its legal duty to actively conserve and enhance biodiversity. Local wildlife would be dealt yet another devastating blow. We must stand against this latest stab at inflicting widespread loss of biodiversity, at a time when we should be protecting it the most. If enough people sign this petition, we can send a clear message that Newcastle's nature reserves are not for the taking.

It is demoralizing to live in such filth.

Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental issues we face. Yet in hundreds of thousands of cafés, bars and restaurants across the country, we’re still being served food and drink in single-use packaging – even when we’re eating in!    It’s wasteful, unnecessary and can easily be avoided by replacing single-use packaging with reusable cups, crockery and cutlery which get washed instead of thrown away after just one use.    With only 12% of Britain's plastic known to be recycled, it’s time to take single-use off the menu – for good.    This isn’t pie in the sky thinking or even a new idea. It’s how we always used to have our food served to us. And it's already law in neighbouring countries like France. If you walk into any food outlet in France, even fast-food restaurants like McDonalds, your food will now be served in ‘reusable packaging’ - usually just a plate and cutlery. Since France introduced this in January 2023, it has been estimated that they are saving 180,000 tonnes of packaging every year! That’s nearly 1,000 blue whales or over 25,000 African elephants in weight!    The last government has already committed to removing all avoidable plastics by 2042. Yet despite this, they failed to even conduct a feasibility study for this ban here. With a new government in place, this is our opportunity to put the pressure on and demand they tackle single-use plastic waste as a priority. The good news is that this ban is one of the easiest and most obvious steps the government can take to tackle the plastic crisis. Will you help put pressure on to make it happen?    Sign to tell our new government to ban single-use packaging in restaurants, cafés, and bars.

The reservoir could only replace a fraction of the water they lose through leaks and, studies show, it would be unlikely to provide water in droughts. Why does Thames Water want to do this? A mega reservoir would be an asset on their balance sheet, rather than the ongoing cost of fixing leaks. By ignoring and not costing major issues such as flooding and safety, Thames Water has grossly under-estimated the cost of the reservoir in their aim to promote it over more sustainable options such as fixing leaks, water transfer and desalination. These solutions would also be more reliable in droughts and much quicker to implement. This would prevent unnecessary continued damage to our chalk streams and hose pipe bans for at least 7 years before the reservoir can possibly be delivered. Those that have looked in detail at the proposals - including local MPs and Councils of all political persuasions - all conclude that it is a deeply flawed project that is being driven by commercial ambition rather than what is best for a safe and secure future water supply. Aug 2025 update: As predicted, the estimated cost has escalated from £2.2billion to  between £5.5 to £7.5 billion. This far exceeds the tipping point at which they previously acknowledged the Severn-Thames Transfer (STT) would offer better value yet there has been no revaluation of what is best value for customers. Spring 2026 update: Thames Water is preparing to apply for planning permission for the White Horse Reservoir, likely in November 2026. It does not yet have this permission.  GARD is continuing to oppose the Reservoir and will present evidence to the Planning Inspectorate to demonstrate why Thames Water’s plan will cause harm to people and the environment. GARD continues to request a new and detailed assessment of the best-value project between the proposed Reservoir and the alternative, the Severn Thames Transfer.    What you can do: 1. Register with the Planning Inspectorate (here) to receive updates on the DCO. If you want to provide comments on the DCO application itself, you will need to register as an Interested Party as well. 2. Write to Angela Eagle, the Secretary of State, with your concerns/ objections: [email protected], House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA 3. Join GARD – details here Group Against Reservoir Development | GARD.  4. Volunteer – we need extra hands to help us with our summer campaign. 5. Donate to GARD to pay a lawyer and a flood expert for the DCO. 6. Share this petition  - we are still collecting signatures, so please spread the word to your family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, and acquaintances.    People matter – together we have a voice.

preserve our heritage and stop the destruction of this beautiful building

Too many council officials are forgetting the actual people they serve and appear to be wilfully serving themselves. For example the legally binding carbon budgets are being ignored by our local authorities: www.gov.uk/guidance/carbon-budgets After the horrific Post Office debacle which has been strung out for years, do we really trust that these officials have our best interests at heart? Or is it all about commercial financial gain at our expense? We need to take action and stop these people from ruining our health which ultimately ruins lives.

We want visitors to feel safe when they are here at the sanctuary. We don't want them to have to worry about a car driving past them at 60mph. We also have a lot of wheelchair users who should also feel safe when crossing the road.