Environment news from The Journal

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Defra plans Northumberland trial to cut buzzard numbers May 24 2012

A MAJOR row blew up last night over plans to use a Northumberland estate as a national test area to destroy nests of a bird of prey.Read

North Tyneside mayor unveils plaque to artist John Falconar Slater May 24 2012

A LOVE of the sea drew artist John Falconar Slater and ex-seafarer Steve Barrigan to the same house on the North East coast.Read

Killingworth concrete hippos feature in English Heritage guide May 22 2012

FOUR hippos on a North East housing estate have surfaced after 40 years to be highlighted nationally.Read

Nature’s magic pulled Rose from depths of depression May 19 2012

AFTER undergoing a serious operation, Rose Clay sank into decline. “I had a breakdown, depression, and tablets didn’t help at all,” she says.Read

The Night of Rainforests sleep-over is a success May 19 2012

IT hardly seems the best preparation for a good night’s sleep. But before bedding down last night 140 adults and children went on a rainforest trail and had the chance to handle cockroaches, tarantula spiders and snakes.Read

Benefit switch ‘poses threat to village life’ May 17 2012

BENEFIT changes could force younger people out of villages and threaten the viability of their communities, a North East planning expert has warned.Read

Concerns see North East World Heritage bid stopped May 16 2012

THE bid for a third World Heritage site for the North East has been dramatically withdrawn, it emerged last night.Read

Eight North East beaches awarded Blue Flags May 15 2012

EIGHT beaches in the North East have been awarded Blue Flags for their water quality and top notch facilities.Read

North Tyne Valley artist shows 'plant' at Chelsea Flower Show May 12 2012

CHELSEA Flower Show doesn’t know it yet, but it will be receiving a late and rather esoteric entry from Northumberland.Read

Seaton Delaval Hall volunteers help group create wigs May 12 2012

THERE were plenty of big wigs around yesterday as volunteers worked on a project to entertain visitors to a Northumberland stately home.Read

Freddy Shepherd steps in to save Military Vehicles Museum May 11 2012

A LISTED landmark building visited by millions over the years has been saved by businessman and former Newcastle United chairman Freddy Shepherd.Read

Forest project probes why hunters prey on each other May 05 2012

THE hunter hunted. That’s what researcher Sarah Hoy is investigating in a Northumberland forest. Sarah, 26, is working with the Forestry Commission to investigate the complex relationship between different birds of prey.Read

Beamish Museum adds 1950s prefab houses to site May 04 2012

THE 1950s is set to join the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian eras at Beamish Museum after it bought four prefab houses to re-assemble on its site.Read

Cragside servants descendants help with details of the past May 04 2012

THE Upstairs Downstairs world of a Northumberland mansion has been recreated after the descendants of servants came forward with details of their lives.Read

Actor Robert Hardy walks Flodden battlefield May 03 2012

ACTOR and military historian Robert Hardy walked one of Northumberland’s most evocative battlefields yesterday – and then issued a plea for its continued preservation.Read

Exhibition at Segedunum recalls North pit disasters May 03 2012

MINING disasters which left the North East reeling will be recalled at a site just yards from one of the collieries involved.Read

Potential cure for 'concrete cancer' discovered Apr 28 2012

TINY bugs could end up saving huge sums in building costs, claims a North East expert. Northumbria University’s Dr Alan Richardson is working on a project in which bacteria are mixed with concrete and then produce calcite, a natural material.Read

Former Maynards building lands top property award Apr 28 2012

SUCCESS was sweet last night as a project which transformed a former confectionery factory landed a leading property award.Read

Swedish artist blown away by our beaches and castles Apr 28 2012

SWEDISH artist Brita Granstrom’s introduction to the Northumbrian coast is as vivid in her memory now as it was on the day it happened 20 years ago.Read