James Rebanks explores the lives of rural workers in and around three English villages.

After one of the driest summers on record, Dartmoor escaped a major wildfire – a quiet success worth recognising and not taking for granted

This article, written by DNA's Tony Whitehead, first appeared in the Western Morning News on 26 September 2026.This week, Farmers Weekly reported that more than 40 Dartmoor farmers and commoners have ...

There remains a perceived tension between trees and peat. However, native trees are an important part of our peatland natural heritage and must be included in any truly landscape-scale restoration app...

This post is by Guy Shrubsole. Photo: AndyHi8 on Flickr, Creative Commons Licence (CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0) The latest official figures show an ongoing increase in the reported number of pheasants being br…

Millions of sheep limping across our barren hillsides are not an inevitable feature of rural Britain. So why do we tolerate it?

People's Emergency Briefing - Chagford – Jubilee Hall, Chagford, Thu 17 Sep 2026 - 📢 A special community screening in Chagford: The People’s Emergency Briefing #PEBuk What’s happening with climate and...

Scheme planned for England could also curtail tradition of releasing pheasants for people to pay to shoot From the end of August, Land Rovers load up with tweed-clad shooters, who go off to large estates and compete to fill the biggest “bag” of game birds, often shooting dozens at a time – a practice which has long appalled bird conservationists. Soon, the years-long campaign to stop the poisoning of birds of prey, as well as the release of tens of millions of pheasants into the countryside, could be victorious as a result of government plans for a new licensing scheme for shoots. Continue reading...

Exclusive: England ‘desperately unprepared’ for effects of crisis including water shortages and heatwaves

A farmer has spoken out after watching the land she calls home ‘burn’ and the restored peatland that helped save it.

Dartmoor nature campaigners have accused the government of “caving in to conspiracy theories” and hobbling its own regulator in its latest decision on the fate of the national park’s iconic ponies.

New measures will protect Dartmoor ponies and support those who keep them on the moor.

Critics accuse ministers of failing to take control of nature crisis and leaving it to private landowners to act voluntarily

Critics accuse ministers of failing to take control of nature crisis and leaving it to private landowners to act voluntarily

Today's 30by30 Delivery Plan isn't a plan, and it won't deliver 30by30.

In recent weeks, Dartmoor's iconic ponies have been at the centre of significant media attention and public debate. We want to use this blog to set out clearly what has been reported, what is happenin...

“Ponies could be put to death” shrieked the Times, using language that conjures some barbaric, medieval ritual punishment. ‘Keir Starmer’s incompetence has allowed the Dartmoor ponies to be led to sla...

There’s been a deluge of misinformation recently about ponies on Dartmoor. Dartmoor Nature Alliance’s Tony Whitehead looks at the origins and potential impacts of the current “pony campaigning". He st...

Polling experts warned that the Prime Minister faces a backlash if hundreds of Dartmoor ponies are killed

The plan could destroy over 90 per cent of the population of the beloved animal

Recent reporting on Natural England's role and position on Dartmoor ponies has contained several inaccuracies, including that Natural England has recommended a cull of Dartmoor ponies, which is false....

Dartmoor Nature Alliance (DNA) recognises the cultural importance of the Dartmoor Hill Ponies, alongside the growing scientific evidence supporting the value of their grazing patterns, including the w...

Campaign comes as Duchy of Cornwall announces plan to expand small pockets of ancient woodland at two sites