‘The courgettes were so good last year, I got a tattoo of one’: life on a Birmingham allotment

A city of welly-wearers, Birmingham has more allotments than any other UK local authority – some of its keen plotholders tell us why

Much of England’s ‘national landscapes’ out of bounds, say campaigners

Right to Roam finds areas of outstanding natural beauty have on average poorer footpath access than rest of England

Pregnant women in Indiana show fourfold increase in toxic weedkiller in urine – study

Seventy percent of pregnant women in state had herbicide dicamba in their urine, up from 28% in an earlier study

Should I worry about microplastics?

These tiny particles are polluting the planet, including our bodies. How bad for us are they really?

I’ve made secret discoveries on my doorstep: a year-long journey across my local OS map

We have become disconnected from the wild world around us and I wanted to get regular small doses of the delights of travelling without having to wait for the trip of a lifetime

Children living near green spaces ‘have stronger bones’

Bone strength is set in childhood so better park access could prevent fractures in older people, study finds

A moment that changed me: stressed and stricken, I walked 750 miles – and found my life’s purpose

After my sister had a serious car accident, I raised money for the service that saved her by walking through the UK’s national parks. Out in the wild, I discovered a new path

The Guardian view on switching off: in an always-on culture, we need time to think

Editorial: Midwinter is for hibernation, and a chance to make different kinds of connections

A greener clean: three ways to eco-proof your cleaning routine

Conventional products can be bad for your health and for the environment. There are low-waste, biodegradable alternatives

Levels of toxic PCB chemicals found at 30 times ‘safe’ limits in stranded whales

Studies of cetaceans stranded in UK waters show high levels of toxins 20 years since global ban of most PCBs, say scientists