An award winning Ballymena gardener has been appointed as the first 'Walled Garden Keeper' of Hillsborough Castle in centuries.

CARRICKFERGUS Castle is set to receive a new £1million roof.

THE recent spell of exceptionally warm weather and occasional heavy downpours has helped nourish the natural world into overdrive.

THE Stormont Assembly has thrown out almost 35 tonnes of unused food - weighing the equivalent of around 35 small cars - since the collapse of devolution.

INSIDE the four walls of a school classroom, children can gain knowledge and learn how to pass exams – but they are sedentary apart from a few PE lessons, and shut off from the natural world outside.

THE fixed grimace on its face, the erect fin that slices through the water, the flick of its tail that gives it an extra kick of speed: unblinking, the shark cruises past, less than two metres from my head.

CATTLE at a Co Fermanagh estate have completed their annual 100m swim across a lough.

Planning for the future of agriculture post-Brexit needs to make rapid progress despite the Stormont political impasse, the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) said.

ROAD chiefs have come together to show how Belfast city centre congestion could be drastically reduced by using sustainable means of transport.

The primary school helped launch Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council’s LitterSmart campaign.

127 Hours: Crayfish edition.

OLD derelict churches and their graveyards are wonderful havens for wildlife.

The female Guam kingfisher – one of the most endangered bird species on the planet – was born 14 days ago.

The shooting of the popular gorilla was felt around the world.

Martin Hughes-Games announced he was leaving earlier this year.

SPRING didn’t exactly spring this year – it was more of a slow stagger forward, with a stumble to the side and a few drunken steps backwards.

THREE new adventure trails, spanning more than 1.5 miles, have been launched at Stormont Estate in Belfast.

DURING recent months, I have, like many, been looking for signs of transition from winter to spring, watching for the first snowdrops or wood anemones across the forest floor or our first swallow.

THE sun shone on tens of thousands of visitors and competitors who attended the first day of the Balmoral Show yesterday.