During July, August and early September, many parts of Cornwall, which has around 10% of the UK’s declining heathlands, is ablaze with a spectacular carpet of colour from the heathers and gorse.

Places such as the Lizard and Penwith are temporarily transformed as the heathland blooms and takes over the countryside. This important habitat generally exists as a ‘mosaic’ of plants such as heaths, gorse, heather and grasses, and is influenced by the ground conditions such as acidity, nutrients and water levels.

The heathland in Cornwall is heavily influenced by the surrounding maritime environment and the areas are largely determined by environmental factors such as wind and rain. Heathland is largely due to human influence through past land management practices. It is normally the lack of this continuing management that poses the greatest threat to its presence.

These threats include the lack of fencing to manage grazing, development, arson and human activities such as trampling or motorcycle scrambling. On many sites, sympathetic management is being re-introduced to conserve the remaining heathland.

Cornwall is almost an island, surrounded by the Channel to the south, the Atlantic to the north and the Tamar river to the east.

This varied coastline supports an internationally important array of maritime wildlife, some of which has been designated as candidate Special Areas of Conservation for the marine and estuarine wildlife they support.

The salty winds heavily influence the plants, animals and habitats found here. The warm waters of the Gulf Stream flow from the south and mix with the cooler northern waters, so that Cornwall supports many species on land and sea which are at the edge of their climatic ranges.

The County Council employs a Marine Development Officer who deals with all marine and coastal aspects as well as spearheading the 'No Take Zone' or 'Marine Protected Area' consultations around Cornwall.

This is a five year demonstration trial to establish the effectiveness of a fishing No Take Zone (an area where fishing is ceased). Lobsters in the coastal waters of Cornwall have been subjected to high levels of commercial exploitation for many decades and St Agnes lobster-fishermen, along with fish producers and researchers, are concerned about the sustainability of Cornish stocks.

In an attempt to improve the sustainability of their local fishery, the St. Agnes fishermen have agreed to set aside approximately 0.5 square kilometres of their regular fishing grounds for the five year trial period.

The inshore fishing industry has helped shape many of Cornwall's coastal villages and has significant economic and cultural importance. Shellfishing alone contributes approximately £1.73 million per year to the Cornish economy, supporting 768 fishermen and a further 3,300 people on the shore. However, there are serious concerns about the sustainability of fish stocks, with fishermen having to make more and more effort to catch fewer fish in many fisheries.

St Agnes (Cornish Breanek) is a village and a parish on the north coast of Cornwall, England. It is in the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, and lies halfway between the artists' colony of St Ives and the surfers' paradise at Newquay. It is one of the twelve sections of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

St Agnes grew up as a fishing and farming community which, from Roman times (perhaps earlier) until the early part of the 20th century, relied heavily on tin mining as a source of income.

With the demise of mining in Cornwall, St Agnes has become a popular tourist destination, offering excellent beaches at Trevaunance Cove, Chapel Porth National Trust beach, and nearby Perranporth and Porthtowan; walking (St Agnes Beacon and many cliff, coastal and country walks); painting (beautiful scenery), industrial archeology, stone-age remains and geology.