The home of Britain's Working Conservationists
Sussex farmers and farm advisors have an opportunity to learn more about the habitat management and conservation techniques that have achieved remarkable farmland wildlife restoration on a tour of Peppering Farm on 10 June.
Every year, there is a day dedicated by the United Nations to raising awareness of the importance of biodiversity across the world. This is the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB for short), which is held on 22nd May.
Nature will be protected and enhanced on an unprecedented scale, with the formation of a pioneering new landscape-scale partnership of farmers in the Hampshire Avon Valley. Expected to cover over 40,000 hectares – or around one third the area of all England’s National Nature Reserves – the Environmental Farmers Group (EFG) is the first of its kind in the UK, with 80 farmers united to deliver biodiversity recovery, clean water in the River Avon, and net zero farming by 2040.
Watch GWCT advisor Jess Brooks and her family describe their experiences of the Sustainable Farming Incentive on their Isle of Wight farm.
As food consumers we are bombarded by meal deals (for our lunchtime sandwich or for that special 3 course evening meal) and multi-buy deals (e.g. BOGOFs or 3 for £5 etc). The focus on the cost of sustaining ourselves is very real given recent food price inflation – and for many a costly monthly outgoing.
For those that work in the British countryside, it has become common knowledge that farmland birds are struggling. In the latest Birds of Conservation Concern review, 14 of the 26 farmland birds in the UK have been assigned to the Red List. The reasons behind the declines in these species are numerous, however one of particular relevance to seed-eating birds in Wales is the loss of mixed farming.
A prominent Welsh farmer is laying down the gauntlet to Mark Drakeford and the rest of Welsh government if they are to secure a brighter future for the nation. Gareth Wyn Jones was speaking on the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s YouTube channel in a special broadcast to raise awareness for the wonderful work being done by those looking after the Welsh landscape.
The announcement of the Landscape Recovery element of the Environmental Land Management Scheme was greeted with enthusiasm by those who advocate rewilding approaches. Although the scheme wording does not refer to rewilding, the focus on radical and large-scale approaches to threatened native species recovery and priority habitat condition seemed to support such an approach.
Thirty years ago today, I drove from my then home in Hampshire to Loddington in Leicestershire to conduct a night-time spotlight count of brown hares. That was the start of thirty years of data collection on what was to become the Allerton Project research and demonstration farm.
A new online guide is now available to support young farmers as they embark on their careers. Produced by the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC) in partnership with the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, the online Fit for Business Guide is part of the Defra-funded Building Skills project and provides guidance for young farmers in an uncertain time for the industry.