Farmers working together to protect and restore on farm habitats and increase the amount of land using nature-friendly farming will play a vital part in recovering nature in Kent.
Kent, The Garden of England, has some of the most fertile soils and best-growing weather conditions in the country. Even though it is thought of as a densely populated area, 71% of our landscape is actively farmed. From apples and grapes to fields of wheat, small family farms to large commercial operations, Kent has it all. Many Kent farms also contain a host of other habitats, including copses, ancient woodlands, hedgerows, streams, rivers, old orchards, and meadows.
However, despite this diversity of habitats, many are disappearing or in poor condition and are therefore no longer able to support our much-loved species, such as the turtle dove. Farmers working together to protect and restore on-farm habitats and increase the amount of land using nature-friendly farming will play a vital part in recovering nature in Kent.
Only by working together with farmers can we restore nature in Kent at a landscape scale. We recognise that farming and food production is an important part of Kent’s identity and vital for our own health and wellbeing, however a post war drive to produce the highest yields possible, encouraging the removal of hedges to enable an intensification of farming, has taken it’s toll on rural wildlife. Now with many other threats, from climate change to industrial development, farmers are looking to re-adress the balance. We are here to support them in this, working together to create a more sustainable farming future, that is better for rural communities and our wildlife. For more information, check out the State of Nature in Kent report.
If you own a smaller landholding in Kent, read our quick guide which provides best-practice land management advice tailored to Kent’s landscapes, so that you can evaluate and make decisions on how to manage your land sensitively for wildlife.
Regenerative farming involves a range of practices aimed at regenerating soil health and establishing a sustainable farming system that relies less on artificial inputs. Regenerative farming is about working with nature rather than against it
These are three schemes developed to support and incentivise the delivery of wider environmental public goods than just food production on farms. The schemes range from the Sustainable Farming Incentive aimed at all farms, to Countryside Stewardship and the more bespoke Landscape Recovery.
We believe that together we can achieve more than working in isolation - the sum of the group is greater than its parts! Farmer clusters help farmers and land managers to work together with ecologists and members of their local community to deliver more for wildlife and the environment than one individual could achieve alone. This is about delivering actions that support long-term farming and wildlife restoration at the landscape scale.
Sustainable food production and the restoration and protection of our natural environment are interconnected. We support farmers and land managers in achieving this through agri-environment scheme routes and leveraging private capital and funding. This enables them to address multiple crises at once in an economically uncertain environment.
For more information directly for farmers, including how to set up your own farmer cluster, regenerative farming, farming and wildlife projects, and more, visit our farmer hub.
We support field to fork, reducing supply chains, and paying farmers a fair price for their food.
Support the work of your local farmer cluster through a citizen science programme or with practical volunteering activities on one of our reserves.
Ask them to support nature-friendly farming policies.
Find out more about sustainable farming and why it matters.
Start at home with a windowsill box, balcony, or garden.
Groundswell Agriculture Festival is the UK’s largest event dedicated to farming that regenerates the soil and restores nature. It’s a unique blend of industry conference and lively festival. This year, I took the plunge, braved the camping, and immersed…
Last year, an innovative partnership emerged between Kent Wildlife Trust, Bockhanger Farms Ltd and Reading University, fuelled by the Co-op Carbon Innovation Fund.
Iain Tolhurst NBE is a pioneering organic farmer and owner of Tolhurst Organic Farms. This farm has made quite a name for itself because it is able to feed 350 families on 14 acres of what is classified as poor quality agricultural land up to now, without…
