Connecting People and Landscapes

Creating a countryside ready to face challenges of climate change.

Creating a countryside ready to face challenges of climate change.

EDNL

Connecting People and Landscapes

Creating a countryside ready to face challenges of climate change.

Bringing farmers, communities, and landowners together to create a countryside ready to face the challenges of climate change.

We are proud to be working with the Bat Conservation Trust, Devon Wildlife Trust, and Devon Communities Together on this project. Made possible by a £1.5m grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, this £3.6m partnership will help create a countryside where wildlife and communities can thrive.

Decades of intensification have put pressure on Devon’s precious farmland – a vital home for nocturnal species such as greater horseshoe bats, hedgehogs, and hazel dormice. This ambitious project will work with local farmers to support the adoption of regenerative farming practices through 1:1 advice, training, and funding.

Developing connected communities that understand farming and value nature is essential to achieve a sustainable future. This project will offer local communities’ the opportunity to learn about land management, food production and nature on their doorstep.

This projects follows on from a 2-year development phase (also supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund). Some highlights include:

97 farmers supported to improve over 580 hectares of farmland for nature.
18 different farming projects such as planting native trees, creating species-rich grasslands and restoring traditional orchards
240 people attended training days, farmer support and hands-on conservation activities

Our local focus

We will support our local farming community as they transition to more nature-friendly ways of working.

“This is a really important and exciting project for East Devon and beyond. As part of the project, we will identify a local farm within the National Landscape as a ‘Focus Farm’, where we’ll be able to showcase how food production, nature recovery and community engagement can go hand in hand.” – Steph Aburrow, Project Officer, East Devon National Landscape

Regenerative farming can restore biodiversity, improve soil health and build resilience to climate change. There is a lot of support for farmers to build towards regenerative farming.

Funding to support farmers Join farming group

Delivered in partnership with:

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage.

Connecting People and Landscapes in a changing environment is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This is a Partnership project. Thanks to National Lottery players, we are looking at the impact that climate change is having on wildlife in farming landscapes, focusing on nine threatened nocturnal mammal species. It aims to build understanding of how nature-friendly regenerative farming supports biodiversity and creates resilient landscapes, bringing communities and farmers together to connect and learn through events, activities, and wildlife monitoring.