Case Studies
Across the county individuals and organisations are already taking the action that will propel us towards the vision outlined above. By sharing some of these here the aim is to encourage their sustainability, replication, and escalation.
Purbeck Heaths
As noted in the Current Assessment above Purbeck Heaths National Nature Reserve (NNR) is the largest area of lowland heath managed as a single nature reserve in England. In addition to the details covered above, the AONB’s website[1] explains how the “project will create a “mini New Forest” in the area between Stoborough, Corfe Castle and Arne near Wareham, with cattle, ponies and pigs roaming across an area of 1370 ha at the heart of the reserve. Wilder grazing by free ranging cattle, ponies and pigs will more naturalistically drive dynamic changes to the heathland/woodland environment, enhancing the micro-habitats within this habitat mosaic, on which many rare and threatened species depend. These include species such as Purbeck Mason Wasp, Heath Bee-fly and Woodlark.
By March 2022 the new grazing system will be created by the removal of existing internal fences, the installation of an external fence-line, several new cattle grids and improved roadside parking.”
Purbeck Heaths
As noted in the Current Assessment above Purbeck Heaths National Nature Reserve (NNR) is the largest area of lowland heath managed as a single nature reserve in England. In addition to the details covered above, the AONB’s website[1] explains how the “project will create a “mini New Forest” in the area between Stoborough, Corfe Castle and Arne near Wareham, with cattle, ponies and pigs roaming across an area of 1370 ha at the heart of the reserve. Wilder grazing by free ranging cattle, ponies and pigs will more naturalistically drive dynamic changes to the heathland/woodland environment, enhancing the micro-habitats within this habitat mosaic, on which many rare and threatened species depend. These include species such as Purbeck Mason Wasp, Heath Bee-fly and Woodlark.
By March 2022 the new grazing system will be created by the removal of existing internal fences, the installation of an external fence-line, several new cattle grids and improved roadside parking.”
Dorset Climate Action Network Land Use Team
Dorset CAN have established a Land Use team that meets regularly to identify opportunities, share ideas, and develop specific action plans to address the issues discussed in this chapter. Through their early work they have identified a map of related areas to be focused on over the coming months (Figure 3).
Dorset CAN have established a Land Use team that meets regularly to identify opportunities, share ideas, and develop specific action plans to address the issues discussed in this chapter. Through their early work they have identified a map of related areas to be focused on over the coming months (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Dorset CAN Land Use team action areas
The group is currently focused on:
• Tree and hedgerow planting projects - grants to apply for and how to set up tree / hedgerow projects.
• Tree protection - understanding the regulations and how to defend our trees
• Life lines projects- encouraging community interaction, investigating the use of herbicides / pesticides and alternative practices
• Wildlife restoration networks / corridors
• Food production - sustainable local production methods.
A key project is the Girt Big Darzet Hedge Campaign to plant, extend and join up hedgerows across Dorset to create a regenerative wildlife corridor for the many species. The Dorset CAN Land Use team can be contacted via their webpage.
Rewilding
Following a major fundraising appeal for England’s first large-scale community rewilding project Dorset Wildlife Trust have purchased 170 hectares of land near Bere Regis through the Wilder Dorset initiative. The exciting vision for the project (called Wild Woodbury) includes the creation of 11 hectares of new community woodland and 30 hectares of new wetland, alongside a new community orchard, space to grow food sustainably, plus room for visitors and locals to explore the wild and forge a deep connection with nature.
The acquisition was made possible with help from We have the POWER founder Julia Davies, who led on the purchase giving Dorset Wildlife Trust time to secure funds from several legacies left by dedicated Dorset Wildlife Trust members and supporters, as well as significant investments from BCP Council and Dorset Council. The councils’ contributions came from the Community Infrastructure Levy, to mitigate the effect of additional nitrates entering Poole Harbour as a result of new housing and tourism developments.
Further plans for transforming the landscape from being intensively managed to letting nature take the lead will be developed in conjunction with the surrounding community, giving local people more opportunities to connect with nature while also benefitting local wildlife. This will include meeting directly with the community in Bere Regis, connecting with existing local groups and creating new local volunteer groups. This flagship project aims to provide inspiration and guidance for further rewilding projects around the country, so data gathered in these early stages is crucial to inform and support similar projects, opening up new space for wildlife throughout Britain and beyond.
Julia Davies from We Have the POWER (Protect Our World, Educate, Restore), who are also supporting a range of other nature-based solutions across the country, stresses that “Whilst restoring nature is a key aim we are equally focused on working out how to produce food locally in a manner consistent with the Climate and Ecological Emergency and support farmers to find new business models that work in the context of changing subsidies and the challenges posed by new trade deals. Our plans for the Bere Regis site will include food production and seek to provide employment and job opportunities for the local community.”
The VNRP report has also identified numerous locations across the county that are suitable for rewilding. This is shown below.
• Tree and hedgerow planting projects - grants to apply for and how to set up tree / hedgerow projects.
• Tree protection - understanding the regulations and how to defend our trees
• Life lines projects- encouraging community interaction, investigating the use of herbicides / pesticides and alternative practices
• Wildlife restoration networks / corridors
• Food production - sustainable local production methods.
A key project is the Girt Big Darzet Hedge Campaign to plant, extend and join up hedgerows across Dorset to create a regenerative wildlife corridor for the many species. The Dorset CAN Land Use team can be contacted via their webpage.
Rewilding
Following a major fundraising appeal for England’s first large-scale community rewilding project Dorset Wildlife Trust have purchased 170 hectares of land near Bere Regis through the Wilder Dorset initiative. The exciting vision for the project (called Wild Woodbury) includes the creation of 11 hectares of new community woodland and 30 hectares of new wetland, alongside a new community orchard, space to grow food sustainably, plus room for visitors and locals to explore the wild and forge a deep connection with nature.
The acquisition was made possible with help from We have the POWER founder Julia Davies, who led on the purchase giving Dorset Wildlife Trust time to secure funds from several legacies left by dedicated Dorset Wildlife Trust members and supporters, as well as significant investments from BCP Council and Dorset Council. The councils’ contributions came from the Community Infrastructure Levy, to mitigate the effect of additional nitrates entering Poole Harbour as a result of new housing and tourism developments.
Further plans for transforming the landscape from being intensively managed to letting nature take the lead will be developed in conjunction with the surrounding community, giving local people more opportunities to connect with nature while also benefitting local wildlife. This will include meeting directly with the community in Bere Regis, connecting with existing local groups and creating new local volunteer groups. This flagship project aims to provide inspiration and guidance for further rewilding projects around the country, so data gathered in these early stages is crucial to inform and support similar projects, opening up new space for wildlife throughout Britain and beyond.
Julia Davies from We Have the POWER (Protect Our World, Educate, Restore), who are also supporting a range of other nature-based solutions across the country, stresses that “Whilst restoring nature is a key aim we are equally focused on working out how to produce food locally in a manner consistent with the Climate and Ecological Emergency and support farmers to find new business models that work in the context of changing subsidies and the challenges posed by new trade deals. Our plans for the Bere Regis site will include food production and seek to provide employment and job opportunities for the local community.”
The VNRP report has also identified numerous locations across the county that are suitable for rewilding. This is shown below.
Figure 4. Dorset areas suitable for rewilding
Community Farms
Situated on the edge of Poundbury, Dorchester, the Community Farm was the first project set up by Transition Town Dorchester. With support from the Duchy of Cornwall and lots of hard work from their members the farm now has an “enormous polytunnel and outside raised beds, a few fruit trees and a pond, an orchard with apple and pear trees, several colonies of bees, a wildlife pond and some geese and hens, and a forest garden.” The Community Farm is open to anyone who is interested and has the aim of getting people together to “explore ways of living more sustainably and building a community, through sharing growing space, tools, knowledge, ideas and work, and harvesting produce together.”
Transition Dorchester also created the Railway Community Orchard on what was an area of overgrown land which was cleared of brambles and sycamores, and then planted with apple trees and fruit bushes. A small pond was dug and a place for picnics created next to it. The team have held apple days with apple juice produced on site for people to share. Railway Orchard is open to anyone and further details can be found on the Transition Town Dorchester website.
Hilfield Friary
Hilfield Friary is an intentional community of brothers of the First Order of the Society of St Francis together with men and women and two children, who are committing themselves to share in the Franciscan life and work of the Friary. Set on the edge of the Dorset Downs with views across the Blackmore Vale, there have been Franciscan brothers living here in a collection of what were once farm buildings since 1921, providing refuge for the homeless, the experience of community, and a place for prayer, reflection and renewal. Today at Hilfield there is a particular emphasis on living and promoting the Franciscan values of care for creation, working for peace and justice, and seeking respectful dialogue with people of other faiths. As part of this they are actively addressing the issues of climate change both through participation in events such as the COP26 conference in Glasgow and a focus on conservation and sustainability at their site.
The Friary was the first community in the UK to be given an Eco Church Gold Award in recognition of the integrated ecology they are seeking to put into practice at Hilfield, where they occupy 50 acres of Dorset countryside and where a “variety of underlying geology gives rise to range of precious habitats providing home for a wide diversity of species (which is) actively managed to be as welcoming to all these brothers and sisters as possible, with the main focus on conservation and biodiversity.”
Permaculture Sites
Ourganics Evolving Systems constitutes five acres of water meadow close to the coast in rural West Dorset. It is working permaculture project set up by Pat Bowcock in 1999 with its own detailed design that course participants have the opportunity to interact with. The venue has already been used for apprentice design work and Pat also regularly hosts tours by local schools and groups.
Pat started Ourganics because she wanted to run a business that was sustainable and debt-free. She wanted to show that permaculture principles could go hand in hand with being Soil Association-registered, to create a land-based, self-financing and viable business which would provide affordable organic vegetables, herbs, salads, fruit and flowers for the local community. The produce goes out direct from the field as well as via farmers' markets, box schemes, farm shops etc.
Ourganics has the extra label "evolving systems" because like anything organic, the project is continually evolving, responding and changing.
Oak Tree Farm is a permaculture small holding of 15 acres at Highwood East Stoke near Wareham. It is a livestock system based around chickens and goats. The aim is to provide year-round food for the family with a sustainable future. The farm has its own spring-fed water supply, compost toilet, polytunnel, raised bed veg garden, forest garden and agroforestry area.
Organic and regenerative farming
Regenerative farming combines permaculture, agroecology, agroforestry, restoration ecology and holistic management to support a wide variety of natural flowers and fauna as part of a natural ecology. Large farms often use no till or reduced till practices.
Andrew and Sara Cross have managed the Gold Hill Organic Farm, both sales and growing, since 1987. They have been organic from the start and Gold Hill was one of the first farms in the south west to gain organic status from the Soil Association. The vegetable growing area covers about eight acres, made up of an acre of 'minimum tillage' raised beds for early and late season crops; eight polytunnels for sun-loving plants and winter salads; and six acres of 'field scale' vegetables where they grow crops like sweetcorn, summer lettuces and leeks. Over 80 different varieties of vegetables and fruit are grown at Gold Hill Organic Farm, in fields, raised beds, and polytunnels.
While we recognise many environmental campaigners advocate a fully plant-based diet and many question the ethics of eating animals, we acknowledge that meat production will continue for some time. As such it is encouraging to note organisations such as Dorset Meat Company, who work with 20 small, family-run farms in Dorset and Wiltshire that all produce ethically reared meat, in a natural growing environment, in harmony with nature. Animals that have been allowed to grow at a natural pace and have not been rushed.
This is undertaken using regenerative farming, not industrialised meat production. Regenerative farming rejects pesticides and chemical fertilizers, instead strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, and increasing resilience to climate change. Dorset Meat Company know their farmers well and share their ethics and their values: respect for their livestock and for nature, and a total commitment to the highest standards of animal welfare. They believe passionately that small-scale, sustainable farming is better for the animal, the local ecology, the farmer and for consumers, by producing local ethically reared meat.
Philip Colfox, owner of Symondsbury Estate in West Dorset, one of the locations featured in This Good Earth (see Further Information), believes we need to manage nature in the fields where our food is grown “very intelligently and sympathetically”. Unconvinced that purely manual low-impact farming methods are feasible, he sets out what he sees as managing land using more intelligent mechanization. One example is to use “intelligent and lightweight machines instead of very heavy and damaging tractors”. These machines can spot and 'zap' weeds and diseases in growing plants over a large area and will “reduce the chemical load from sprays and fertilisers down to almost zero and reduce the damage to soil done ... by an order of magnitude and perhaps to almost zero”. Alongside this Philip believes interaction by visitors with nature will increase massively and it will be possible to manage crops intelligently in a way that “natural flowers, insects and habitats are maximised at the same time as the crop yield”. This could provide a source of income for famers where visitors, using on-site features such as tea shops etc., could potentially provide more revenue than that achieved through farming alone.
Portland Seaweed Farm
Plans have been submitted by Green Ocean Farming to develop a kelp seaweed farm just off one of the harbour walls at Portland. The Devon-based company has a vision to help establish seaweed farms throughout the UK and internationally, and is enthusiastic about the role kelp can play, not just in carbon sequestration, but also in providing a nutritious food source that can be grown in a much more environmentally friendly manner than many land crops. Further information can be found on their site or via the YouTube video.
The company says that Natural England have viewed the proposals and given their recommendations for the Portland project and, if the remaining permissions are granted, work could start by the end of 2021. The report notes that “It will not involve any permanent structures with the farm limited to weights, ropes, and buoys” and “the farm aligns with the Dorset Marine Aquaculture Strategy, the South Marine Policy Statement, the national Marine Policy Plan, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It says seaweed production is the fastest growing form of food production in the world with uses in biofuel, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and for human consumption.”
Although limited to specific sea bed requirements, the Dorset coast offers several options of where other farms could be considered.
Grounded Community
One example of how community action can really make the most of available land and provide an inspiring example to others is Grounded Community in Boscombe, Bournemouth. The land was unused and unwanted so a local community group decided to rework the land and “make it open and clear once more. A Secret Garden was planted. People were inspired to see how much could grow in such a small space. A vision of health and vibrancy for the community was born.” This Secret Garden is now used as an educational and demonstration area, used as a space for school lessons, after-school gardening club and weekend workshops.
This vision has subsequently expanded to include Grounded Growers, a network of people growing in “gardens, on their balconies, in allotments, on window sills” and even in care homes and hotel gardens and a pilot space on a disused car park roof. This approach aligns well with ideas explored in many sustainable city models and ensures that we are making the most of every opportunity to green our neighbourhoods and help people eat well. For Grounded Community these are exemplified through their Grounded Bee’z, Grounded Gatherers, Community Composite and Feed Our Community. Find out how you can get involved with this local charitable organisation at https://groundedcommunity.co.uk/get-involved/
Lush Cosmetics
Regenerative agriculture
Lush have recognised that one of the biggest contributions they can make in their supply chain is to ensure that more and more land is managed regeneratively. Not only can this support the restoration of degraded land by improving soil health and biodiversity. It can also strengthen the many benefits that these ecosystems provide, including land productivity, carbon sequestration and water security. These benefits help to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, allowing those who are the most vulnerable to adapt and become more resilient to those impacts long term.
This adaptation has compounding impacts by reducing their financial risk. By improving the health of the ecosystems and communities they interact with across our whole value chain and also improve the health of the business.
This year Lush started purchasing organic and Fairtrade ethanol from a new source in Brazil. The ethanol is produced from sugar cane, grown with strict stewardship of the soil. Biodiversity islands are incorporated on the site, which has increased the water flow of the surrounding streams and rivers and provided valuable habitat and food for over 300 species. Residues from the production process are also used to produce energy for over 500,000 people, lowering the carbon footprint of the ethanol by 44% compared to their previous source.
Forestry Protection
Since 2006, Lush has constantly worked to remove palm oil and palm kernel oil from their supply chain in order to reduce the risk of deforestation. They’ve made steady progress towards this goal and now source vegetable oil derived ingredients from a much larger diversity of feedstocks. Their palm free soap base has also enabled them to avoid the use of over 3,000 tonnes of palm oil to date, by replacing the palm ingredients with a mixture of rapeseed and coconut oil.
Through their purchasing of coconut oil, they have supported over 500 farmers on the island of Simeulue, Indonesia. This year a replanting project of 6,500 coconut seedlings began to secure future income as the old trees approach the end of their economic lifecycle. The project not only protects the livelihoods of the farmers, it is also part of Lush suppliers wider strategy to prevent the cultivation of palm plantations on the island.
By using a variety of wildly harvested materials, Lush are also able to provide alternative livelihoods in areas where deforestation and other forms of land degradation are a high risk. Some of these materials help to protect primary, old growth forests, including illipe from Borneo, cupuacu, murumuru and tonka from Brazil, and their Brazil nut oil from Peru.
Although Lush have made significant strides in tackling deforestation within their supply chain, they recognise there is still more they can do, leading them to conduct a full risk assessment of their supply chain. This led to an audit through their supplier engagement platform for all high-risk materials including both soy and remaining palm derivatives. Lush have committed to provide updates on the progress of this audit within their future reports.
Water Quality
Many of the problems we are creating with the way we use our land also creates issues for our water quality as well, in particular from pasture land and the excessive use of fertiliser. A number of catchment management programmes are in place, particularly around Poole Harbour.
Poole Harbour catchment initiative (PHCI) agricultural and land management group is a farmer-led group consists of 16 local farmers and land owners, including members from the Watercress Growers Association, local agronomists and land agents. The group aims to find solutions to the many agricultural related challenges facing the catchment, in particular, working to find sustainable answers to the problems related to diffuse leaching of nutrients into streams, rivers and groundwaters.
The PHCI aims to achieve:
• sustainable farming, development, water use and sewage treatment that supports healthy rivers and groundwater in the Poole Harbour catchment
• recognition of the ecosystem services that the catchment can provide and an adequate payment to those that manage the land to provide these services
• improvement to biodiversity habitats both in the form of naturally functioning rivers, floodplains and wetlands and appropriately located woodland and low-input grassland
• national environmental standards for the benefit of wildlife, users of these waters, and Poole Harbour.
Dorset Catchment Partnerships brings together stakeholders with a range of views to discuss issues, share data and evidence, and collaborate to acquire funding and deliver work to make our rivers healthier, safer and more resilient. Partners include local and national environmental charities, water companies, representatives from the agriculture sector, regulators and local authorities, landowners and community groups. The aim is for Dorset’s river catchments to be sustainably healthy, resilient and safe for people and wildlife.
The partnership prioritises projects across seven themes, including nutrients, habitats & biodiversity, to achieve good value for the catchment, funders and deliverers. Multiple benefit projects are key to this, as is targeting work areas; generally this means prioritising work in headwaters and the upper catchments, as this also improves water quality in lower catchment waterbodies. The partnership also prioritises projects which support and restore natural processes, as these are often more cost effective, sustainable and have more multiple benefits than hard engineered solutions.
Projects are funded through a range of sources including the EA’s Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF) WEIF, other Defra funds or Government grants, Wessex Water in-kind contribution, charitable fundraising by our partners, the National Lottery, philanthropy and private industry funding.
Stour Valley ParkThe Stour Valley Park Partnership is represented by a range of local and national partner organisations. The partnership group first met in 2017 and have been working ever since to bring together their values and create a shared vision focused around restoring the health of the river, regenerating wildlife networks, understanding and celebrating our heritage, stimulating the local economy, creating opportunities to get out and enjoying a beautiful landscape full of great places to go and great things to do.
The Stour Valley’s location, along the edge of the conurbation, means that the valley has great potential as a multifunctional landscape that can improve opportunities for recreation, health and well-being, as well as providing a multitude of benefits for wildlife and biodiversity.
The current aims of the park are to:
• Create an accessible landscape which will regenerate the river, improve water quality, and enhance biodiversity;
• Support the adoption of long-term sustainable land management;
• Open up parts of the river for public access, and in doing so improve the health and wellbeing of the locality;
• Boost the local economy through new business opportunities and jobs which will help provide the resources for ongoing management of greenspace;
• Enhance and uncover the landscape’s unique heritage and history;
• Work with housing and transport departments to ensure an integrated approach to future growth.
Reintroduction of Beavers
Dorset Wildlife Trust have spent years preparing for the reintroduction of Beavers to the county. Pointing out that they are often referred to as 'ecosystem engineers', making changes to their habitats, such as digging canal systems, damming water courses, and coppicing tree and shrub species, which create diverse wetlands that benefit both people and wildlife.
DWT also point out how;
• they help to reduce downstream flooding - the channels, dams and wetland habitats that beavers create hold back water and release it more slowly after heavy rain;
• they benefit other species, such as otters, water shrews, water voles, birds, invertebrates (especially dragonflies) and breeding fish;
• they increase water retention and clean water, and
• they reduce siltation, which pollutes water.
On the 8 February 2021 they released a pair into a suitable enclosed site in west Dorset in what is hoped by many to be the first of many similar projects across Dorset.
The Purbeck Beaver Project is currently working with stakeholders to draw up plans for a phased reintroduction of beavers to Purbeck.
Dorset National Park
Hopes of creating a National Park in Dorset were put on hold during the summer of 2021, having been left out of recent Government announcements. The Dorset National Park team and Dorset CPRE had proposed creating a National Park in the county to include as much as possible of the Dorset Council area (Figure 5), citing independent studies which suggest a National Park could provide important economic opportunities and benefits for rural Dorset.
Situated on the edge of Poundbury, Dorchester, the Community Farm was the first project set up by Transition Town Dorchester. With support from the Duchy of Cornwall and lots of hard work from their members the farm now has an “enormous polytunnel and outside raised beds, a few fruit trees and a pond, an orchard with apple and pear trees, several colonies of bees, a wildlife pond and some geese and hens, and a forest garden.” The Community Farm is open to anyone who is interested and has the aim of getting people together to “explore ways of living more sustainably and building a community, through sharing growing space, tools, knowledge, ideas and work, and harvesting produce together.”
Transition Dorchester also created the Railway Community Orchard on what was an area of overgrown land which was cleared of brambles and sycamores, and then planted with apple trees and fruit bushes. A small pond was dug and a place for picnics created next to it. The team have held apple days with apple juice produced on site for people to share. Railway Orchard is open to anyone and further details can be found on the Transition Town Dorchester website.
Hilfield Friary
Hilfield Friary is an intentional community of brothers of the First Order of the Society of St Francis together with men and women and two children, who are committing themselves to share in the Franciscan life and work of the Friary. Set on the edge of the Dorset Downs with views across the Blackmore Vale, there have been Franciscan brothers living here in a collection of what were once farm buildings since 1921, providing refuge for the homeless, the experience of community, and a place for prayer, reflection and renewal. Today at Hilfield there is a particular emphasis on living and promoting the Franciscan values of care for creation, working for peace and justice, and seeking respectful dialogue with people of other faiths. As part of this they are actively addressing the issues of climate change both through participation in events such as the COP26 conference in Glasgow and a focus on conservation and sustainability at their site.
The Friary was the first community in the UK to be given an Eco Church Gold Award in recognition of the integrated ecology they are seeking to put into practice at Hilfield, where they occupy 50 acres of Dorset countryside and where a “variety of underlying geology gives rise to range of precious habitats providing home for a wide diversity of species (which is) actively managed to be as welcoming to all these brothers and sisters as possible, with the main focus on conservation and biodiversity.”
Permaculture Sites
Ourganics Evolving Systems constitutes five acres of water meadow close to the coast in rural West Dorset. It is working permaculture project set up by Pat Bowcock in 1999 with its own detailed design that course participants have the opportunity to interact with. The venue has already been used for apprentice design work and Pat also regularly hosts tours by local schools and groups.
Pat started Ourganics because she wanted to run a business that was sustainable and debt-free. She wanted to show that permaculture principles could go hand in hand with being Soil Association-registered, to create a land-based, self-financing and viable business which would provide affordable organic vegetables, herbs, salads, fruit and flowers for the local community. The produce goes out direct from the field as well as via farmers' markets, box schemes, farm shops etc.
Ourganics has the extra label "evolving systems" because like anything organic, the project is continually evolving, responding and changing.
Oak Tree Farm is a permaculture small holding of 15 acres at Highwood East Stoke near Wareham. It is a livestock system based around chickens and goats. The aim is to provide year-round food for the family with a sustainable future. The farm has its own spring-fed water supply, compost toilet, polytunnel, raised bed veg garden, forest garden and agroforestry area.
Organic and regenerative farming
Regenerative farming combines permaculture, agroecology, agroforestry, restoration ecology and holistic management to support a wide variety of natural flowers and fauna as part of a natural ecology. Large farms often use no till or reduced till practices.
Andrew and Sara Cross have managed the Gold Hill Organic Farm, both sales and growing, since 1987. They have been organic from the start and Gold Hill was one of the first farms in the south west to gain organic status from the Soil Association. The vegetable growing area covers about eight acres, made up of an acre of 'minimum tillage' raised beds for early and late season crops; eight polytunnels for sun-loving plants and winter salads; and six acres of 'field scale' vegetables where they grow crops like sweetcorn, summer lettuces and leeks. Over 80 different varieties of vegetables and fruit are grown at Gold Hill Organic Farm, in fields, raised beds, and polytunnels.
While we recognise many environmental campaigners advocate a fully plant-based diet and many question the ethics of eating animals, we acknowledge that meat production will continue for some time. As such it is encouraging to note organisations such as Dorset Meat Company, who work with 20 small, family-run farms in Dorset and Wiltshire that all produce ethically reared meat, in a natural growing environment, in harmony with nature. Animals that have been allowed to grow at a natural pace and have not been rushed.
This is undertaken using regenerative farming, not industrialised meat production. Regenerative farming rejects pesticides and chemical fertilizers, instead strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, and increasing resilience to climate change. Dorset Meat Company know their farmers well and share their ethics and their values: respect for their livestock and for nature, and a total commitment to the highest standards of animal welfare. They believe passionately that small-scale, sustainable farming is better for the animal, the local ecology, the farmer and for consumers, by producing local ethically reared meat.
Philip Colfox, owner of Symondsbury Estate in West Dorset, one of the locations featured in This Good Earth (see Further Information), believes we need to manage nature in the fields where our food is grown “very intelligently and sympathetically”. Unconvinced that purely manual low-impact farming methods are feasible, he sets out what he sees as managing land using more intelligent mechanization. One example is to use “intelligent and lightweight machines instead of very heavy and damaging tractors”. These machines can spot and 'zap' weeds and diseases in growing plants over a large area and will “reduce the chemical load from sprays and fertilisers down to almost zero and reduce the damage to soil done ... by an order of magnitude and perhaps to almost zero”. Alongside this Philip believes interaction by visitors with nature will increase massively and it will be possible to manage crops intelligently in a way that “natural flowers, insects and habitats are maximised at the same time as the crop yield”. This could provide a source of income for famers where visitors, using on-site features such as tea shops etc., could potentially provide more revenue than that achieved through farming alone.
Portland Seaweed Farm
Plans have been submitted by Green Ocean Farming to develop a kelp seaweed farm just off one of the harbour walls at Portland. The Devon-based company has a vision to help establish seaweed farms throughout the UK and internationally, and is enthusiastic about the role kelp can play, not just in carbon sequestration, but also in providing a nutritious food source that can be grown in a much more environmentally friendly manner than many land crops. Further information can be found on their site or via the YouTube video.
The company says that Natural England have viewed the proposals and given their recommendations for the Portland project and, if the remaining permissions are granted, work could start by the end of 2021. The report notes that “It will not involve any permanent structures with the farm limited to weights, ropes, and buoys” and “the farm aligns with the Dorset Marine Aquaculture Strategy, the South Marine Policy Statement, the national Marine Policy Plan, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It says seaweed production is the fastest growing form of food production in the world with uses in biofuel, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and for human consumption.”
Although limited to specific sea bed requirements, the Dorset coast offers several options of where other farms could be considered.
Grounded Community
One example of how community action can really make the most of available land and provide an inspiring example to others is Grounded Community in Boscombe, Bournemouth. The land was unused and unwanted so a local community group decided to rework the land and “make it open and clear once more. A Secret Garden was planted. People were inspired to see how much could grow in such a small space. A vision of health and vibrancy for the community was born.” This Secret Garden is now used as an educational and demonstration area, used as a space for school lessons, after-school gardening club and weekend workshops.
This vision has subsequently expanded to include Grounded Growers, a network of people growing in “gardens, on their balconies, in allotments, on window sills” and even in care homes and hotel gardens and a pilot space on a disused car park roof. This approach aligns well with ideas explored in many sustainable city models and ensures that we are making the most of every opportunity to green our neighbourhoods and help people eat well. For Grounded Community these are exemplified through their Grounded Bee’z, Grounded Gatherers, Community Composite and Feed Our Community. Find out how you can get involved with this local charitable organisation at https://groundedcommunity.co.uk/get-involved/
Lush Cosmetics
Regenerative agriculture
Lush have recognised that one of the biggest contributions they can make in their supply chain is to ensure that more and more land is managed regeneratively. Not only can this support the restoration of degraded land by improving soil health and biodiversity. It can also strengthen the many benefits that these ecosystems provide, including land productivity, carbon sequestration and water security. These benefits help to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, allowing those who are the most vulnerable to adapt and become more resilient to those impacts long term.
This adaptation has compounding impacts by reducing their financial risk. By improving the health of the ecosystems and communities they interact with across our whole value chain and also improve the health of the business.
This year Lush started purchasing organic and Fairtrade ethanol from a new source in Brazil. The ethanol is produced from sugar cane, grown with strict stewardship of the soil. Biodiversity islands are incorporated on the site, which has increased the water flow of the surrounding streams and rivers and provided valuable habitat and food for over 300 species. Residues from the production process are also used to produce energy for over 500,000 people, lowering the carbon footprint of the ethanol by 44% compared to their previous source.
Forestry Protection
Since 2006, Lush has constantly worked to remove palm oil and palm kernel oil from their supply chain in order to reduce the risk of deforestation. They’ve made steady progress towards this goal and now source vegetable oil derived ingredients from a much larger diversity of feedstocks. Their palm free soap base has also enabled them to avoid the use of over 3,000 tonnes of palm oil to date, by replacing the palm ingredients with a mixture of rapeseed and coconut oil.
Through their purchasing of coconut oil, they have supported over 500 farmers on the island of Simeulue, Indonesia. This year a replanting project of 6,500 coconut seedlings began to secure future income as the old trees approach the end of their economic lifecycle. The project not only protects the livelihoods of the farmers, it is also part of Lush suppliers wider strategy to prevent the cultivation of palm plantations on the island.
By using a variety of wildly harvested materials, Lush are also able to provide alternative livelihoods in areas where deforestation and other forms of land degradation are a high risk. Some of these materials help to protect primary, old growth forests, including illipe from Borneo, cupuacu, murumuru and tonka from Brazil, and their Brazil nut oil from Peru.
Although Lush have made significant strides in tackling deforestation within their supply chain, they recognise there is still more they can do, leading them to conduct a full risk assessment of their supply chain. This led to an audit through their supplier engagement platform for all high-risk materials including both soy and remaining palm derivatives. Lush have committed to provide updates on the progress of this audit within their future reports.
Water Quality
Many of the problems we are creating with the way we use our land also creates issues for our water quality as well, in particular from pasture land and the excessive use of fertiliser. A number of catchment management programmes are in place, particularly around Poole Harbour.
Poole Harbour catchment initiative (PHCI) agricultural and land management group is a farmer-led group consists of 16 local farmers and land owners, including members from the Watercress Growers Association, local agronomists and land agents. The group aims to find solutions to the many agricultural related challenges facing the catchment, in particular, working to find sustainable answers to the problems related to diffuse leaching of nutrients into streams, rivers and groundwaters.
The PHCI aims to achieve:
• sustainable farming, development, water use and sewage treatment that supports healthy rivers and groundwater in the Poole Harbour catchment
• recognition of the ecosystem services that the catchment can provide and an adequate payment to those that manage the land to provide these services
• improvement to biodiversity habitats both in the form of naturally functioning rivers, floodplains and wetlands and appropriately located woodland and low-input grassland
• national environmental standards for the benefit of wildlife, users of these waters, and Poole Harbour.
Dorset Catchment Partnerships brings together stakeholders with a range of views to discuss issues, share data and evidence, and collaborate to acquire funding and deliver work to make our rivers healthier, safer and more resilient. Partners include local and national environmental charities, water companies, representatives from the agriculture sector, regulators and local authorities, landowners and community groups. The aim is for Dorset’s river catchments to be sustainably healthy, resilient and safe for people and wildlife.
The partnership prioritises projects across seven themes, including nutrients, habitats & biodiversity, to achieve good value for the catchment, funders and deliverers. Multiple benefit projects are key to this, as is targeting work areas; generally this means prioritising work in headwaters and the upper catchments, as this also improves water quality in lower catchment waterbodies. The partnership also prioritises projects which support and restore natural processes, as these are often more cost effective, sustainable and have more multiple benefits than hard engineered solutions.
Projects are funded through a range of sources including the EA’s Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF) WEIF, other Defra funds or Government grants, Wessex Water in-kind contribution, charitable fundraising by our partners, the National Lottery, philanthropy and private industry funding.
Stour Valley ParkThe Stour Valley Park Partnership is represented by a range of local and national partner organisations. The partnership group first met in 2017 and have been working ever since to bring together their values and create a shared vision focused around restoring the health of the river, regenerating wildlife networks, understanding and celebrating our heritage, stimulating the local economy, creating opportunities to get out and enjoying a beautiful landscape full of great places to go and great things to do.
The Stour Valley’s location, along the edge of the conurbation, means that the valley has great potential as a multifunctional landscape that can improve opportunities for recreation, health and well-being, as well as providing a multitude of benefits for wildlife and biodiversity.
The current aims of the park are to:
• Create an accessible landscape which will regenerate the river, improve water quality, and enhance biodiversity;
• Support the adoption of long-term sustainable land management;
• Open up parts of the river for public access, and in doing so improve the health and wellbeing of the locality;
• Boost the local economy through new business opportunities and jobs which will help provide the resources for ongoing management of greenspace;
• Enhance and uncover the landscape’s unique heritage and history;
• Work with housing and transport departments to ensure an integrated approach to future growth.
Reintroduction of Beavers
Dorset Wildlife Trust have spent years preparing for the reintroduction of Beavers to the county. Pointing out that they are often referred to as 'ecosystem engineers', making changes to their habitats, such as digging canal systems, damming water courses, and coppicing tree and shrub species, which create diverse wetlands that benefit both people and wildlife.
DWT also point out how;
• they help to reduce downstream flooding - the channels, dams and wetland habitats that beavers create hold back water and release it more slowly after heavy rain;
• they benefit other species, such as otters, water shrews, water voles, birds, invertebrates (especially dragonflies) and breeding fish;
• they increase water retention and clean water, and
• they reduce siltation, which pollutes water.
On the 8 February 2021 they released a pair into a suitable enclosed site in west Dorset in what is hoped by many to be the first of many similar projects across Dorset.
The Purbeck Beaver Project is currently working with stakeholders to draw up plans for a phased reintroduction of beavers to Purbeck.
Dorset National Park
Hopes of creating a National Park in Dorset were put on hold during the summer of 2021, having been left out of recent Government announcements. The Dorset National Park team and Dorset CPRE had proposed creating a National Park in the county to include as much as possible of the Dorset Council area (Figure 5), citing independent studies which suggest a National Park could provide important economic opportunities and benefits for rural Dorset.
Figure 5. Potential areas for Dorset National Park
According to its supporters Dorset National Park could help Dorset:
Supporters believe a National Park offers a unique opportunity to help reverse the decline in the environment, make this the home for ambitious and innovative businesses and help farmers and land managers to diversify and thrive, claiming the NP would work in partnership with other local authorities such as the Dorset Council, with the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the Local Nature Partnership (LNP), the Jurassic Coast Trust and other key stakeholders to invest in natural capital, environment, heritage and communities.
Opponents were concerned about how the rules of National Parks may override those of the elected councils and may force housing development into those areas not offered National Park status. Despite the Government’s decision supporters continue to pursue the idea.
Studland Bay 'eco-moorings' set up to protect seahorses
"Eco-moorings" are being installed at a Dorset beauty spot to provide an alternative to anchors, which can damage seahorse habitats on the seabed. The Seahorse Trust[2] charity and national marina group boatfolk have put the 10 new moorings into Studland Bay. Neil Garrick-Maidment, from the trust, said it was "vital" the area was "effectively protected" and used "responsibly and sustainably". The site was made a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) in 2019. The dropping of anchors can damage the seagrass meadows, an essential breeding ground for the Spiny Seahorse. Eco-moorings instead use a helical screw anchor which is driven into the seabed and attached to the mooring buoy via an elastic band. Its flexibility means it does not scour the seagrass like an anchor does. Michael Prideaux, managing director of boatfolk, said: "Providing an alternative option at Studland that protects this incredible marine environment is about doing the right thing for boaters and for our planet."
Coppiced HedgingRoss Dickinson of Racedown Farm in Dorset, working with the Devon Hedge Group, has undertaken analysis to shown that it is economically viable to move a hedge from annual flailing to a fifteen-year coppicing rotation. Ross explains that it has been shown that “the most efficient method is complete chipping of all material and the subsequent use of this material in biomass burners, both in terms of profitability and energy output.” Although currently there is not currently enough demand for this type of material, there are opportunities to “achieve a complete supply and demand cycle as in certain areas of the continent (and) if this was achieved on a scale that could absorb all the material from hedges then it is likely that this process will be widely adopted”. While crop burning for energy is generally discouraged (it uses land that should be used for food or carbon sequestration[1] and diverts attention from core renewable technologies), there is a requirement in the ZCD model for some biofuels to balance supply and demand. This could be a great contributor to that.
Further Information
Key Sources
Most of the technical information and data in this chapter has been taken from the Trends in Natural Capital, Ecosystem Services and Economic Development in Dorset report and Zero Carbon Britain: Rising to the Climate Emergency. Both are recommended reading for anyone who would like to understand the full background to this issue at a global, national and local scale.
Bridport-based Director, Robert Golden, released the powerful and thought-provoking documentary This Good Earth in January 2021. The film not only lays bare many of the land use issues we have discussed above, but also examines the global consequences of our food chain.
There can be few better introductions to both this chapter (and Eat Well) than this film, not least as it brings to life these issues, and some of the potential solutions, right here in Dorset.
Cairngorm Crofters: Regenerative Farming
This is an inspiring example of where a new to farming couple have set up a croft in North East Scotland run on regenerative principles and are already seeing the benefits, not just for nature (they have planted 17,500 native trees and set aside nine hectares for natural regeneration) but also from a lifestyle point of view. They are to be credited for their commitment to the project recognising that although “We could opt to do more to earn more, but then you blur that line between the wealth in your bank account and the wealth in your life, and we’ve always gone for the wealth in your life. It’s not about following a capitalist model of grow, grow, grow. It’s regenerative and ‘work within your means’.”
- Address the challenges of climate, nature and health.
- Deliver a successful, greener future for our communities and economy.
- Increase local community involvement and democratic accountability.
- Attract additional resources, investment and jobs.
- Build the homes local communities need and can afford.
- Support farmers to secure new farm funding and diversify their income.
- Support the health and well-being of all who live and work in this very special part of England.
Supporters believe a National Park offers a unique opportunity to help reverse the decline in the environment, make this the home for ambitious and innovative businesses and help farmers and land managers to diversify and thrive, claiming the NP would work in partnership with other local authorities such as the Dorset Council, with the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the Local Nature Partnership (LNP), the Jurassic Coast Trust and other key stakeholders to invest in natural capital, environment, heritage and communities.
Opponents were concerned about how the rules of National Parks may override those of the elected councils and may force housing development into those areas not offered National Park status. Despite the Government’s decision supporters continue to pursue the idea.
Studland Bay 'eco-moorings' set up to protect seahorses
"Eco-moorings" are being installed at a Dorset beauty spot to provide an alternative to anchors, which can damage seahorse habitats on the seabed. The Seahorse Trust[2] charity and national marina group boatfolk have put the 10 new moorings into Studland Bay. Neil Garrick-Maidment, from the trust, said it was "vital" the area was "effectively protected" and used "responsibly and sustainably". The site was made a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) in 2019. The dropping of anchors can damage the seagrass meadows, an essential breeding ground for the Spiny Seahorse. Eco-moorings instead use a helical screw anchor which is driven into the seabed and attached to the mooring buoy via an elastic band. Its flexibility means it does not scour the seagrass like an anchor does. Michael Prideaux, managing director of boatfolk, said: "Providing an alternative option at Studland that protects this incredible marine environment is about doing the right thing for boaters and for our planet."
Coppiced HedgingRoss Dickinson of Racedown Farm in Dorset, working with the Devon Hedge Group, has undertaken analysis to shown that it is economically viable to move a hedge from annual flailing to a fifteen-year coppicing rotation. Ross explains that it has been shown that “the most efficient method is complete chipping of all material and the subsequent use of this material in biomass burners, both in terms of profitability and energy output.” Although currently there is not currently enough demand for this type of material, there are opportunities to “achieve a complete supply and demand cycle as in certain areas of the continent (and) if this was achieved on a scale that could absorb all the material from hedges then it is likely that this process will be widely adopted”. While crop burning for energy is generally discouraged (it uses land that should be used for food or carbon sequestration[1] and diverts attention from core renewable technologies), there is a requirement in the ZCD model for some biofuels to balance supply and demand. This could be a great contributor to that.
Further Information
Key Sources
Most of the technical information and data in this chapter has been taken from the Trends in Natural Capital, Ecosystem Services and Economic Development in Dorset report and Zero Carbon Britain: Rising to the Climate Emergency. Both are recommended reading for anyone who would like to understand the full background to this issue at a global, national and local scale.
Bridport-based Director, Robert Golden, released the powerful and thought-provoking documentary This Good Earth in January 2021. The film not only lays bare many of the land use issues we have discussed above, but also examines the global consequences of our food chain.
There can be few better introductions to both this chapter (and Eat Well) than this film, not least as it brings to life these issues, and some of the potential solutions, right here in Dorset.
Cairngorm Crofters: Regenerative Farming
This is an inspiring example of where a new to farming couple have set up a croft in North East Scotland run on regenerative principles and are already seeing the benefits, not just for nature (they have planted 17,500 native trees and set aside nine hectares for natural regeneration) but also from a lifestyle point of view. They are to be credited for their commitment to the project recognising that although “We could opt to do more to earn more, but then you blur that line between the wealth in your bank account and the wealth in your life, and we’ve always gone for the wealth in your life. It’s not about following a capitalist model of grow, grow, grow. It’s regenerative and ‘work within your means’.”
Project Seagrass
As indicated in the 2021 Assessment above, seagrass can absorb and store carbon 35 times more effectively than rain forests yet we have already lost more than 90% of our seagrass meadows. Project Seagrassis committed to saving those that remain.
At Dale in Pembrokeshire, Sky Ocean Rescue, Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum, Pembrokeshire Marine Special Area of Conservation, WWF and Swansea University are working to restore seagrass meadows. In 2020, Sky Ocean Rescue, WWF and Swansea University marked the major milestone in the biggest seagrass restoration project ever undertaken in the UK by planting around 1 million seagrass seeds in Dale Bay. The project plans to restore seagrass in a two-hectare area (approximately two rugby pitches) in collaboration with local people in Dale.
Restoring seagrass is vital for ocean health and has huge benefits. It can protect coasts, improve water filtration and plays other important roles including:
• Fisheries Support – 20% of the world’s biggest fisheries are supported by seagrass meadows as fish nurseries.
• Biodiversity Support – 50 species of fish live in or visit UK seagrass, supporting 30 times more animals than nearby habitat.
• Fighting Climate Change – Seagrasses store carbon 30 times faster than forests. Restoring them traps carbon dioxide.
Knepp Estate - Rewilding and Regenerative Agriculture
Knepp Estate, just south of Horsham, has been owned by the Burrells for over 220 years. Overlooking Knepp Lake is a castle which remains the family home. Until recently most of its 3,500 acres was devoted to traditional arable and dairy farming but in 2001 they shifted their focus entirely and embarked on a series of regeneration and restoration projects aimed at nature conservation. There is a clear focus on regenerative agriculture which they explain in detail on their website. This means they are still farming, just in a less intensive way - producing organic, pasture-fed meat from free-roaming herds of animals within the Wildland project. This is great example of what some Dorset estates could achieve.
Tree Planting
The UK needs to at least quadruple the current rate of woodland creation and increase the proportion that comprises native tree and shrub species to help minimise the pace and level of climate change, adapt to its unavoidable impacts and give nature a fighting chance of recovery. The challenge is to find the space that trees need to expand and thrive across our nation. Currently the UK has just 13% woodland cover and needs to get to 19% if the UK is to meet its net zero carbon 2050 target.
UK tree planting initiatives.
Forestry England
Forestry England look after more than 1,500 of the UKs forests including a number here in Dorset. Alongside their recognition that “forests are a vital source of sustainable timber, to support jobs and industry, a home for wildlife to thrive and a place for people to connect with nature and enjoy themselves”, they will clearly have a role to play in the radical increase in tree cover required across the country to address climate change. Forestry England’s five-year plan sets out the priorities for sustainable, productive forests that deliver for the climate emergency, tackle the nature crisis and support people's health and wellbeing.
Forest Plans define the long-term vision for a woodland or a collection of woodlands and set out how management will move towards achieving this vision over the next ten years. Information on a recent Forestry England consultation on the East Dorset Forest Plan 2020 – 2030 can still be viewed although this is now closed.
Avoiding the carbon-offsetting land grab
The potential conflicts for land use are explored in the ZCB reports. There is also concern among many campaigners and groups that, without sufficient oversight and consideration, land could be ‘grabbed’ for apparent climate solutions which may be detrimental to the overall goal of preventing environmental breakdown or could lead to creating further social issues. This article, by Laurie Macfarlane, a research associate at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose and co-author of 'Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing’, considers the risks of monetising natural assets and carbon offsets and the issues of land ownership. While it overlaps with some of the issues we discuss in the Policies and Justice for All chapters, it is important to note these risks and issues when considering how we address land use in general.
Soil Quality
The Soil Association is a charity which ‘digs deeper to transform the way we eat, farm and care for our natural world’. Noting that, if we want to live in a world which is in balance with nature and a future with good health and a safe climate, it is their mission to ‘help everyone understand and explore the vital relationship between the health of soil, plants, animals and people. Campaigning, educating and helping everyone to grow better together’.
The charity helped to establish, and has ongoing involvement in:
1. A wholly owned subsidiary Soil Association Certification Limited, the UK’s largest organic certification body.
2. Food for Life, a programme making good food the easy choice for everyone.
3. The Soil Association Land Trust, who acquire and maintain farmland sustainably and to connect the public with land stewardship.
They are also a lead partner in several programmes working directly with communities to deliver positive change in food and farming, including Innovative Farmers, Sustainable Food Places, Food For Life Get Togethers and more.
The Power of Community
As described on its official website this film details how when “the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin” and how with imports of oil cut by more than half (and food by 80 percent) Cuba’s people were desperate. The film tells of “the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during this economic crisis, which they call ‘The Special Period’. “
While the film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever, what we now know is we cannot afford to burn all the oil in known reserves without causing catastrophic climate change. However, the crisis Cuba faced is an opportunity for all of us to learn there are alternatives and hope beyond oil.
X-Polli:Nation
Funded by EPSRC and National Geographic, X-Polli:Nation cross-pollinates ideas, methods and technologies for pollinator citizen science. The project researches how people and Artificial Intelligence can help each other in citizen science learning around pollination and pollinating insects. It also considers how outdoor learning and citizen science can be incorporated into primary and secondary schools and how approaches to citizen science transfer to different social contexts.
X-Polli:Nation is an actionable citizen science project, that encourages everyone to create, maintain and monitor pollinator-friendly habitats and act as pollinator stewards in society.
As indicated in the 2021 Assessment above, seagrass can absorb and store carbon 35 times more effectively than rain forests yet we have already lost more than 90% of our seagrass meadows. Project Seagrassis committed to saving those that remain.
At Dale in Pembrokeshire, Sky Ocean Rescue, Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum, Pembrokeshire Marine Special Area of Conservation, WWF and Swansea University are working to restore seagrass meadows. In 2020, Sky Ocean Rescue, WWF and Swansea University marked the major milestone in the biggest seagrass restoration project ever undertaken in the UK by planting around 1 million seagrass seeds in Dale Bay. The project plans to restore seagrass in a two-hectare area (approximately two rugby pitches) in collaboration with local people in Dale.
Restoring seagrass is vital for ocean health and has huge benefits. It can protect coasts, improve water filtration and plays other important roles including:
• Fisheries Support – 20% of the world’s biggest fisheries are supported by seagrass meadows as fish nurseries.
• Biodiversity Support – 50 species of fish live in or visit UK seagrass, supporting 30 times more animals than nearby habitat.
• Fighting Climate Change – Seagrasses store carbon 30 times faster than forests. Restoring them traps carbon dioxide.
Knepp Estate - Rewilding and Regenerative Agriculture
Knepp Estate, just south of Horsham, has been owned by the Burrells for over 220 years. Overlooking Knepp Lake is a castle which remains the family home. Until recently most of its 3,500 acres was devoted to traditional arable and dairy farming but in 2001 they shifted their focus entirely and embarked on a series of regeneration and restoration projects aimed at nature conservation. There is a clear focus on regenerative agriculture which they explain in detail on their website. This means they are still farming, just in a less intensive way - producing organic, pasture-fed meat from free-roaming herds of animals within the Wildland project. This is great example of what some Dorset estates could achieve.
Tree Planting
The UK needs to at least quadruple the current rate of woodland creation and increase the proportion that comprises native tree and shrub species to help minimise the pace and level of climate change, adapt to its unavoidable impacts and give nature a fighting chance of recovery. The challenge is to find the space that trees need to expand and thrive across our nation. Currently the UK has just 13% woodland cover and needs to get to 19% if the UK is to meet its net zero carbon 2050 target.
UK tree planting initiatives.
- The National Trust aim to plant and establishing 20 million trees by 2030
- The Woodland Trustare on a mission to get 50 million native trees in the ground over the next 5 years, planting them where they’ll bring the most benefit, complementing other precious habitats, supporting wildlife and storing carbon for centuries. They want to make sure everybody in the UK has the chance to plant a tree. So they are giving away hundreds of thousands of trees to schools and communities.
- The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Everyone across the UK is being invited to plant trees from October 2021, when the tree planting season begins, through to the end of the Jubilee year in 2022. They aim to create a network of individual trees, avenues, copses and whole woodlands in honour of The Queen's service and the legacy she has built. This will create a green legacy of its own, with every tree planted bringing benefits for people, wildlife and climate, now and for the future.
- Countryfile Plant Britain wants to get everyone planting in a big, ambitious two-year project where we can all do our bit in the battle against climate change and to help wildlife and our own well-being. They launched with the goal of planting 750,000 trees – one for every UK primary school starter in 2020. From inner city estates to some of Britain’s most breath-taking landscapes, it doesn’t matter where you live or however small a space you’ve got to plant, they can help. Over the next two years they’ll also be looking at fruit, veg and flowers. So whatever you plant, be sure to log it on their interactive map.
Forestry England
Forestry England look after more than 1,500 of the UKs forests including a number here in Dorset. Alongside their recognition that “forests are a vital source of sustainable timber, to support jobs and industry, a home for wildlife to thrive and a place for people to connect with nature and enjoy themselves”, they will clearly have a role to play in the radical increase in tree cover required across the country to address climate change. Forestry England’s five-year plan sets out the priorities for sustainable, productive forests that deliver for the climate emergency, tackle the nature crisis and support people's health and wellbeing.
Forest Plans define the long-term vision for a woodland or a collection of woodlands and set out how management will move towards achieving this vision over the next ten years. Information on a recent Forestry England consultation on the East Dorset Forest Plan 2020 – 2030 can still be viewed although this is now closed.
Avoiding the carbon-offsetting land grab
The potential conflicts for land use are explored in the ZCB reports. There is also concern among many campaigners and groups that, without sufficient oversight and consideration, land could be ‘grabbed’ for apparent climate solutions which may be detrimental to the overall goal of preventing environmental breakdown or could lead to creating further social issues. This article, by Laurie Macfarlane, a research associate at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose and co-author of 'Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing’, considers the risks of monetising natural assets and carbon offsets and the issues of land ownership. While it overlaps with some of the issues we discuss in the Policies and Justice for All chapters, it is important to note these risks and issues when considering how we address land use in general.
Soil Quality
The Soil Association is a charity which ‘digs deeper to transform the way we eat, farm and care for our natural world’. Noting that, if we want to live in a world which is in balance with nature and a future with good health and a safe climate, it is their mission to ‘help everyone understand and explore the vital relationship between the health of soil, plants, animals and people. Campaigning, educating and helping everyone to grow better together’.
The charity helped to establish, and has ongoing involvement in:
1. A wholly owned subsidiary Soil Association Certification Limited, the UK’s largest organic certification body.
2. Food for Life, a programme making good food the easy choice for everyone.
3. The Soil Association Land Trust, who acquire and maintain farmland sustainably and to connect the public with land stewardship.
They are also a lead partner in several programmes working directly with communities to deliver positive change in food and farming, including Innovative Farmers, Sustainable Food Places, Food For Life Get Togethers and more.
The Power of Community
As described on its official website this film details how when “the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin” and how with imports of oil cut by more than half (and food by 80 percent) Cuba’s people were desperate. The film tells of “the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during this economic crisis, which they call ‘The Special Period’. “
While the film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever, what we now know is we cannot afford to burn all the oil in known reserves without causing catastrophic climate change. However, the crisis Cuba faced is an opportunity for all of us to learn there are alternatives and hope beyond oil.
X-Polli:Nation
Funded by EPSRC and National Geographic, X-Polli:Nation cross-pollinates ideas, methods and technologies for pollinator citizen science. The project researches how people and Artificial Intelligence can help each other in citizen science learning around pollination and pollinating insects. It also considers how outdoor learning and citizen science can be incorporated into primary and secondary schools and how approaches to citizen science transfer to different social contexts.
X-Polli:Nation is an actionable citizen science project, that encourages everyone to create, maintain and monitor pollinator-friendly habitats and act as pollinator stewards in society.