GWCT Video: Farmer-Led Conservation of the River Ebble www.gwct.org.uk/riverebblefilm
Described as a ‘world’s rarest’ habitat, the River Ebble flows 12 miles through the farmlands, villages and lowlands of the beautiful Chalke Valley before joining the River Avon near Salisbury. It is a valuable habitat that members of the Chalke Valley Farmer Cluster have placed at the center of their conservation efforts. Now a new short film from the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) celebrates their efforts to protect this vital artery.
Farmers Andrew Reis, Matthew Pickford and Ben Jeans speak to GWCT Biodiversity Advisor Jess Brooks. Matthew calls Ebble ‘the life of this valley’ and his passion for the crystal clear chalk stream is clearly shared by Farmer Cluster members Andrew and Ben.
“Apart from its own ecology, it supports a variety of other wildlife species that we wouldn’t have without the river,” says Andrew, the lead farmer for the Chalke Valley Farmer Cluster. The farmer cluster is part of the pioneering Environmental Farmers Group (EFG) which, with support from the GWCT, facilitates access to environmental programs and through trading in natural capital aims to create better water quality and wildlife habitat throughout the Hampshire Avon catchment.
Conservation projects by Chalke Valley farmers have included installing cross drains to combat sediment-heavy runoff caused by dirt roads and planting Italian ryegrass after the corn harvest to keep soil in the fields. The farmers hope their efforts will inspire others in the catchment area and beyond.
“If we lead the way by keeping it clean and caring for it,” Matthew said, “others using the river will see what we’re doing and hopefully follow.”
The farmers are working with a number of partners on a project called the Crystal Clear Ebble. Alex Deacon, Catchment Partnerships Manager for Wessex Rivers Trust said:
“Farmers are in a fortunate position because they can work together and deliver things at scale, which is a real benefit for biodiversity. We work with the Farmer Cluster to plan and review opportunities for collective improvement.”
Alex believes that the Chalke Valley Farmer Cluster’s actions are replicable along the river course and that “the EFG has real potential to bring a lot of benefits to the health of our rivers in the Avon River Basin”.
Regard Farmer-led protection of the River Ebble here www.gwct.org.uk/riverebblefilm
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The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust gwct.org.uk – Providing research-led conservation for a thriving landscape. The GWCT is an independent wildlife conservation charity that has been conducting scientific research into game and game in Britain since the 1930s. We advise farmers and landowners on how to improve wildlife habitats. We employ 22 PhD scientists and 50 other research staff with expertise in areas such as birds, insects, mammals, agriculture, fish and statistics. We conduct our own research as well as projects funded by contracts and grants from government and private entities.
Farmer Cluster: farmerclusters.com
The Chalke Valley Farmer Cluster is one of over 200 farming clusters in the UK. Farmers and land managers do a lot for Britain’s countryside, but there is only so much that one individual, acting in isolation, can achieve alone. Through collaboration, assisted by an advisor or “facilitator,” farmers and land managers can work together to collectively achieve greater landscape-scale benefits for soil, water and wildlife.
The GWCT helped conceptualize and build the groundbreaking farmer-led Marlborough Downs Nature Improvement Area project in 2012 and then the first pilot projects of ‘farmer clusters’ in partnership with Natural England in 2014.
Environmental Farmers Group (EFG) Environmentalfarmersgroup.co.uk
The pioneering Environmental Farmers Group (EFG). EFG is an exciting new farmers’ cooperative based in southern England that aims to improve access to environmental programs and create better water quality and wildlife habitat through trading in natural capital. GWCT plays a key role in supporting and convening the EFG.
