Are you the UK’s top wildlife friendly farmer? RSPB Awards
16 April 2012
You've got till Friday to get your entry in for the prestigious RSPB awards. Read below for the more detail and how to enter.
If you are already entered good luck and let us know how you get on.
Best wishes
Producer Support
The race is on for UK farmers to enter this year’s RSPB Telegraph Nature of Farming Award, with applications being accepted until Friday 20 April.
The award aims to find farmers who put in the most work on their land to help threatened countryside species and is run by the RSPB, supported by Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife, and sponsored by The Telegraph.
Farmers have been entering 2012’s competition since it launched earlier this year, but the RSPB is today reminding those who’ve yet to throw their hat into the ring to do so now before it’s too late.
After the closing date, entries will be shortlisted to eight regional winners then a panel of experts will decide which four should go through to the national finals. The UK public will then decide the winner by casting their votes online, via The Telegraph orat country shows throughout the summer. There is also be a highly commended category to recognise the efforts of farmers who have excelled in their support of farmland wildlife.
Martin Harper, RSPB Director of Conservation and one of the competition’s judges, said: “We’re really looking forward to showcasing even more of the UK’s wildlife friendly farmers in 2012. Some go to considerable lengths to integrate conservation measures into their farming systems and this competition provides an opportunity to highlight these efforts to the wider public, as well as promote conservation techniques amongst land managers.
“There’s a growing swell of farmers who have proved nature can go hand in hand with a healthy farm business and we know there are more out there. If you’re one of them, then enter the competition now while there’s still time.”
This year’s judging panel:
Martin Harper - RSPB Director of Conservation
Martin Warren – Butterfly Conservation Chief Executive
Victoria Chester – Plantlife Chief Executive
Fergus Collins – Countryfile Magazine
Last year’s winners, Carolyne and Somerset from Treshnish Farm on the Isle of Mull, proved you can have a successful agricultural business and care deeply for the land, its biodiversity and the future. The pair impressed voters with their excellent understanding of diverse farmland habitats, managing their farm to benefit a range of different species.
The pair have created and restored key habitats such as native woodland, wetland, peat bog and moorland on their 750ha upland livestock farm. Wildlife has flourished, and includes field gentian, wood bitter vetch, corncrake and curlew and a host of invertebrates; including more than 300 species of moths and butterflies.
In March, a group of farmers, including previous Nature of Farming Award finalists, travelled to Brussels to call for greater support for wildlife conservation measures in the countryside. The group met MEPs to highlight the importance of targeted agri environment schemes in the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which will enter into force in 2014.
Conservationists and wildlife friendly farmers across Europe are concerned that current proposals for the CAP could mean cuts to agri-environment schemes. The plans also completely fail to introduce a vital lifeline for farming practices in areas like the uplands which deliver outstanding benefits for both wildlife and people - known as ‘High Nature Value’ farming systems.
Gethin Owen was one of the farmers who travelled to Brussels, his farm in Abergele, North Wales, won the Welsh heat of the Nature of Farming Award last year. He said: “As a farmer I have a duty to care for the countryside, and that means making sure that wildlife can thrive. The measures I have put in place on my land have made a real difference and this winter my land has been teeming with birds as a result. But modern farming is a business like any other and in order to continue providing these measures we farmers must be supported.”
Farmland bird populations have fallen by 50 per cent since 1970 and it is only by protecting wildlife-rich farming systems and encouraging more uptake of science-backed conservation measures on farmland that species like lapwings, skylarks and grey partridges will bounce back.
The EU LIFE+ Programme funds RSPB work which supports wildlife-friendly farming that furthers sustainable development.
