Farming News - Date announced for the Second Symposium of Wildlife Farms Estates, England and Wales
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Date announced for the Second Symposium of Wildlife Farms Estates, England and Wales
The second Symposium of Wildlife Farms and Estates, England and Wales will be held on Wednesday, September 25th.
This year’s event will take place at the Allerton Project demonstration farm in Leicestershire and will be hosted by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and sponsored by Evelyn Partners.
Speakers at this year’s event will include Dr Alastair Leake, the Director of Policy at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust. Alastair was awarded the Royal Agricultural Society of England’s National Agricultural Award last year for his outstanding contribution to British agriculture through his work leading the Allerton Project. He has also just been made a board member of Natural England.
He will be joined by Dr Roger Draycott, Director of Advisory, Education and Gamebird Policy at the GWCT, who will discuss biodiversity auditing.
Former Bledisloe Gold Medal for Landowners winner Ed Barnston of the Barnston Estate in Cheshire will talk about his journey from Level 1 to Level 2 accreditation and the benefits of being accredited.
Caroline Pringle of Wildlife Estates Scotland will update on recent progress including trusted Operator Status for Grouse Moor Licensing. There will also be a talk from the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), and Strutt and Parker will discuss the WFE application process.
During the event, there will be a chance for visitors to find out about the benefits of WFE membership to landowners and managers at all scales, followed by lunch and a site visit of The Allerton Project hosted by GWCT.
Tom Leicester, The Earl of Leicester and Chairman of WFE, said: “We’re looking forward to our second Symposium and welcoming landholders from across England and Wales.
“The day will be a celebration of all that is good about WFE, and we’ll hear from some of the people and organisations making a difference to the way we farm from smaller landholdings to big estates.
“Holkham Estate was the first English estate to achieve Wildlife Estates accreditation in 2012. It is a means of encouraging landowners to understand their land and biodiversity more, to allow them to make more informed management decisions, leading to improvement of the natural capital in our care.”
Ed Barnston, Manager of the Barnston Estate in Cheshire, said: “Securing Level 2 accreditation was a challenge but entirely worthwhile for what it delivers.
“This ranges from identifying some areas of weakness requiring more focus and confirmed other aspects were on track, balancing food production alongside enhancing biodiversity, unlocking BNG, raising the standards of land management expected by society and building a positive legacy.”
Dr Johnny Wake, Managing Partner at Courteenhall Estate in South Northamptonshire, said: “We’ve done our Level 1 and we’re just working through Level 2 at the moment. It’s a really good thing. The aim is to show government, NGOs, private finance, whoever, that we’re going above and beyond when it comes to farming and for working for nature.”
https://wildlifeestates.org.uk/
Event details
Date: September 25th 9am-4pm
Address: The Allerton Project, Visitor Centre, Main Street, Loddington, Leicestershire LE7 9XE
Cost: £24
How to book:
Wildlife Farms & Estates England & Wales - Symposium 2024 Tickets, Wed 25 Sep 2024 at 09:15 | Eventbrite