October kicked off with the Making Space for Nature in Kent and Medway launch at Lenham. In total there were 150 people from across the county in attendance to learn more about the project. The project led by Kent County Council will result in the development of the Local Nature Recovery (LNRS) for the area, funded by DEFRA. Several speakers spoke at the event including Claire Eckley from the Marden Cluster, Emma Loder Symonds from Nonington Farms and Paul Hadaway from Kent Wildlife Trust. To learn more and see some of the presentations, check out their website here.
This month I also ran our second RiverSearch volunteer workshop which means there are now 14 volunteers taking samples along the river Beult. These samples include Nitrate and Phosphate plus turbidity and a visual score. We will be working with South East Rivers Trust to monitor this data so it can be used effectively to see what’s happening in the river and where improvements need to be carried out.
Last week South East Rivers Trust held an NbS Safari in Shadoxhurst to show retailers the work they have been doing to make the catchment more resilient. This work includes several leaky woody dams being implemented across adjoining farms with riparian buffer strips to restore wetlands and meadows. These nature-based solutions will help the landscape hold more water and increase the resilience of the Beult. We will be discussing this in more detail along with other work in the catchment at our cluster meeting next week!
Finally, I came across an interesting report put together by the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs this week. The Sustainable Futures Report 2023 shares insights on how new entrants and next generation farmers feel about the future of working in the industry. It talks about overcoming key barriers and suggestions on how the industry needs to change to meet their needs. Definitely worth a read – check it out here.
