Bringing more farmer voices in the local nature recovery strategy

At our farmer and landowner event in February, we were asked to include more farmer voices in the strategy preparation as farmers, landowners and land managers are a key stakeholder for nature recovery. We have now formed a farmer clusters group with farmers and cluster facilitators to help with the strategy preparation process. Farmer clusters are groups on conservation-minded farmers who share knowledge and work together, sometimes with the help of a facilitator. 

They are working on:

  • pressures and opportunities on nature from a farming perspective
  • a draft priority on sustainable farming practices
  • how farm businesses might want to use the Nature Recovery Dorset brand
  • mapping activities for nature
  • opportunities to engage with others in the farming sector that we are following up

Bringing all our groups together

It's time to start bringing together all the work our advisory groups have been doing to prepare different parts of the strategy. On 23 May, 50 members of the Dorset local nature recovery strategy advisory groups attended a workshop to go through and input into:

  • the vision for Nature Recovery Dorset
  • the draft priorities for nature recovery
  • the practical activities that will help achieve the priorities
  • the range of detail and information for the mapping
  • identifying the process of joining the Nature Recovery Dorset network
     

Group of people chatting at a workshop

Dorset local nature recovery strategy progress

  • the draft nature recovery priorities and activities are being refined following May workshop feedback
  • the farmer clusters group have inputted pressures and opportunities, a farming perspective
  • the Nature Areas - National Importance map has been made by Dorset Environmental Records Centre
  • the species group have created the longlist of species and are engaging with species stakeholders for final additions to this