Water Management

Farm walk: Claverhill Community Farm

Hosted by Claverhill and FoodFutures

Claverhill is a six acre community food project which hosts a range of projects including Spud Club (a community grown agriculture project), Lancaster Seed Library,  a natural dyes project,  tree nursery and a nature trail.

Come and join a tour of the site, including a discussion about natural flood management as you view the newly created holding ponds, water channels and lake on site!

You will need to book places on this walk separately. More information will be sent to all ticket-holders.

Speakers/hosts include:

Anna Clayton – Anna studied Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia and, since graduating in 2010, has completed a Permaculture design course, RHS certificate in horticulture and a variety of facilitation and collaborative training. For the past ten years she has worked on a range of community projects with focuses ranging from environmental art, seed saving, heritage fruit tree grafting, wildlife gardening, up-cycling workshops, junk jamming and food growing- both in the UK and abroad. On behalf of LESS, Anna currently coordinates FoodFutures – North Lancashire’s Sustainable Food Partnership and network.

Anna also works part time as a Writer and Researcher and Worker Director at Ethical Consumer Magazine in Manchester, under which role she has co-organised the Lush Spring Prize for environmental and social regeneration.

She also sits on the management committee of Claver Hill food growing project in Lancaster, and sits on the advisory group of the Northern Real Farming Conference.

Rod Everett – Rod is an organic farmer in the Forest of Bowland producing unusual apple cider vinegar to stimulate health. An ecologist, researcher for FoodFutures, farm advisor, permaculture teacher and natural flood management consultant. He is also a founder of the Northern Real Farming Conference

Lancashire Woodland Connect

Hosted by the Ribble Rivers Trust

Lancashire Woodland Connect Campaign is a decade-long campaign to double the area of woodland across Lancashire to fight climate change, improve air quality and reduce flooding. We will plant more than half a million trees to reduce flooding, improve air quality and remove 100,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Working with private and public sector supporters together with community-based groups and conservation charities, we are aiming to create 100 kilometres of new or restored woodland alongside the Rivers Ribble, Lune and Wyre and their whole catchments.

Dedicated farm and woodland advisors within the three trusts work with our fabulous farmers to find areas of land to create woodland that would not only have a positive impact on water quality but also farm businesses. The introduction of the EWCO, carbon capture payments for farmers are creating an alternative income to compliment a productive farm business.

This aim of this session is to highlight the opportunities within the campaign, the evidence that is used to identify potential planting locations, developing a scheme alongside farmer priorities and the funding opportunities for farmers and landowners in Lancashire.

Speakers/hosts include:

Jack Spees – Jack started at the Ribble Rivers Trust in 2008 as the Fisheries Scientist before being made Trust Director in 2010. Jack now oversees the work undertaken by the Trust and the team as well as providing a wealth of information on all aspects of the river environment.

Kristina Graves – Kristina began working for the Trust in 2019, joining us to fill the new role of Woodland Creation Officer. Having worked on a range of habitat projects Kristina has an excellent knowledge of woodlands and ecology which is already proving to be a huge asset to the team.

Kathryn Oddie – Kathryn joined the team in 2019. Kathryn works as a farm advisor for the trust on the Ribble Life Together project and runs the River Loud farm group. As well as being a local farmers daughter, she has a background in agri- environment and environmental monitoring.

Heather Whalley – Heather is a farmer from the Hodder Valley, with a passion for the environment and combining sustainable farming and conservation. With a great knowledge of the local area, her work as a farm advisor will be to engage, visit and support farmers to make positive changes for the catchment

Natural flood management walk

Hosted by the Lune Rivers Trust and FoodFutures

This natural flood management walk will show a range of techniques that can be used to slow the flow. On Backsbottom farm we have set up a trail showing restoring blanket bog, contour swales, check dams, in river training, attenuation ponds, contour grassland aeration and the use of liquid biofertilizer to encourage good soil structure. This will be a good opportunity to discuss flood management.

THIS WALK WILL NEED TO BE BOOKED SEPARATELY TO RESERVE A SPACE. FURTHER INFORMATION WILL BE CIRCULATED TO REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS.

Speakers/hosts include:

Rod Everett – Rod has lived next to the river Roeburn for over 60 years observing it through the extreme flood in 1967 when the farmhouse was washed away along with other houses in Wray village. He is working with the Lune Rivers Trust on projects with local farmers and flood management in Lancaster in more urban settings.

Natural Flood management in woodlands, tree planting and ELMs

Hosted by the Lune Rivers Trust, Environment Agency and the Forestry Commission.

This session explored natural flood management and how it has been implemented in the north of England and Stroud area. This lead onto discussions on how natural flood management will fit into the proposed ELMs.

Speakers/hosts:

Louisa Blundell, Lune Rivers Trust

James Anderson-Bickley is the partnership Advisor on Natural Flood Management and woodland creation to the Forestry Commission for the North West and West Midlands.

Chris Uttley, Senior Advisor Flood and Coastal Risk Management, Environment Agency, has worked in countryside and conservation management for most of his career, but recently spent four years with Stroud District Council working with farmers, landowners and communities to implement natural flood management in the catchment of the Stroud Frome. He now works as a Senior flood and coastal advisor with the EA, in a team specialising in nature based solutions and integrating management of the environment into flood and coastal risk management.

 

 

Natural Flood management and improving the headwaters of the River Lune

Hosted by the Lune Rivers Trust and local farmers.

This session showed a number of projects on the headwaters of the River Lune and how practical actions have been taken for Natural Flood Management and reducing pollution. This aimed to help to empower other farmers to take action. 

Josh talked about the work he has been doing on Forgotten Farms in the upper reaches of the Lune to improve water quality.

Tim showed a video of the work being done on Tebay common, how he has worked with other farmers to install leaky dams and how his excitement has built as he has seen them in action.

Stephen talked about his work on Botton Head Farm with check dams and contour soil aeration.

Rod examined four landslips on Backsbottom farm and told the stories of water flows and past events that caused them. This gave an understanding of how the water flows impinge on many farms.

Speakers/hosts:

Josh Eckersley is a farmer who also works with the Lune Rivers trust on Forgotten Farms in the upper reaches of the Lune to improve water quality.

Tim Winder is a farmer from the Tebay area who is actively involved in promoting Natural Flood Management on Tebay common and works with other farmers in the area.

Stephen Taylor is a farmer at Botton Head Lowgill who has started to implement Natural Flood Management on the farm incuding check dams and contour soil aeration.

Rod Everett has over 60 years of living at Backsbottom farm, has experienced many floods and has recently set up a Natural Flood Management educational trail as part of a wider project working with neighbouring farmers to reduce flooding.

Natural Flood Management walk

Hosted by Rod Everett of the Lune Rivers Trust.

This walk will wander from the blanket bog fell, through inbye land along the river Roeburn and into the ancient semi-natural woodland. We will see a range of Natural Flood Management measures that have been implemented at Backsbottom Farm and have time to discuss other relevant subjects such as mob grazing and bio ferment soil structure catalysts.

Location: 12 Miles east of Lancaster on the Northern Edge of the Forest of Bowland AONB.

Host:

Rod Everett has over 60 years of living at Backsbottom farm, has experienced many floods and has recently set up a Natural Flood Management educational trail as part of a wider project working with neighbouring farmers to reduce flooding.

PLEASE NOTE: places are limited for the physically distanced walk. Conference participants will have chance to book places