GWCT News Blog

Eleanor Williams looks at the Big Farmland Bird Count as it celebrates its 10th birthday.

On 30th May GWCT Newsround reported on a think piece by Hong Jiang a PhD student at York University which asked how we achieve the expansion of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECM) in line with the ambitions of COP15 and the new post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The GBF commits to 23 action-orientated targets by 2030.

John Szczur reports on unprecedented rain which has damaged habitats and put harvest in doubt. John Szczur is the ecologist at our Allerton Project farm. He is passionate about wildlife and how to help farmers combat climate change.

Is the focus on carbon distracting from the benefits of considering soil health in the round?

What are the parties promising our farmers and land managers?

Open Farm Sunday has been taking place in June every year since 2006, and this year the GWCT took part in several events across the country. The day provides an opportunity for farmers to share their fabulous work with all ages, by opening their farms to the general public, and showcasing the many goods and services they provide.

Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Scotland’s Fiona Torrance recently took Dougie Vipond from BBC Landward on a grey partridge count around the fields of Balgonie, where conservation efforts have seen numbers of this iconic farmland bird soar in the last 10 years.

There's a cause that is close to our hearts at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust. The grey partridge, not only our emblem but also a vital biodiversity indicator species, is in urgent need of help.

The latest season of Springwatch on BBC One praised farmers in the Martin Down Farmer Cluster for their hard work in restoring biodiversity and supporting wildlife across their land at a landscape scale.

Elin Thomas, GWCT Cymru’s Agriculture and Conservation Officer, along with Lee Oliver, Director for Wales, attended the Sustainable Grass and Muck Event at Aberystwyth Uni’s Trawsgoed Farm, Aberystwyth last Thursday as part of Ceredigion’s County Events in the run up to the Royal Welsh Show.