Facilitation fund reopens to encourage green collaboration

Defra has launched the latest round of the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund to encourage groups of farmers in England to work together on environmental projects.

The £2.5m fund helps pay for people to act as facilitators to bring together groups of farmers to improve environmental outcomes in their local area.

To date the scheme has helped to create 180 groups with 4,000 members.

See also: 4 business structures for landscape-scale projects

It is hoped the latest round of funding will benefit more than 40 new groups.

Defra minister Mark Spencer said by joining forces on shared environmental ambitions, farmers and landowners were able to have a greater positive effect on the landscape than they could ever achieve alone.

“This Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund is already helping to bring farmers and landowners together for the benefit of nature and the environment, and I encourage farming communities across England to consider applying.”

Previous projects to have benefited from the funding include:

• Running demonstration days in timber extraction and wood processing in Morecambe Bay
• Exploring measures to reduce flooding along the Glenderamackin river in the Lake District
• Improving farmers’ understanding of ground-nesting birds in the Upper Nidderdale
• Helping to reconnect farmers with nature and improving their confidence in conservation farming in the White Peak.

Eligibility criteria

Projects need to focus on delivering environmental objectives that are in line with local Countryside Stewardship priorities.

The farms involved must collectively cover at least 2,000ha, unless it can be shown that the proposal fits a smaller, clear environmental boundary.

The area of land must be spread over a minimum of four separate land holdings all managed by different people.

Applications can be for up to £10,000/year for activities such as field trips, training sessions, and sampling or testing of soil and plants, plus one-off consumable items such as binoculars and field guides.

The scheme will also pay £500 a member, up to a maximum of 80 people, to cover costs of administration and management of the group.

Agreements run for three years.

The application window is open from 7 November until 25 January 2023.