We escaped the thunderstorms at High Borrowdale this week, even though it was a bit wet. We had the final push on loading up the truck with tree tubes to go for recycling in August. The barn is now empty, ready to fill with more tubes that we will take off in the winter when the vegetation has died back.

While the dry stone walling gang were busy fixing walls by the river, the rest of us then moved on to removing grass from our new hedge plants to give them more light and less competition, and pulling out some invasive willow herb that had appeared.

The hedge is now in its second summer, and unlike the trees we have planted, is romping away. We disturbed the odd vole having a sleep in the guards, and wondered whether it's voles or rabbits who are chewing the bottom cable ties!

Earlier we had disturbed our resident barn owl in the cow shed, but it was a beautiful sight seeing it fly off and wonderful that after a gap of a decade or so the barn owls are back in our buildings. 

We do everything we can to help nature, at the same time as looking after our cultural heritage and providing free access.

Funding for nature friendly farming is only guaranteed until 2027 in terms of the new Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) and in 2027 the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) will cease altogether. This accounts for a large part of upland hill farmers’ incomes.

Reports analysing whether the ELM schemes will bridge the gap in funding when the Basic Payment Scheme goes show that it won’t.

Defra Farm Business Income figures show that upland hill farms made, on average, £25,400 in 2023, thanks only to the receipt of £19,700 support from the Basic Payment Scheme.

The new Labour Government has recently pledged to support the new schemes which is good news, but it is still almost impossible for farmers and landowners to make long term plans, when there is as yet no idea of what any support may look like post 2027 and we still do not have all the detail on all the new schemes. There is a lot of work to do by the new Government to set ambitions that are realisable, restore confidence and provide some certainty so that farmers and land owners can plan ahead properly.

Whilst we at Friends of the Lake District are not farmers, we do a lot of nature friendly land management and join the same schemes as farmers. We are in the same uncertain situation as we keep following new developments with the new schemes and try and map out the best funding course to help us realise our own ambitions for nature, culture and our stunning landscapes. It remains a waiting and watching game to see what the next set of announcements will be.

Our next workparty will be on 11th September in Greenbank Wood at Ambleside. Join us if you can : https://www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/Event/wednesday-11th-september-2024-greenbank-wood-coppicing