I promised you I would report after my evening out in Ely.
Lovely venue (the Maltings in Ely) – filled with an impressive audience of farmers and partner organisations.
The starting point was our fenland farmland bird recovery project (funded by Natural England) – and we heard from project officer Niki Williamson about the strong partnerships she has formed with fenland farmers. This particular project just has a few days to run before it transfers into our Fens Futurescape programme.
(Apols for all the fs – if you are reading this aloud do feel free to stop and wipe the screen)
Lapwings are birds of farmland and wetland
Our presence in the Fens is best known through our reserves – Lakenheath, the Nene and Ouse Washes and Fen Drayton (do try and visit during the spring). Restoring and enlarging the wetland bits of the Fens is a key part of our vision (only 3% of the original 3000 square km of wet fenland remain – so there is real scope to do this) – but in any analysis the majority of the Fens is now and will remain farmland.
A Fens future rich in wildlife will involve everyone pulling in the same direction – our own fenland work sits alongside the Great Fen project in the west of the area and National Trust’s vision for Wicken Fen. We’ve long recognised the importance of the agricultural land (the bulk of the area) for farmland birds – that’s been the reason for our recovery project after all – and the pride in achievement evident in Ely last night is great foundation for the future of Fenland.
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