Earlier this month, RSPB staff attended Europe’s leading technical event for the arable farming industry - Cereals. Over 20,000 visitors attend the show, and there are more than 2000 exhibitors to choose from. This year our theme was Hope Farm (see our blog post here), offering a showcase of what we have achieved over the last 15 years, and what our future research plans are.
The RSPB stand at Cereals 2017. Image: Anna Broszkiewicz
As well as visuals, literature, a competition and an interactive vote, this year we also took part in the BASIS knowledge trail (BASIS is an independent standards setting and auditing organisation, and members have to regularly collect points to maintain their knowledge and membership). We hoped it would attract some new visitors to the stand, and give us the opportunity to share information about Hope Farm and of course, how to farm for wildlife.
We had our first visitor at 7.45am on the first day, and over the two days 140 visitors came to the RSPB stand to collect points and learn more about wildlife-friendly farming.
Image: Anna Broszkiewicz
Over the two days of the show, the visitors to our stand had the opportunity to talk to specialist advisory staff about how to integrate management for the benefit of wildlife alongside their main business of producing food, as well as asking questions about particular species, management and the future of farming. We always get a great deal out of the conversations that we have with those who come to talk to us, learning from others' experiences and being able to share our own.
Many of the visitors expressed an interest in visiting Hope Farm for a tour with the farm manager, to talk in more detail about how we've achieved the increases in wildlife we have seen over the last 15 years or so. If you'd like to see a snapshot of Hope Farm for yourself, BBC's The One Show aired a piece last night on skylarks - featuring our very own Ian Dillon and the aerial songsters who call the farm home. You can watch the episode here.
Image: www.rspb-images.com