A Nature Economy

Healthy woodlands, wetlands, grasslands, soils and hedgerows are important for the biodiversity of our landscapes. But nature does much more than provide places for Wildlife. It also absorbs carbon within vegetation and soil; regulates water to reduce flood risk during storms and retain water during drought, and provides people with opportunities for physical exercise and wellbeing. These benefits, often called ecosystem services, support farms, businesses, public services and communities.

Derbyshire’s Natural Capital Strategy estimates that the economic benefits provided by the county’s natural environment are worth around £2.6 billion each year (2021 prices). This includes the natural environment’s contribution to mitigating the impacts of climate change, both flood damage to properties and providing additional water supply during droughts, reduced treatment costs for pollution, and treatment costs savings for the NHS from improved public health.

This does not mean that nature should be commodified or only valued when it has a market price. But it signifies how deeply our economy, health and quality of life depend on healthy ecosystems, and why investing in their recovery benefits us all.

Making more space for nature across the Derwent Catchment

The Derwent Living Forest is Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s long-term programme to create and restore 30,000 hectares of wooded habitats and wetlands across the River Derwent catchment by 2050.

Achieving this ambition depends on working with the people who know and manage the landscape. Farmers and landowners are central to the programme because their knowledge and experience are essential to identifying solutions that work in practice.

Over recent months, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has been working with a growing group of farmers and landowners to explore establishing a Derwent Farming Cluster: neighbouring land managers collaborating on shared environmental priorities while exploring additional funding opportunities for nature restoration as a group.

Why work as a cluster?

Rivers, wildlife and water do not stop at farm boundaries. Restoring habitats and managing water across a catchment is often far more effective when neighbouring landowners coordinate their actions.

Working collectively can also give farmers a stronger voice when engaging with businesses and the public sector. By combining land, knowledge and resources, a group of neighboring farmers and land managers  – often called a ‘cluster’ - can explore opportunities that are often difficult for individual farms to access, including environmental grants and emerging green finance opportunities from the private sector.

Learning from Suffolk

In June, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust staff and local farmers visited two established farm clusters in Suffolk to learn from their Landscape Recovery projects. Landscape Recovery is a Defra scheme that supports groups of landowners to work together on large-scale nature recovery projects. A core part of the scheme is blended finance: Defra funding is combined with private payments for ecosystem services, enabling landowners to receive long-term income for the nature and environmental benefits their land provides. Together, these funding sources can support long-term delivery for farmers, nature and the wider landscape.

We met farmers and members of Suffolk Wildlife Trust who had supported landowners through the development phase of their Landscape Recovery projects. They shared how strong farmer leadership, clear governance, trusted facilitation and detailed baseline evidence had helped large groups of landowners agree shared priorities, coordinate action across farm boundaries and develop credible long-term plans for nature recovery. The visit also gave us an honest insight into the practical challenges involved, including balancing environmental ambition with viable farm businesses, securing long-term funding and ensuring that individual landowners retain a meaningful role in decision-making.

Shaping a Derwent approach

Following the visit, we brought the wider Derwent Farming Cluster together to share what we had learned and discuss what a future Landscape Recovery opportunity could look like in Derbyshire.

The discussion explored local pressures including flooding, drought, biodiversity loss and the need to maintain resilient farm businesses. Importantly, this was an opportunity to explore ideas rather than commit to a future scheme. The immediate priority is to continue building the group, understanding shared opportunities and agreeing how the cluster should develop.

Over the coming months Derbyshire Wildlife Trust will continue working with the group to identify shared priorities and explore funding opportunities that could support landscape-scale nature recovery.

By working together, farmers and landowners have the opportunity to create a healthier, more resilient Derwent landscape while ensuring those who manage it remain at the heart of decision-making.

Get involved

If you are a farmer or landowner interested in learning more about the Middle Derwent Farming Cluster, please email the Derwent Living Forest team - dlf@derbyshirewt.co.uk.