Danny Green/2020VISION
Warwickshire’s Sustainable Farming Groups
A network for nature
Farmer clusters provide a great opportunity for farmers and land managers to come together as a community, share knowledge and experiences, and learn best practice for managing their farms and businesses. Our sustainable farming groups help farmers to enhance wildlife, soil health and water quality while maintaining productive, resilient farm businesses.
Warwickshire’s Sustainable Farming Groups began in 2018 with the Arden Farm Wildlife Network. Following its success, two additional groups were established in 2021 through a partnership between Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, Warwickshire Rural Hub, Severn Rivers Trust and independent agricultural advisers. The Arden Farm Wildlife Network, South Warwickshire Sustainable Farming Group and the Leam and Upper Avon Sustainable Farming Group now welcome farmers from across Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull to connect, learn, and attend free monthly events.
Libby Keysell
Libby Keysell
Crucially, these groups are farmer-led meaning that members choose the topics that are covered each year and our facilitators work hard to make them happen, organising specialist talks, farm walks, and hands-on workshops. Previous events have covered topics such as soil health, regenerative farming principles, habitat monitoring, farm diversification, and climate resilience. Members can also participate in landscape-scale projects, supporting nature’s recovery across Warwickshire.
To join your local sustainable farming group and meet like-minded farmers, share knowledge and receive support through our free events, contact Warwickshire Rural Hub: info@ruralhub.org.uk
A map of our sustainable farming groups
Warwickshire Sustainable Farming Groups Map
Groups that form part of the Farming Network
Established in 2018, the Arden Farm Wildlife Network (AFWN) now has over 50 active members covering 12,000 hectares of land across the north-west of the county.
The AFWN has now evolved to focus on landscape-scale projects, linking the efforts of individual farmers to create bigger, better and more joined-up natural habitats that support farmland birds, pollinators and native mammals. The group aims to upskill and empower its members, enhancing farm resilience and promoting sustainable practices.
To support this, the region has been divided into three key areas – North Arden, Central Arden and West Arden - each with localised objectives to guide project planning and delivery and champion nature’s recovery.
A map of the Arden Farm Wildlife Network
A map of the Arden Farm Wildlife Network clusters
The South Warwickshire Sustainable Farming Group (SWSFG) was established in 2021. Covering the southern region of the county down to - and including a small part of - the Cotswolds National Landscape, it has quickly grown to have over 50 members with ownership of nearly 12,000 hectares of land across the region.
Also established in 2021, the Leam and Upper Avon Sustainable Farming Group (LUASFG) is facilitated in partnership with Severn Rivers Trust, encompassing the eastern region of the county towards the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire borders. The group has grown to now have more than 30 members covering over 6,000 hectares of farmland.
Join a Farming Cluster
If you would like to become a member of any of the farming cluster groups, please contact Jane Hampson at Warwickshire Rural Hub who supports with administration of the groups (info@ruralhub.org.uk). Upcoming events and the latest newsletter can be found on the Warwickshire Rural Hub website.
Agricultural Advice from Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
The groups are supported not only by their own facilitator but by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust’s agricultural land advisor, Sally Eadon, who is on hand to provide one to one advice to farmers on managing their farm for wildlife and implementing the practices they have learnt about at events.