Blogs

Whilst this blog will focus on upland heather moorland, there are important areas of lowland heath, not least the New Forest where the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has its HQ. 

The war in Ukraine has added to the pressures farmers are facing through increasing input costs of the three F’s; fuel, feed and fertiliser. These could be short-term impacts but they come at a time when the industry is facing longer-term upheaval due to reductions in post-Brexit farm support, labour shortages and the impacts of trade and environmental policies.

We have long advocated a nuanced approach to tree planting. In 2020, we published an article which stated that “the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust believes that the ‘right tree in the right place’ approach is vital”. It was hugely encouraging, therefore, to see the government reinforcing this approach.

As food consumers we are bombarded by meal deals and multi-buy deals. The focus on the cost of sustaining ourselves is very real given recent food price inflation - and for many a costly monthly outgoing.  

The announcement of the Landscape Recovery element of the Environmental Land Management Scheme was greeted with enthusiasm by those who advocate rewilding approaches.  

The Government has drawn a line in the sand for the sugar beet industry by stating that by 2023 it is hoped that it will no longer rely on neonicotinoids through developing alternative production strategies.

The use of the term “peatland burning” (or peatland fires or burning peat) is factually incorrect and misleading when used in conjunction with criticisms of grouse moor management.

Environment Secretary, George Eustice MP, has announced the payment rates farmers will receive for the environmental measures they carry out on their land in a new scheme called the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).

I suspect you had to read the title twice before continuing! The misinformation starts with the term “peatland burning ”. Let’s be clear from the outset – moorland managers undertake controlled burning to manage heather and implicitly not to burn the peat.

The Scottish Government is seeking views via a consultation on proposals to strengthen the law relating to the use of dogs to hunt and flush foxes and other wild mammals in Scotland.