GWCT News Blog

As my second full winter at the Allerton Project comes to a close, I thought I would share my thoughts around hedges, their importance and the management approach we have taken to improve these habitats.

Until recently Oil Seed Rape (OSR) was not grown on the farm due to Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle (CSFB). I brought it back because we needed a crop we can harvest early in July to get on top of workloads. 

GWCT Scotland hosted another series of Pie & Pint evenings across Scotland in the second half of February 2026. This year’s series focused on Scotland’s lowlands.

Who would have thought that when we put our new experimental drainage system into a poorly drained arable field here at the Allerton Project, that it would rain just about every single day since? 

This overview summarises the updated carbon footprint assessment completed using the farm carbon toolkit for the Allerton Project’s farming operations for the season 2024/25. 

Women researchers at the GWCT have produced some of our most influential, field shaping science, spanning upland ecology, farmland biodiversity, predator–prey dynamics, river restoration and the environmental impacts of veterinary chemicals.

We have grown into so many other branches of countryside management and species conservation, but the principles remain the same throughout – how can we better understand the ecological dynamics of our countryside so that wildlife populations, agricultural production and countryside communities can live and work sustainably alongside each other?

‘From Soya to Sustainability’ is held as part of the NCS project, bringing together expert sources and leaders from across the agri-food sector to disseminate new research and innovation.

Joe Stanley was in the auditorium on 24 February for Secretary of State Emma Reynolds’ address to the National Farmers Union’s annual conference in Birmingham.

 As natural nesting sites decline through changes in land use and tidier management of woods and gardens, well designed nest boxes have become an increasingly valuable addition to the landscape. National Nest Box Week is a chance to celebrate these simple structures and the role they play in supporting some of our most familiar species.