It’s been a busy year for the team at Real Wild Estates, so we wanted to share some of our biggest achievements:
- Baselining and nature restoration strategy with ongoing implementation support for a Welsh Farm
- 100-year ambitious ecological vision and nature restoration strategy for over 12,000 acres of Ashdown Forest
- Strategy for nature restoration, natural capital income and ecotourism at Helman Tor in Cornwall
- Baselining, ecological vision, nature restoration strategy and ongoing implementation support for a Cornish Farm
- Biodiversity Net Gain Assessment; ecological vision, nature restoration and natural capital income strategy for 5,000 acre Southill Estate
- 30 year ecological vision for 8,000 acre Grouse Moor Estate in Scotland
Beyond our day-to-day field work, the team have been out and about spreading the word for urgent nature restoration funded by natural capital.
The Team at Groundswell, June 2023
Highlights
- The Team attended Groundswell and the Agroforestry Show to meet with likeminded, industry-leading experts and make new connections to further the mission to restore the UK’s landscapes whilst ensuring sustainable food production and energy generation
- Our Founder Julian Matthews spoke on regional radio stations about the importance of nature restoration and how individuals can join in with RWE’s mission to ‘aim wilder’
- Our Head of Natural Capital took part on panels with farm clusters and natural capital experts about the need for land aggregation and importance of leveraging private finance for nature restoration
- Our Head of Development Izzie attended the Blue Earth Summit meeting with investors, institutions and corporates looking to collaborate on monitoring and mitigating biodiversity risk.
But of course, things weren’t always merry and bright. We have faced some challenges head on, and will continue to learn and grow as a team.
On the lookout for beavers in the South West, April 2023
Lowlights
- We said goodbye to a few of the team as they moved on to pastures new: Archie, Tass and Ben’s drive and shared ambition for nature recovery at scale and at pace has been missed. We wish them all the best on their new endeavours and look forward to finding ways to collaborate in the future.
- Like any growing business we have missed out on tenders and opportunities to collaborate with progressive landholders, but we have reflected on shortfalls, taken on learnings, consolidated our approach and are more ambitious than ever to achieve our mission to harness natural capital for nature restoration.
We’re ending the year on strong footing, and looking forward to all the exciting things we’ve got planned.
Looking ahead to 2024:
- BNG comes into effect and our work with landholders and LPAs will ramp up to support the high-integrity delivery of these schemes for nature
- New partnerships are being formed as we forge ahead as an agent for unlocking private investment into nature restoration – stay tuned
- Exciting projects for natural capital income generation, ecological restoration and nature-friendly farming with ambitious landholders and landowners spanning the UK from Cornwall to Carmarthen to Cromarty
- Opportunities to meet the Team at the Oxford Farming Conference and Oxford Real Farming Conference in January, Groundswell, UK Nature Finance Conference, Blue Earth Summit, and CLA Events throughout the year
- We’ll be keeping a close eye on policy updates and announcements from DEFRA around funding opportunities, IHT consultation and developments in the arena of finance for nature restoration.
And finally, from all of us at Real Wild Estates…
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
This year has disappeared in a blur of beavers, butterflies, beech forests and bogs, and there have been changes to which we have adapted, putting us on strong footing and feeling energised for what lies ahead.
Wishing all of our clients, partners, supporters and friends a wonderful Christmas time – roll on 2024!