New course by GWCT to empower farmers and improve biodiversity

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has created a new free online resource for pioneering advisors, farmers and land managers seeking to improve biodiversity and sustainability at a landscape scale.

The Landscape Leaders: Farmer Cluster Training Programme has been created using insights, material and feedback from farmer clusters in both the UK and 10 other European countries.

Nature does not recognise farm boundaries which means that there are greater opportunities to create significant benefits for biodiversity and healthy ecosystems when farmers collaborate. By voluntarily forming a ‘Farmer Cluster’, supported by an advisor or ‘facilitator’, farmers can collectively manage functional biodiversity crucial to their farming systems - such as soil health, natural pest control and pollination - while also contributing to regional conservation and sustainability priorities.

About the Course:

This new course has been created by the GWCT, based in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, alongside other partners in the EU H2020 Project FRAMEwork: Farmer Clusters for Realising Agrobiodiversity Management across Ecosystems. It forms part of the project's open access knowledge and action platform Recodo.

The programme is tailored to those exploring the concept of Farmer Clusters and the environmental opportunities and challenges they respond to. The course will be especially beneficial for new farm advisors, and farmers of all types, those interested in farm management for biodiversity within current environmental and sector contexts.

Course Highlights:

Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of Farmer Clusters, from on-the-ground operations to broader support systems, such as biodiversity monitoring practices, avenues to diversify farming methods and income and building community networks.

The curriculum includes insights and material from the FRAMEwork project’s experience supporting 11 new Farmer Clusters in 10 EU countries, plus over a decade of experience more than 100 Clusters across the UK.

In addition to the module content and resource library, the course features downloadable module summaries and interactive elements to help participants apply what they learn through various activities.

Dr Niamh McHugh, Head of Farmland Ecology at GWCT, said: "The new Landscape Leaders: Farmer Cluster Training Programme designed for farmers, advisors and early career conservationists that want to learn more about Farmer Clusters, sustainable farming and landscape-scale biodiversity conservation.

"Drawing on experiences from Farmers Clusters both here in the UK and across Europe we hope this course empowers farmers to collaborate and provides practical guidance to all those wishing to make a positive impact on the agri-environment.

“Sign up today and take the first step toward enhancing biodiversity in your farming landscape. The course is free and accessible to all.”

Benefits of Enrolling:

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Appreciate the context surrounding Farmer Clusters
• Understand the ethos behind their success
• Navigate common obstacles Clusters face
• Describe select biodiversity monitoring approaches
• Describe select habitat management approaches

Who Should Enrol?

• Lead Farmers and Facilitators interested in setting up a Farmer Cluster.
• Supporters seeking best-practice information and insights.
• Individuals curious about the Cluster approach.
• Students or early-career professionals looking to work in agriculture or ecology.

Will The Course Receive Updates?

The course will continue to be updated with new content and feedback until October 2025 to ensure participants receive the latest insights. The content will also be available other languages than English.