Blogs

This year, I attended my first partridge count. As a researcher myself, but having since moved into communicating our science, I was hungry for any experience that made me feel like I was out in the field again. 

As Defra gathers evidence on the impacts of gamebird rearing, release and shooting in England, it is essential that the discussion is informed by real-world examples from working landscapes.

GWCT director of policy and the Allerton Project research Dr Alastair Leake has received the Farmer’s Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award for his work over 25 years developing practical solutions combining productive farming with improved environmental outcomes and disseminating findings through advisory and educational activities.

At Warehouse Wines, we believe great wine is about more than what's in the bottle. It's about the people who make it, the places it comes from and the moments we enjoy it with friends and family.

For the past decade the Allerton Project has worked alongside Syngenta to deliver a valuable long-term look at the realities behind the transition from ‘conventional’ farming practices within a combinable cropping system to a more ‘conservation’ and ‘regenerative’ approach.

After 18 months in which the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) - Defra’s flagship mechanism to help farmers deliver the food and nature outcomes on which this nation depends - was closed, farmers had less than six hours to submit their applications for 3-year periods of funding before the door was once again slammed shut.

At this year’s annual Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) Awards, the Allerton Project was delighted to receive special commendation in the inaugural ‘Water Quality Farmer of the Year’ award, sponsored by Anglian Water, Portsmouth Water, Severn Trent, Southern Water and Wessex Water.

Species such as pheasants, red-legged partridges, red grouse and grey partridges are particularly vulnerable to changing weather patterns, with heat and reduced rainfall affecting habitat quality, food availability, breeding success and overall condition.

As a placement student joining the Allerton Project's research team, I have quickly discovered that there is far more happening here than first meets the eye.

You might have seen recent reports about the release of captive-reared Turtle Doves into the countryside as part of efforts to help reverse the decline of one of Britain's most threatened farmland birds. While everyone involved shares the same goal of restoring Turtle Dove populations, the key question is whether releasing captive-reared birds is the most effective and scientifically justified approach at this stage.