The decisions we make about land and how we use it impact every aspect of our lives. This includes where we build our homes, how we grow our food and timber, and how we look after nature and our own wellbeing. Protecting the natural environment is not only important for its intrinsic value but also for the benefits it brings to people and society.
Over the past year, we have been working with a broad range of stakeholders and specialists to help shape our plans for the Heaths to Sea Landscape Recovery Project.
Following the success of the Lower Otter Restoration Project, Heaths to Sea is working to restore nature and the services it provides across more than 4,000 hectares of land. This includes the Pebblebed Heaths National Nature Reserve and the Otter valley’s farmed landscape, creating connected habitats from Heaths to Sea.
As part of this work, we’ve been exploring the many overlapping demands placed on the land, including food and timber production, nature conservation, and public access. When managed well, these needs can be supported together, but achieving this balance requires a strong understanding of the requirements and impacts of land-use locally, as well as effective collaboration between landowners, farmers, environmentalists, communities, and policymakers.
The project video outlines our aims for Heaths to Sea and explores some of the different approaches to land management.
Supporting national environmental commitments
In recent years, the government has made significant environmental commitments.
The Environment Act 2021 set out legally binding targets to improve biodiversity, restore water quality, improve soil health, increase tree and woodland cover, and combat climate change, aiming for measurable improvements by 2042.
In 2020, the government committed to protecting at least 30% of the UK’s land and sea for nature by 2030, aligning with the global ‘30 by 30’ initiative to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Importantly, the emphasis is not only on expanding protected areas but also on ensuring they are effectively managed for ecological recovery.
To help meet these national biodiversity and nature recovery goals, Defra introduced the Landscape Recovery scheme to support landowners and managers in delivering ambitious, joined-up, large-scale nature restoration alongside essential needs such as food production.
Heaths to Sea is one such Landscape Recovery Project – Read our FAQs to find out more.
Finding the right balance
One of the greatest challenges we face is achieving economically sustainable food production while also allowing nature to recover and thrive. We rely on a stable food system, but a healthy natural environment is also critical as it provides a range of benefits including access, natural flood management and nature enhancement. So how do we ensure a balance? Two approaches to this issue are ‘land sharing’ and ‘land sparing’.
Land sharing involves integrating nature recovery efforts directly within agricultural landscapes and promoting wildlife-friendly farming practices that support biodiversity while still producing food. Examples include maintaining or restoring traditional hedgerows along field boundaries, creating wildlife-rich ‘buffer strips’ alongside fields and waterways, and adopting low-intensity grazing rather than intensive livestock farming. Such techniques support native wildflowers, insects, small mammals, riparian wildlife and ground-nesting birds within the farmed landscape. Two criticisms of land sharing are that it reduces the amount of food that can be produced on a given area and that it mainly benefits species that are already relatively common.
Land sparing is an alternative approach which emphasises high-yield farming techniques on specific plots of high agricultural quality to reduce the need for agricultural expansion into natural habitats elsewhere, thereby setting aside dedicated space for natural ecosystems to flourish unhindered.
Adopting and blending land sharing or land sparing approaches allows us to balance food security with environmental sustainability.
Initiatives across the country are trialling the effectiveness of different land management models. These range from the Allenford Farmer Cluster, where farmers collaborate to support nature across multiple holdings using a land-sharing approach that still enables food production, to the Knepp Estate, which has pioneered a wilding model based on land sparing.
At Hope Farm, a working arable farm in Cambridgeshire, the RSPB is working to monitor the benefits of nature-friendly farming. Its evolving approach now includes a diverse seven-crop rotation, cover crops, intercropping, and permanent pasture, all aimed at supporting wildlife while maintaining productive and sustainable farming and overall profitability.
There are varied farming models within the Heaths to Sea project area, with dairy farming being a dominant land use. The most suitable approach to deliver nature recovery will depend on several factors, including the location of farms, land capability, potential for nature restoration, and the priorities of those managing the land.
Another important balance to strike is around public access. There is a substantial body of evidence that spending time in nature supports both physical health and mental wellbeing, and fostering a stronger connection with the land can deepen public understanding and appreciation of farming and the natural environment. However, access must be carefully managed to protect our landscape and the livelihoods it supports. For example, dog walking, horse riding, littering, and transport all have impacts on wildlife, habitats, and farming operations, making it essential to consider both public enjoyment and responsible recreational behaviour.
The government has recently been consulting on the future use of land in England, aiming to create a framework that helps landowners and policymakers make informed decisions. With careful planning and through collaboration, we can use our land in a way that supports everything we need – from growing food and protecting nature to managing floods and providing space for people to enjoy.
Your perspectives on the landscape’s future
From September through to March, we hosted a series of stakeholder workshops, community pop-ups, and a public survey, gathering a wide range of insights, experiences, and expertise. We are so grateful to everyone who took the time to get involved. There is a clear willingness of stakeholders and community members to support the transformation of the lower Otter valley to provide more benefits for people and nature while still allowing food and timber production.
Participants included land managers, land users, wildlife advocates, businesses, and community groups, along with local authorities and representatives from the heritage and education sectors. Clinton Devon Estates is the majority landowner, but we have also been working with the various land managers, including tenants, in the project area to understand their needs and priorities.
This work provided a valuable platform to raise key issues such as balancing agricultural productivity with nature recovery, addressing climate change impacts including flooding, managing visitor pressure, and improving soil health and water quality. We also explored the many benefits and opportunities the landscape offers, from economic value and improved health and wellbeing to cultural and educational activities, as well as essential ecosystem services like clean air, food production, and wildlife habitats.
Your feedback is playing a vital role in shaping our plans for Heaths to Sea and how we respond to future challenges, ensuring local voices are considered. You can read the notes from our stakeholder workshop. We are also drawing on studies, surveys and policies relating to climate, nature, agriculture, tourism and socio-economic factors.
Our vision for the Heaths to Sea project is for the landscape to be nature rich and ecologically healthy while also supporting food and timber production net zero and access needs. Take a look at our illustrated vision for the Lower Otter valley.
What’s next?
Over the past year, the Heaths to Sea team has worked closely with stakeholders to understand their priorities, while also collaborating with technical experts to assess the area’s current biodiversity, soil health, and water quality, and to model potential improvements.
We’re now bringing all of this together into long-term plans – spanning 20 years or more – for land management, access, and community engagement across the project area. These plans will be supported by a robust monitoring programme, a clear funding strategy, and governance structure.
In July, we will be hosting a public forum to share our draft proposals, with opportunities to speak with topic specialists and ask questions, followed by an exhibition that will tour local villages.
Further details will be shared on our events page.
Heaths to Sea holds significant potential and we are really excited about what lies ahead. By nurturing a thriving natural environment in the lower Otter valley, we believe we can not only support the recovery of wildlife but also create a more stable and sustainable landscape for future generations.