Paludiculture at Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival

The Groundswell Festival Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd July 2025 at Lannock Manor Farm, just off Junction 9 of the A1(M). The postcode is SG4 7EE. What 3 Words is: w3w.co/detect.bridge.aspect

Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival is an impressive event with over 8,000 attendees over the two-day event, and more than 300 speakers each year. It provides a forum for farmers, growers, or anyone interested in food production and the environment to learn about the theory and practical applications of regenerative farming systems.

This year on the Wildlife Trusts - Farming With Nature Stage (02/07/2025 1:10 pm - 1:50 pm), there is a session, Lowland peat Solutions – Rethinking farming on lowland peat. This session will explore the tools available to rethink agriculture on lowland peat with speakers [including farmers] who are directly involved in projects on the ground or exploring options for policy change and with a Q&A for the audience.

The panel will be:

Vicki Hird, Strategic Lead on Agriculture at The Wildlife Trusts UK

Phil Jarvis, Albanwise farming, environment, and property helping manage land and estates in Norfolk and Yorkshire. Also wetland, woodland, hedgerows, peatland, agri-environment habitats and specific schemes such as Fenland Restoration.

Sarah-Jane Taylor, farmer and nature-based solutions lead at Oxwillow in Pymoor, the Cambridgeshire fens. Funding nature and peatland restoration on the farm through a Biodiversity Net Gain habitat bank and the Ouse Washes Landscape Recovery Project alongside paludiculture and sustainable farming trials in collaboration with UKCEH.

Sarah Johnson, Lancashire Wildlife Trust is the lead on work to improve and restore the peat landscape, and to explore innovative land management practises on agricultural peat soils.

Cameron Edwards, Goose Meadow Farming Limited farming mainly peat soils. Cameron is involved with the Lowland Agricultural Peat Water Discovery Pilot project and has established a field scale trial growing Typha (Bulrush) and is currently building a Typha Harvester.

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust paludiculture team (Sarah, Mike Longden, Helen Earnshaw and their new peat comms officer, Kirsty Tyler) will be in attendance and available to answer any questions or discuss lowland peat farming. If you would like to arrange to meet any of the team, they will be happy to schedule a meeting, just drop them an email.

As well as the Lowland Peat Solutions session, there is also an opportunity to visit the exhibit from Great Fen and Fenland Soil. They have a display on the environmental and emissions issues associated with drained agriculture on lowland peat and will have their experts on hand to answer any questions you may have. Sharing the stand are the Broads Authority who will be showing the FibreBroads wall mock up, and how to build an insulated wall using boards made from wetland fibres. Also, you may want to take the opportunity to visit the Re-Generation Earth stand where  the Broads Authority Partners in PEF Plus, ESG Natural Capital Miscanthus giganteus rhizomes for sale in UK. Friendly Advice. and Woolly Shepherd Natural Acoustic Sound Absorbing Panels for Ceilings and Walls - The Woolly Shepherd will be exhibiting.

It is great to see paludiculture getting such exposure at such a farmer facing event and if you are going to Groundswell please make sure to say hello.