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Working with farmers to identify and seek to resolve challenges around land and water use has been one of the Trust’s core activities from its earliest days.
Our initial work focused on diffuse pollution and water resilience on farms but our scope has grown to encompase the entire farming landscape. This includes pursuit of emerging opportunities for farmers around sustainable food production, landscape recovery, nature based solutions and new funding sources including private investment.
The formation of the Thame Catchment Farm Cluster. RTCT was key in bringing together two existing farmer clusters to form a single catchment-wide farm cluster. We have an ongoing facilitation role with the new cluster which itself continues to grow in both size and ambition. Farm clusters are a recognised model of voluntary cross-farm collaboration which benefit through knowledge exchange and pursuit of landscape-scale projects across farm boundaries.
Barn owl boxes
More than a dozen barn owl boxes have been erected on farms along the floodplains in partnership with Bucks Owl and Raptor Group (BORG).
Water Quality
Nitrate and phosphate testing kits have been provided to farmers so they can better understand the water quality on their land.
Tree Planting
Dozens of native Black poplars have been planted to enhance the local stock and diversity of this rare native tree associated with rivers and floodplains.
Thame & Chilterns Farmers Forum
Hosted in March 2022 by River Thame Conservation Trust, the event brought together farmers and land managers of four farmer clusters (Thame Valley, Lower Thame, Central Chilterns, and Christmas Common) covering over 20,000 ha across 75 farms.
Thank you to the Environment Agency and Rothschild Foundation for supporting the RTCT farmer engagement work over the last few years.
We are a small registered charity and rely on grants and donations to keep our important work for wildlife and water quality going.
If you’d like to support us by making a one off or regular donation you can below.
Our newsletter is released on a quarterly basis and covers all the latest watery related news happening in the catchment.
We will hold your data in accordance with GDPR law and data will never be passed onto a third party without your prior permission.
Read past issues of our newsletter here.
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