Jasmine Holliday has joined the Lake District National Park Authority’s farming team to work alongside farming officer, Andrea Meanwell to deliver the new Farming in Protected landscapes programme to Lake District Farmers.
The three-year grants programme – known as Farming in Protected Landscapes – aims to help farm businesses adapt for the future, become more resilient and prepare for Environmental Land Management. In the Lake District more than £1 million is available to farmers in the first year alone.
The Geography graduate joins the National Park Authority from Eden District Council where she worked with the sustainability team, helping businesses and residents lower carbon emissions in the area.
She has a unique insight into the world of farming having been brought up on her family’s dairy farm just outside Penrith, a tradition which has been in her family for over 100 years.
She said: “When I saw the job advertised it was as if it had been written especially for me. It’s a perfect blend of everything I stand for in terms of sustainability, but I also have farming in my blood and relish the opportunity to help my own community.
“I bring a wealth of knowledge in the dairy farm side of things which will perfectly complement Andrea Meanwell’s experience of upland sheep farming. I am looking forward to learning from her and think we will work well as a team to support Lake District farming businesses.
“So far I have enjoyed travelling to the four corners of the Lake District and meeting a range of interesting people with great ideas for the future and I feel very proud that I’m now able to help the farming community through these grants.”
Andrea and Jasmine are currently talking to farmers about how they can benefit from a new national grants programme with more than £1 million available locally this year.
The pair want to continue to work with farmers, landowners, communities and businesses to balance sustainable, productive, and profitable land management choices to address and adapt, and recover from the threats facing farming, nature, climate and communities.
The new programme will look at funding Lake District projects under one or more of these four headings:
Climate – includes projects that help address climate change like re-wiggling a straightened watercourse, for the biodiversity and natural flood management benefits this can bring, or assisting a farm to take actions to reduce carbon emissions.
Nature – includes work that supports nature-friendly sustainable farms, allowing natural processes to develop across an area of land, or wetland creation to support a variety of wildlife.
People – includes projects that provide opportunities for people to engage with the landscape. This could be working with new audiences to help them experience the Lake District, or being able to offer farm walks to help give people a greater insight into farming. Or it could be improving parking facilities, or replacing stiles with gates to make routes more accessible for locals and visitors.
Place – includes work that supports cultural heritage, this could be conserving historic features on a farm or repairing dry stone walls. Or, supporting a locally-branded food initiative which promotes the links between the product and the landscape in which it is produced.
More information and an enquiry form can be found on the Lake District National Park website.
Our photo shows new Farming Assistant Jasmine Holliday who has joined the Lake District National Park Authority to help deliver the new Farming in Protected Landscapes grants programme.
