The EA has supported a major scheme in the northeast Cotswolds which has brought together over 50 pioneering land mangers across and more than 3,000ha of land for environmental enhancement.  

The Evenlode Landscape Recovery scheme is a project that is rooted in the creation of powerful partnerships and has brought together communities, farmers, government partners to deliver at scale on environmental ambitions.

It also hopes to secure private income for ecosystem services from multiple sources, including utility companies, Biodiversity Net Gain and carbon sales to help land managers seek additional revenue while delivering cost-effective environmental improvements. 

Embarking on a 20-year journey, landowners will restore and regenerate parts of their land, improving the functions of three key rivers – the Evenlode, the Glyme and the Dorn.

In doing so, they will create an agriculturally productive landscape that builds nature-based resilience for climate, flooding, biodiversity and water quality.  

By shifting farming practices at a catchment scale, including river flow management and soil health, farms can remain productive and profitable while delivering wide‑ranging benefits for land managers and surrounding communities.

The Evenlode project is being awarded over £100m in implementation funding from Defra, going to over 50 land managers, the majority being farmers, over the next 20 years.

John Leyland, the EA’s executive director of environment and business, said: “Nature is key to what we do. It’s our job to protect and enhance the environment, enabling nature’s recovery whilst contributing to sustainable growth, with an ambition for climate resilience and healthy air, land and water. We can’t do this alone – partnership is at the heart of how we work.

“We wanted to support those pioneering land managers to make their ambitions a reality by challenging ourselves to create real change. It’s been a hugely collaborative effort and a learning curve for us – but the determination of the project, its partners and our own people have led us to overcome multiple obstacles. Retaining the vision for ambitious environmental recovery is always at the core of its success.”