Living Countryside

Living Countryside - projects

Living Countryside produces and publishes educational material about agriculture and the countryside. This is predominantly made available through the www.ukagriculture.com website. Other work includes researching and developing solutions to improve the protect the countryside for future generations.

Farming and the countryside, what's going on and why

The www.ukagriculture.com project was conceived in early 1999 with production commencing later that year. The web site continues to lead with an easy to use visual approach that helps enhance understanding about agriculture and its role in the countryside. It has been widely praised for its innovation and clarity.

Life after set-aside, preserving the best biodiversity

For the 2008 farming year farmers are not obliged to set-aside any of their land and much of this could be returned to arable cropping or to more intensive grassland. Such a move would see the loss of some important habitats which we believe can be saved.

Diffuse development - a sustainable solution to the UK's housing crisis

Diffuse development is an entirely novel concept conceived by Living Countryside as a potential solution to the UK's housing crisis. Spreading new housing thinly can provide society with important benefits in sustainable resource use and community creation.

A strategy for the renewal of hedgerow trees throughout the UK

Hedgerow trees have always played an important role in the countryside both culturally and environmentally however, between 1950 and 1990 they suffered significant loss. This strategy paper proposes a solution for their renewal.

Creation of meadow grassland - a strategy

The long-term decline of meadow grassland throughout the UK over the last fifty years has led to a loss of one of the UK's most biodiverse farmland ecosystems. The strategy paper draws on our research to propose a simple solution for their restoration.