Winter Fundraising: Nature-Friendly Farm Cluster
Help support more nature-friendly farming in South Devon
We’re urgently fundraising to enable the Erme and Yealm Farm Cluster to continue their brilliant work to increase the number of farms implementing nature recovery projects through 2026.
We need to raise £10,000 by end of March 2026 in order for this project to continue.
Read on to find out why this project is so important…
Fundraising appeal: to enable more nature-friendly farming
We’re urgently fundraising to enable the farm cluster on the Erme and Yealm catchments in South Devon to continue its work, as their funding from Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund ended in June 2025.
In just 3 years, this farm cluster’s facilitator, Robbie Phillips, delivered group training and events that engaged over 1,000 people and grew the combined cluster landholding to 3,800 hectares so far.
What’s more, he secured over £500,000 of additional funds for nature restoration projects across the cluster (including the creation and restoration of meadows, wetlands, orchards, ponds, and rivers).
Multiple farmers and landowners within this group have already diversified their farming systems, focusing on ways to produce food whilst also benefitting nature.
This impressive group has ambitions to expand its impact by supporting a wider farming landscape, moving north to incorporate the area between the Erme and Yealm rivers, but they won’t be able to realise this potential if the farm cluster ceases to operate due to lack of funding.
The state of nature on Devon’s farms
Around three quarters of Devon is farmland, but sadly 50 years of incentives to intensify agriculture have left Devon’s rural landscape significantly nature-depleted.
Today’s lack of diverse farmland habitats has been caused by monocrops, continuous grassland fields, and the widespread use of pesticides.
However, this presents a huge opportunity to enhance biodiviersity on farmland across Devon,
Why do we need farm clusters?
There is a limit to what farmers can achieve when acting in isolation. When they work together in a cluster, with the guidance of a facilitator, they can collectively deliver greater benefits for soil, water, and wildlife at a landscape scale.
Farm clusters get people together to find common needs, identify knowledge gaps, and create a sense of community.
Guided by the facilitator, farm clusters provide training, education, and capacity development opportunities, as well as access to environmental themed funding opportunities.
What’s special about the Erme and Yealm Farm Cluster?
The Erme and Yealm cluster facilitator, Robbie Phillips, is widely considered a local conservation champion.
Robbie’s goal is to prepare the farm cluster for entry into a Landscape Recovery project (when available) and establish a long-term plan for scalable nature recovery with a sustainable funding model, that can then be replicated for other local clusters.
Projects at development stage often struggle to get started and find it difficult to deliver due to a lack of resources, connections and funding. As an established group, the Erme to Yealm Farmer Cluster is well-placed to grow to incorporate more landowners and expand its positive impact for nature.
If DEF can fund this farm cluster, the group’s cohesion and knowledge sharing will continue, and Robbie will support the famers to access larger funding opportunities so they can deliver more nature restoration activities on their land.
Why we need your help
DEF’s Advisory Board of leading local nature experts has recommended DEF supports this project due to the significant impact potential, however we don’t currently have sufficient funds available.
We need to raise £10,000 by end of March 2026 in order for this project to continue.
Can you help us support this exceptional farm cluster on the Erme and Yealm catchments?
More information, including the full grant application, project budget, and timelines are available on request.
Please get in touch to donate towards, or fully sponsor, this vital project to enable more nature-friendly farming in the River Erme and Yealm catchments.
- Contact: amanda@devonenvironment.org
- Or make an online donation here: https://devonenvironment.org/donate/
(To ensure your donation supports this project, add ‘Farm Cluster’ to the comment box. If we don’t raise enough to award the Farm Cluster grant, we will contact you to refund your donation or offer you the opportunity to support a similar local nature restoration project instead).
Please spread the word among your fellow nature lovers! 🌳
Huge thanks from all of us at DEF for any support you are able to give.