DEF is delighted to be extending our support of one of our flagship projects, the Apricot Centre’s Regenerative School, for a second year.

Devon has four times more farming than the national average, with conventional farming causing degraded soil, increased run-off, flooding, and biodiversity loss.

Regenerative Agriculture brings many benefits for farmers, their communities, and their local environment. Especially as the cost of fossil fuels and fertilisers sky-rocket, and the challenges of droughts and flash-flooding become regular occurrences – regenerative farming practices offer farmers effective tools to adapt and thrive.

Regenerative Agriculture is brilliant because it:

• sequesters carbon
• increases biodiversity
• enhances soil, water, and crop quality
• decreases run-off and soil erosion
• AND reduces costs (increasing profits)

The Apricot Centre’s Regenerative School grows the next generation of regenerative farmers by offering practical land-based Level 3 and Level 4 training, where both the apprentices and their placement hosts learn vital new skills.

Year One: focussed on developing and proving the pilot, providing an excellent training experience for the first cohort of 22 apprentices, while developing reciprocal relationships with their respective placement farms.

Year Two: will focus on finding a sustainable way to fund the training in the long-term while exploring collaboration opportunities to scale-up and replicate the model and training across Devon and beyond for maximum positive impact.

DEF is very excited to be supporting the Apricot Centre on this journey!

“Without DEF’s support, encouragement, guidance, and funding we would never have been able to dream big and develop a future beacon training centre. Their funding enabled us to help grow the future of regenerative farming, forestry, and food production in Devon and beyond.” – Rachel Phillips, The Apricot Centre