People are the heart of conservation

A new GWCT campaign, Working for Wildlife, is putting the spotlight on Britain’s ‘working conservationists’, explains James Swyer

- JAMES SWYER

There are very few jobs where the entire public has expectations of you. Prime minister, managing the England football team, head of state. All of these carry with them a level of prestige and financial reward befitting that pressure. It is rather interesting, then, that the farmers and land managers whose job often is to put food on our plates are also expected to provide a diverse mix of nature, good habitat and a beautiful countryside for us all to enjoy.

Far from receiving acclaim, there’s a general sense of mistrust of farmers when it comes to their unofficial role as custodians of the countryside. Yes, biodiversity is in global decline. Yes, changes in agriculture, often during the 1960s and 1970s and incentivised by government, have contributed. What is often overlooked is the many men and women driving conservation success on a local level.