Volunteer & Farmer Alliance in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber

Corn bunting perching on sorrel

The Volunteer & Farmer Alliance Plus Project ended in 2007. Find out how it went, and what we're doing to help farmland birds in the region now.

What was the Volunteer & Farmer Alliance Plus Project?

Farmland birds in East Yorkshire and parts of North Yorkshire have historically done very well. However, in recent years their numbers have fallen sharply. In 2004, the RSPB secured LEADER+ programme funding in order to do targeted work with farmland bird species in this area, and thus V&FA+, a three-year spin off project from a wider national project, was born.

With the help of local farmers, the project officer Simon Tonkin identified corn bunting 'hot spot' areas and began the process of bringing over 11,000 ha (that's about 22,000 football pitches) of land under positive management for farmland birds. This was achieved using Higher Level Stewardship, a competitive environmental scheme that provides funds to farmers for wide-ranging conservation work.

In total, Simon secured nearly £3 million for farmers to implement farmland bird-friendly options, such as low input cereals and conservation headlands, wild bird mixtures and grass margins. The V&FA+ project finished in 2007.

What happens next?

V&FA+ might have gone, but the national project it was based on hasn't. In fact, the Volunteer & Farmer Alliance (V&FA) has gone from strength to strength over the last 10 years, and now its back in the North, spreading out over the region to encompass the whole of the North East, Yorkshire and North and North East Lincolnshire.

Our aim is to offer 60-80 new farm surveys across the region each year, split between Yorkshire and and the Humber, and the Northumberland and County Durham area. The surveys will help farmers to see what's on their farms; and help the RSPB find out where our farmland birds in this region are.

With such a big area to cover, and most of it new to the scheme, we are looking for new farmers who want to know what birds are on their farms, and new volunteers to carry out the surveys. So, if you're a farmer who wants to know what's on your farm, or a volunteer who fancies going birding with a purpose, get in touch!

Contact

Blanaid O'Connell

Volunteer & Farmer Alliance Project Officer (N.E/Yorks/Humber)

Tel: 0191 233 4300

E-mail: blanaid.oconnell@rspb.org.uk

Last modified: 17 June 2009