I am the Director of the UK Woodmeadow Network at Woodmeadow Trust, an environmental charity focused on woodmeadows, wood pastures and woodland flora. I'm working with farmers, councils and other organisations to foster a national network of diverse habitat mosaics that maximise benefits for both people and wildlife.

Woodmeadows (hay meadows with trees) are an ancient form of agroforestry that can support staggering concentrations of biodiversity and have a rich cultural history. Woodmeadows were once common across Europe, but the concept has become unfamiliar to most British farmers, ecologists and policymakers. At a time when food production, nature recovery and carbon sequestration are often perceived as competing land uses, we are experiencing a renewed national interest in agroforestry.

My Fellowship will document traditional management practices in a variety of traditional European woodmeadow systems. I will also explore the role that governments can play in promoting woodmeadow management, something that could help us to restore multifunctional landscapes that can deliver benefits for wildlife, the environment, livestock and communities.