Back in February I went down to the Somerset Levels (now a Super National Nature Reserve as I discussed with author and broadcaster Stephen Moss recently) and talked with Gina Bates of the Vegan Land Movement (VLM) about a plot of previously heavily-grazed land she and her colleagues had just bought through crowdfunding. The intention was to allow the land to ‘recover’ for local wildlife (Interview #18 Gina Bates | Vegan Land Movement).
To be honest, I went down to meet Gina with some scepticism. What difference could a small island of land in the middle of a sea of dairy farms make? What would surrounding landowners make of these interlopers? Nature reserves are tricky things to ‘manage’, did VLM have the expertise or funds to look after these sites?
I’ll come back to those points (especially the last one, because VLM are not in the business of creating ‘nature reserves’), but to begin with Gina was eloquent and persuasive. Based solidly on the vegan principle of no animal exploitation or cruelty, she outlined what sounded like a simple enough idea. Take land away from animal agriculture and give it a chance to breathe. Do proper surveys to find out what is there now (not very much given how it’s been used), see what might emerge from the seed bank in the ground once grazing pressure was removed and watch to discover what wildlife might find its way onto the land.
It was an interesting afternoon. I came away intrigued and thinking about the questions buying small plots of land raised. The buy-out of knackered grouse moors was clearly working in, for example, Dumfries and Galloway at Langholm and the Tarras Valley - but that involved a far larger scale, Hen Harriers, and an entire community who wanted their mountains back. Tarras is a hugely important piece of land. Arguably, ten acres of dairy farm (even on the edge of a Super NNR) isn’t. And could vegans - who the VLM are hoping will come on board - be persuaded that there was a jigsaw to be made from such small pieces? (To push the jigsaw analogy, the third plot VLM had bought had been slated to be the site of an intensive chicken production facility: VLM now hope to turn it into a community orchard. That may not be completing the whole puzzle of ‘us vs animals’ but it’s a heck of a good piece to start with.)
Move forward a few months and VLM tweeted that they had successfully raised the money for a fourth plot, again on the Levels. Gina mailed me to say that the core team would be surveying the new site in early August - would I like to come down and have a chat again? Gina lives in Sutherland, some 600 miles or so to the north. I figured that it would be rude not to make the effort given that I’m only 90 minutes away.
So yesterday (3rd August) I met up with Gina and VLM near Bridgwater at the same site featured in the tweet, where I took the photo below (and the header image). This would be the second summer that no grazing had taken place here, which was obvious at a glance: compared with neighbouring fields there was plenty of sedge growing through, the grass was high, and there was a carpet of clover.
We had a walk around. There was some wildlife of course but - as expected - the biodiversity was low and not especially impressive. That’s an indication of what dairy farming does to ecologically important grassland rather than indicative of any choice made by VLM. It’s the potential of discovering what’s here (or what was once here) that is exciting.
I won’t list every little thing we saw, but there were plenty of Meadow Grasshoppers, Green-veined White and Small Tortoiseshell, Straw Dot ( a damp meadow moth), 22 Spot Ladybird, and a handful of dragonflies (Southern Hawker for example) probably breeding in the dykes bordering the field. There were few birds (Barn Swallows and Goldfinch, and one female Buzzard). Plantlife was unspectacular, but this late into a blazing hot and very dry summer that’s not surprising. Without exploration (or possibly trespass, depending on the attitude of surrounding landowners - and to answer the question I raised above, it’s perhaps too early yet to know what they make of these incomers talking about ‘compassion’ and letting things ‘just happen’) it’s impossible to know whether neighbouring grazed fields have the same species we saw, of course, but it does show that there is some life clinging on…
I’d planned to record a quick podcast with Gina, but this was her third day down, it was hot, the team was about to go home (Gina to Scotland, the others as far as Essex and Staffordshire) and I’d spent a few hours chatting with them all anyway. I figured a blog would work better, as it would give me time to work through my own thoughts…is this a worthwhile experiment, will it gain wider support, where could the Movement be in a few year’s time?
I may well be putting words into mouths with what follows, and I’ll happily apologise and edit if I have anything wrong, but here’s where those thoughts have led me.
I’m not a regular donor to the Vegan Land Movement, but I do always donate to their crowdfunders. I like the principles they operate on, and I like the people behind the group. They work incredibly hard to raise the money for these buyouts. Given the growing number of vegans here in the UK they’re not especially well-supported though. Personally I find that surprising. From a vegan perspective, this is taking land away from animal exploitation and ‘giving it back to the earth’. While not everyone will agree with the ‘exploitation’ sentiment, the fact is that intensive animal agriculture is enormously damaging to local biodiversity, makes little profit for smallholder farmers, and as the climate crisis intensifies animal agriculture is becoming increasingly implicated. Land is going to become vacant. Shouldn’t we ask what is going to happen to it when it does? Perhaps grab it before it gets swallowed back up into larger farms or more intensive forms of agriculture (like poultry units)?
VLM’s take on ‘land management’ is interesting too. They’re often asked about putting animals on the land to replicate the grubbing effects of the fauna that might have once lived on the Levels. VLM can answer for themselves, of course, but I don’t see how that would fit into their plans. They are vegans. On a practical level if they did turn animals out on their fields inevitably decisions would have to be made about whether to allow the animals to breed or to ‘manage’ them when they become weak or old. They might need to provide expensive veterinary care. Getting permits to release animals into farmland that is not completely fenced off would be difficult. Would the animals need supplementary feeding or shelter in winter? Might the animals wander onto roads or onto other properties? Could the theft of their specially-bought animals be prevented without someone living on site? Far better (in my opinion at least) to start by allowing the land to recover, see what grows, spend funding on more land, and stay out of the ‘animal management’ business altogether.
The same applies to creating ‘nature reserves’. Reserves are usually intensively-managed sites, protected specifically for one habitat or one suite of species. They often mean bending the land to look or behave the way the landowner wants. The VLM is not so prescriptive. In their opinion we humans have been ‘telling the land what to do’ for generations already. I agree, Clearly returning a few fields to a pre-agriculture state is not feasible in such a managed landscape anyway, but - as I wrote above - allowing them to breathe is a first step towards something more harmonious.
That doesn’t mean taking a fully hands-off approach though. The ditches here are lined with eg Blackthorn and Willow. A few Oaks still stand. Encouraging tree growth where it replicates the existing cover is (done right) a good way to encourage back (especially) insect biodiversity.
‘Done right’ is the key here, and what struck me on both visits was the expert advice Gina had sought and was receiving. While VLM’s methodology might seem alien to some ecologists, they are not just blundering in, buying land, and walking away again. A great deal of thought is going into the future of these plots. (Personally, I would really like to see how creating a mini-wetland on this particular plot might encourage dragonflies, damselflies, and hoverflies, but it’s not my land…)
VLM has also considered animal exploitation of different forms. They will not cull (deer are common on the Levels), and - especially important to me - are obtaining hunting and shooting rights with each land purchase. Yes, of course, a few fields dotted across a huge landscape won’t necessarily impact a hunt - especially if there is no one to enforce a denial of access - or deter rough shooting in the next field, but that’s hardly the point. On these fields at least there will be no animal persecution. Imagine if that were strategically mirrored on a larger scale….
Lastly, VLM is extremely keen to collaborate with like-minded groups or individuals. There are thousands of landowners who are trying to restore habitats or are allowing land to recover. They may not all be doing it for the same reasons, but the endpoint is roughly the same. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if they could somehow come together, share their experiences, maybe even intentionally link up small areas into corridors that (perhaps) reach out to important sites, nationally important nature reserves, or SSSIs? On the Somerset Levels in particular that could be very helpful indeed.
So, to the future of the VLM then.
We live in one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet. That depletion has been especially acute on farmland. At the moment much of our farmed landscape is extremely hostile to our wildlife: sprayed with pesticides, drenched in nitrates, shot over, and/or forced into intensive food production. That’s partly on us, of course. We demand cheap food and plenty of it, and farming has responded. Many of us see the problem though and want areas everywhere - no matter how small - to be more wildlife-friendly. Of course some farmers - some of whom are vegan themselves - are doing what they can to help wildlife, but if the opportunity arises to be a part of a wider healing process, why not take it?
And yes VLM are small right now, but show me a single, important, influential wildlife-friendly organisation that didn’t start with a discussion around a (metaphoric or otherwise) kitchen table? Besides, similar to the well-known starfish story, buying a small plot of land may not make a difference to wildlife everywhere - but it makes a difference to the wildlife here…
Like I say, I really like what VLM are attempting to do here. I like the people. They get my support. And if you’d like to perhaps offer yours - or even just find out a bit more - please use the links below. Thanks.
Vegan Land Movement on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/givingbacklandtotheearth/
Vegan Land Movement website - https://globalvegancrowdfunder.org/
Gina Bates on Twitter - https://twitter.com/hilltopgina
Sara Eloquin on Twitter - https://twitter.com/moulouanne