Tree Amble

Oxford REAL - Voices of ORFC 2024

Oxford REAL Farming Conference has become one of the most exciting, warm and creative events in the calendar. Set, as you would imagine, in Oxford the event brings together people from all walks of life but who share a passion for changing our farming and food systems to include people at all levels but also nature in all its glory. In January 2024 1800 paying delegates went to Oxford REAL - this REAL has become a big DEAL!
Tree Amble went along with a mic and a bag of questions. We interviewed many people and this episode brings together many of those voices into one space to give you an idea of the variety of people, thoughts and activities on offer. 
IF you can ... book in for 2025!     

Oxford REAL Farming Conference - conversation with founders

Oxford REAL Farming Conference has become one of the most exciting, warm and creative events in the calendar. Set, as you would imagine, in Oxford the event brings together people form all walks of life but who share a passion for changing our farming and food systems to include people at all levels but also nature in all its glory.  In January 2024 1800 paying attendees went to Oxford REAL - this REAL has become a big DEAL!
Tree Amble interviewed two of the founders - Ruth West and Colin Tudge - to hear about the inspiration and the early days of ORFC.

Series 2 Episode 7 - Alasdair and Sam On The Croft

Scotland / Crofting / Native Breeds / Rainforest Woodland 
Sam and Alasdair's croft is in a beautiful location overlooking the sea and includes land by the water. It also rises up sometimes quite steep wooded slopes to the foot of the "hill" behind. This croft has supported generations of folks from its small but productive grazing fields yet it also contains remnants of what we might now call Temperate Rainforest or even, this close to the sea, Maritime Rainforest. This zone of rainforest has moderate year round temperatures and high humidity.. it is extremely rare and every bit as valuable as tropical rainforest. Within this rainforest are also hazel woods which hit the "rare" scale in a big way.
Sam and Alasdair manage their croft with animals and for nature. Alasdair is a true man of the woods and his knowledge is exceptional. 

Series 2 Episode 6 - Mike the Ecologist

Restoration / Landscape / Ecology / Lowther / Rewilding / Beavers
Tree Amble went to meet Mike in Cumbria in a patch of woodland where beavers have been released - and where they have really got to work creating ponds and pools and coppicing trees. 
Mike does a lot of work with Pete from Tree Amble. Pete wanted to get a glimpse of Mike's work monitoring the response of wildlife to management changes in projects designed to bring back nature. Mike and Tamsin are a couple and both work as ecologists helping us monitor change. The evidence they provide can either give us satisfaction that we have done something well and nature is returning or that we need to do more or change an aspect management. 
We spent a long time counting frogspawn in this episode!

Series 2 Episode 5 - Ruth Dalton farming with nature

Farming / Nature / Trees  / Native Breed Cattle:  Tree Amble went to meet Ruth at her and Wal's holding in the South Lakes towards the end of the summer. We talked about how, by grazing native cattle, planting trees and managing hedges they have brought back life to this small but characterful area of land. 
Part of the conversation reflects how they each advocate for slightly different outcomes and like all good farming couples have to come to agreement about where what and when in their farming system.
Ruth does a lot of work with farmers across Cumbria and, notably, works with Pasture For Life on their mentoring programme. The programme brings regenerative farmers together to provide support and to share knowledge.
She also has other multiple strings to her bow and is truly one of those people who is rooted in managing land for both people and nature. Enjoy the listen! 

Series 2 Episode 4 - Alwyn’s Forest of Flowers

Wild Flowers / Climate / Wellbeing / Tree Planting: One of Tree Amble's favourite projects is Forest of Flowers [FOF] - this is where we take ex arable soils in very poor condition, deep plough them, broadcast wildflower seed and then plant trees. The idea came from Denmark and their forestry creation work but was interpreted by the great folks at Landlife and given a new life as a way to provide suitable wildflower seed beds using the same principle - reduce surface fertility by inverting the top layers of soil potentially to 1m in depth.  We have pinned this on one stage by adding in trees to the mix. 
Many people are now very and rightly concerned about ploughing and its ability to impoverish soils, release carbon, open soil up to erosion. Many more are concerned that we should not be ploughing and planting arable soils upon which we could grow food. But this approach will only ever operate on a few small sites and the monitoring we have carried out on these few sites suggest that [as a one off operation] the carbon release is rapidly compensated for by sequestration and the boost to biodiversity is off the scale.
Alwyn's site in Yorkshire - which we visit in this episode - was restored only in 2015 and 2016 and is now one of the best butterfly sites in Yorkshire. This is creative conservation at its best!
 
 

Series 2 Episode 3 - John Quinton Soil Scientist

Soil / Geology / Restoration / Lancaster University 
John and I were at school together too many years ago to think about - he introduced me to Neil Young and I introduced him to Jethro Tull. I'm still a fan of both. 
As kids we already had an idea of our interests - his was geography and rocks and mine was geography and trees. An inspirational teacher probably gave us license to think about both. Roll forward 40 years and John is now a professor of Soil Science at Lancaster University - we are both still mates and enjoy getting together for walks and talks. 
We met on a cold early spring day in a wild valley in Cumbria and talk about old times as well as our overlapping work in difficult spaces trying, where we can, to bring people together, to mend soils and restore biodiversity. 

Series 2 Episode 2 - James Robinson Nature Friendly Farmer

Farming / Hedges / Trees / Organic Dairy:
Tree Amble were delighted to go and meet James Robinson on his farm near Kendal for the second interview in series 2. James is an organic dairy farmer and a leading light in the Nature Friendly Farming Network. He loves the cows on his farm but he also revels in the nature which comes when you manage land organically in a system of small fields surrounded by hedges - which James lays on a rotation - and mixed grass leys and herb rich meadows between. 
It was such pleasure to spend an hour chatting with James. We hope you enjoy this episode!