Freshwater Habitats Trusts hosts Secretary of State at Landscape Recovery site
5th December 2025
Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has seen first-hand how a pioneering collaboration between the farming community, Freshwater Habitats Trust and partners could become a blueprint for nature recovery across England.
Freshwater Habitats Trust, River Thame Conservation Trust, and farmer Rose Dale met the Secretary of State along with Natural England Regional Director Dr Edel McGurk at Rose Dale’s Organic Farm in Buckinghamshire. The visit marked the launch of the new Environmental Improvement Plan and the announcement of a further £500m funding for the Landscape Recovery scheme.
The meeting showcased the Ock and Thame Farmers Freshwater and Floodplains Landscape Recovery Project, a vital part of Freshwater Habitats Trust’s strategy to build the Freshwater Network.
The Landscape Recovery Scheme is one of three Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. It supports farmers and land managers to undertake landscape-scale, long-term projects focused on significant habitat restoration and land-use change.
- Landscape Recovery Project Manager (Freshwater Habitats Trust) Adam Wagstaff, Senior Project Officer (River Thame Conservation Trust) Hilary Phillips, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Emma Reynolds, Freshwater Habitats Trust CEO Jeremy Biggs, Freshwater Habitats Trust Programme Manager (Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire) Hannah Worker
Funded by Defra, in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency, the Ock and Thame Landscape Recovery Project is led by Freshwater Habitats Trust in partnership with River Thame Conservation Trust and farmers across the Ock and Thame catchments. The Secretary of State heard how the project is bringing together 80 participants across nearly 8,000 hectares. At Rose Dale’s farm, the project team shared how restored ponds and wetlands are already bringing back wildlife while supporting productive farming.
Freshwater Habitats Trust CEO Professor Jeremy Biggs said: “Meeting the Secretary of State and a delegation from Defra and Natural England was an important moment for Freshwater Habitats Trust and our work to restore freshwater biodiversity with partners across the Ock and Thame catchments.
“The Ock and Thame Landscape Recovery Project is a vital part of Freshwater Habitats Trust’s strategy to build the Freshwater Network, creating a wilder, wetter, cleaner, and more connected freshwater environment across England and Wales. This project will show how we can restore freshwater landscapes when we work collaboratively to carry out conservation work based on the latest scientific evidence.”
River Thame Conservation Trust CEO Dr David Fraser said: “We’ve long known the important role farmers can plan in safeguarding our freshwaters and wildlife. However, Landscape Recovery is game changing in enabling farmers and conservation organisations to coordinate at a landscape scale and over long timescales. In doing so the collective outcomes for wildlife and farm businesses are likely to be more than the sum of the individual efforts.”
- Farmer Rose Dale talking to Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Emma Reynolds, and Freshwater Habitats Trust CEO Jeremy Biggs.
With a focus on freshwater and floodplain restoration, the Ock and Thame Landscape Recovery Project plans to support net zero, boost stewardship of protected sites and increase freshwater biodiversity, while balancing the needs of farm businesses and food production. It will also aim to meet increasing market demand for Biodiversity Net Gain, carbon credits and explore new market opportunities including water quality offsets and payments for natural flood management.