Connecting People and Landscapes - Phase 2

Connecting People and Landscapes led by the Bat Conservation Trust ran a successful pilot project which completed in Spring 2025. Following a successful application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the second phase of the project is now starting.

The project will continue to work closely Working with eight partners, including DCT, it brought together farmers and communities across Devon to create a more resilient landscape in the face of changing climate. 

The project aims are:

1. To conserve and protect nine threatened nocturnal mammal species, including seven species of bat, hedgehog and dormouse. 
2. To promote and implement regenerative farming practices that improve biodiversity, ecosystem function, and landscape resilience to address the impact of climate change in agricultural landscapes.
3. To foster connection and cohesion between farmers and their local communities. 
4. To increase community resilience through upskilling and nature connectedness.

Connecting People and Landscapes also trained and supported a community of volunteers and Citizen Scientists to help survey wildlife and monitor biodiversity on farms. 

you can read the final report on DCT's work on the pilot project by clicking here

To find out more about the project, go to the Bat Conservation Trust website where you will find information on communities and volunteering, working with farmers, nocturnal mammals and climate change and bats, woodlands and climate change. 

Picture credits: (c) Sebastian Allen-Mepham/www.bats.org.uk and Julia Powney | Equestrian Photography