The Countryside Regeneration Trust

Who we are

The Countryside Regeneration Trust (CRT) protects, promotes and regenerates our land and all life on it by bringing people and properties together to make everyone a Friend of the countryside. Natural heritage is our heritage, and we exist to provide habitats for farmland flora and fauna which are otherwise disappearing.

Protect: Controlling invasive species and providing targeted help to native and declining species through our conservation strategies encourages native wildlife to return.

Promote: The CRT champions farmland wildlife by providing opportunities for our communities to engage with it.

Regenerate: Sensitive land management creates the right environment for biodiversity to flourish, restoring farming landscapes that encourage and protect wildlife and produce high-quality produce.

We have spent the last 30 years completing conservation activities, reinstating natural heritage landscape features and producing habitats to allow all flora and fauna to return, We appreciate every living thing on the farms, from the tiny beetle, to the large barn owl, to the beautiful bee orchid and cowslip.

The CRT takes a holistic view of why the countryside matters. Wildlife, food production, employment, economics and development are all essential and should work in harmony.

We believe that nature is integral to good farming. That philosophy is put into practice on over 2,000 acres of working farms, small-holdings, and woodland on our 17 properties across the country. Working with our tenant farmers, we demonstrate how regenerative farming increases biodiversity and enables sustainable food production for the benefit of every one of us.

Every CRT property takes its own unique approach to achieve its specific objectives, guided by an advisor and supported with subsidies.

The CRT is an ambassador for the rural landscape. We want to make it an environment where people work and live alongside thriving wildlife.

The CRT would not have been able to exist without our dedicated group of volunteers. They take on a range of roles including species monitoring, conservation activities, bird box making and event support. The increase in wildlife and wild flowers on the farms has given the volunteers a reason to volunteer and they are all incredibly passionate and proud of the work we have done together.

We are reshaping the offering on our key properties so that more people can experience the benefits of the countryside, from introducing new educational programmes to providing opportunities for walks and talks on our farms.

Our Mosaic education programme is designed to ignite curiosity and wonder in children and to teach them about farming and wildlife. We endeavour to make all of our work as accessible as possible to all ages and abilities to create a greater understanding of how the countryside works and the importance of biodiversity. Mosaic will compliment this project, but has not been included with the activities at this stage because we want this project to educate all, and not focus on primary children.