F E AT U R E 1. Diagram by Merrick DentonThompson with terra firma for regenerative agriculture as carried out at Henry Edmunds’ Hampshire farm.
Cholderton Estate:
Intensive agriculture: arable
No inorganic nitrogenous ferƟlizer, no pesƟcides, within a 10 year rotaƟon Year 4; arable with undersown ley
Years 1-3; arable
80% of chalk farms in southern England
6 years grazing sheep and caƩle herb-rich grass pasture reduces methane emissions
broad hed ges
reduced hedges
25% nitrous oxide nitrogen xed from the atmosphere by herbs
lifeless soil
128 tons carbon sequestrated per hectare
no ground
1
water polluƟon
25% nitrates
65 tons carbon sequestrated per hectare
ound water polluƟng gr
chalk aquifer
Exploring climate emergency in a national park Activists share their experiences of how a rural community is seeking to use the momentum of COP26 to act on climate change. Lionel Fanshawe
Terra Firma
In early June this year, I was approached by our local councillor to join one of three Action Groups being pulled together to explore climate change issues within the East Hampshire area, with a view to reporting to a community event in October before COP26 in Glasgow at the beginning of November.
Led by the office of the local MP Damien Hinds, the intention is to discuss these global issues in a manner that might inform and engage residents and raise awareness of the environmental emergency and local initiatives that could be most effective to address it. The three groups meet under the headings of Buildings, Transport, Land Use and Agriculture, the latter being the panel of ten of which I am part. Chaired by a former Permanent Secretary to the Home Office, it is a diverse group, including farmers, representatives of climate change action groups, a leading forest scientist, the ex-Chair of the South Downs National Park, and two landscape architects (Kim Wilkie and I).
By way of background, East Hampshire is a largely rural area of just over 500km2 administered by East Hampshire District Council that includes the towns of Alton, Bordon and Petersfield, and has a population of just over 122,000. The area is known for its scenic beauty, and 57% of the District lies within the designation of the South Downs National Park. The majority of East Hampshire
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