What's happening this month? Bird count, CLA webinars and more ways to get involved

Now that the daylight hours are starting to stretch out, beckoning the arrival of spring, I thought it might be useful to share with members some events that are taking place. 

Quick disclaimer – they’re not all CLA events, but I won’t tell anyone if you promise not to?

First up it’s the GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count running until 23 February (which sadly you might have missed based on when this blog gets flagged to members in enews). If so, do not fear as it is an annual event, so there’s always next year, and if you own or manage farmland, I would really encourage you to take part.

It’s not overly time-consuming and you don’t need to be an avid twitcher either (there is a handy bird identification guide you can download here in case you’re not overly confident with your bird knowledge).

Stopping for a moment to look at and record the amount and type of birds across your farm will not only provide some respite from the daily grind, but also, help to evidence that perhaps farmland birds are not in as sharp decline as is often reported?

Also this month, and another good reason to have a moment of reflection, is the Yellow Wellies – Mind Your Head campaign.  As well as Yellow Wellies' own booklets filled with tips on how to manage any feelings of stress or depression, there are also organisations such as RABI and the Samaritans who you can call for more immediate assistance.

It’s the IOW farming conference later this month (27 February), organised and run by our friends at the Wight Rural Hub. If any members on the island are attending and fancy a chat with us, please look out for regional advisor Lucy Charman and our new Member Relations Manager Dan Pownall, who will both be in attendance and would be thrilled to catch up with you. CLA Land Use Policy Adviser Matthew Doran will be among the conference speakers.

Looking more ‘in-house’ we have some webinars coming up which might be of interest, one on agro-forestry opportunities in England (27 February)and another on Energy Performance Certificates and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (11 March). Both of these online events can be found on and booked via our events page.

For members with tourist attractions or accommodation, ‘English Tourism Week’ is coming up and runs from 14 March – meaning it is the perfect time to post some content around your attraction/accommodation across all your social media channels, perhaps using an #EnglishTourismWeek25 hashtag? Some handy logos and other resources can be found here.

Right, I’d best get back to my advice cases. Please don’t forget that Lucy and I are here and ready to help you with any questions or queries you may have from business rates to beavers and everything in-between – we’re keen to hear from you!