Breckland Farmers Wildlife Network

The event was made possible thanks to funding from @esmeefairbairn.bsky.social and @brecklandcouncil.bsky.social, for which we are very thankful.

YANA: here to help

We’re hugely grateful to YANA www.yanahelp.org for supporting the event and sharing invaluable guidance on recognising when someone may be struggling and how to offer support.

Yesterday we hosted our first BFWN Big Breakfast – a chance for farmers to connect with others facing similar challenges and to share experiences. A delicious cooked breakfast set everyone up perfectly for a busy day on the farm in the glorious February sunshine.

2025 in Review
9/ Looking ahead
A huge thank you to all the farmers, partners, and supporters who made 2025 such a successful year for BFWN. 2026 is already shaping up to be a busy and exciting year and you'll be able to keep up with it all here and on our website (link in bio)

2025 in Review
8/ Feeding into strategy
We contributed to local and national strategies including the Local Nature Recovery Strategies, ensuring farm-based experience informs nature recovery planning.

📷️ credit: Emma Tovell

8/ Building wildfire resilience
Following the devastating 2022 wildfires, we met with Ray Harcourt, Wildfire Lead for Norfolk Fire Service, to explore how farmers and the Fire Service can work together to protect Breckland landscapes.

Thanks to BFWN farmer Tim Young for this brilliant photo

A few snapshots from the presentation

7/ Education & knowledge sharing
Our Landscape Recovery Project Manager Lucy delivered a guest lecture to UEA Conservation Ecology students, sharing real-world experience of nature conservation and exploring how conservation science and practice come together.

6/ Engaging beyond the farm gate
We presented to the Thetford Business Forum, highlighting our work and the importance of Brecks biodiversity. Through these connections, we aim to collaborate with local businesses interested in Natural Capital and supporting nature conservation in their local area.

5/ Inspiring the next generation
We were delighted to take part in Agriculture Unlocked at Thetford Grammar School, a careers-focused event run by the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association, giving students the opportunity to explore the wide range of exciting careers in agriculture.

4/ New discoveries for Breckland wildlife
We were delighted to record new populations of Tower Mustard (Arabis glabra) in 2025 - a real boost for this rare plant, including one population found in a natural regeneration grassland field that had been growing sugar beet only three years earlier!

3/ Advice visits
John Secker, a BFWN farmer with in-depth understanding of Breckland species provided 1-to-1 advice visits with other BFWN farmers, helping them recognise the wildlife already present in their cultivated margins and showing them how to enhance them with small, practical changes.

2/ Farm walks & shared learning
Throughout 2025, we’ve hosted farm walks across the Brecks, bringing farmers together to see wildlife-friendly management in practice and share honest, practical experience from the field.

1/ 2025 in review

2025 was a busy year for the Breckland Farmers Wildlife Network which continues to grow both in member farms and in ambition!

Coming up will be a full recap of what we’ve achieved across 2025 - from advice visits and student engagement to partnerships and strategic input.

Brilliant to talk all things nature and farming with Kevin Cox and our hero Rob Hawkes. Always great to be able to fly the flag for arable species and the importance of farming and farmers in their conservation.

We can’t wait to see the book when it’s published.

Only Carl Sayer @carlsayer.bsky.social and Hayley could lead such an inspiring farm walk about ponds without a drop of water in site.

Great to be reminded of how valuable even temporary ponds are for wildlife.

Brilliant example of right place and right establishment with this first year cultivated margin on one of our member farms.

A turtle dove and arable plant paradise!

We're very lucky in the Brecks to have had the support of such an experienced and passionate local Natural England team from the early days of BFWN.

Trying something different is daunting, so it's great to hear that our #LandscapeRecovery project @brecksnature.bsky.social is on the right track!

📣Job Opportunity 📣

Join us! We are hiring a Group Facilitator to spearhead our farmer network in the Norfolk & Suffolk Brecks.

With projects like Defra ELMs Test & Trials and a Landscape Recovery pilot, BFWN is driving innovation in nature recovery.

Visit bit.ly/BFWNjob

The Breckland Farmers Wildlife Network is a farmer-led group. We came together 12 years ago to collaborate on creating a landscape scale wildlife network in the Brecks. We're very proud to now have 58 members and cover over 50,000ha.

Visit brecklandfarmlerswildlifenetwork.org.uk to find out more