The Dartmoor Hill Farm Project will develop a matrix to survey and record locally distinct boundary features as a first step to quantifying the ecosystem services they deliver. The project will initially focus on water and biodiversity but will allude to wider values to society. Working in parallel, but as a ‘top up’ to SFI schemes, it also seeks to encourage uptake and collaboration between farmers through identifying and rewarding ‘priority areas’ for increased connectivity; whilst appealing to private finance opportunities.

Rachel Lasko (Ecosystems Knowledge Network) and Hazel Kendall (Dartmoor Hill Farm Project) are in conversation with Russ Ashford, a farmer at Bowden Farm in Dartmoor, which is part of the Boundary Boost NEIRF project. The project is working to develop a model that provides meaningful incentives for farmers and landowners across the Dartmoor landscape through nature markets, creating an additional income stream that rewards the provision of natural capital and supports the long-term maintenance and enhancement of field boundary networks.