In celebration of Moor Meadows’ 10th anniversary, the Jubilee Hall in Chagford hosted a sold-out day of talks, ideas and connection on Saturday 12th July.
A truly inspiring and excellent event, including a keynote speech from Tony Juniper CBE, Chair of Natural England. Tony spoke passionately about nature recovery being innately tied to human health, climate resilience, food security, rural economies, and national wellbeing.
He challenged the idea that we have to choose between food security and nature, calling it a false and damaging dichotomy. Degrading natural systems (soils, pollinators, aquifers) ultimately undermines the very foundation of food production, and we must stop seeing food and nature as trade-offs: they are interdependent.
Tony also described a crucial shift in language from ‘conservation’ (protecting what remains) to ‘nature recovery’ – actively restoring what has been lost: ambitious, forward-looking, and essential. This shift is embedded in the Global Biodiversity Framework (adopted in 2022), which set targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
He also sees progress in new UK policy mechanisms, with Environmental Land Management (ELM) representing a major change: from paying farmers for land area to rewarding them for nature-based outcomes. The Landscape Recovery projects are a flagship example, 56 are active, including 3 in Dartmoor. These are collaborative, large-scale efforts focused on restoring nature across whole landscapes.
Tony’s message was clear: real change is happening to try to reverse the 73% decline in biodiversity over the last 50 years, but it must be driven by people on the ground, inspired by vision, connected by trust, and supported by policy. The path forward is social, collaborative and adaptive.