In Cowpe, part of the Upper Irwell catchment, we co-hosted a workshop with Groundwork to bring local landowners and organisations offering advice, funding, and practical support.
Why natural flood management?
Natural flood management, or NFM, works with natural processes to slow and store water before it reaches rivers. Across farmland, this might mean improving soil structure, Planting in-field trees and shelter belts, planting scrub, or creating more diverse grassland. Alongside helping reduce flooding in the local area and farther down the River Irwell, these measures can bring added benefits for water quality, wildlife, and the long-term resilience of a farm.
The workshop formed part of our wider work in the Upper Irwell catchment to help farmers and landowners understand what NFM could look like on their own holdings. Most of those attending were from the local area, while speakers from City of Trees, Groundwork and the Environment Agency brought different strands of advice together in one room.
What happened on the day?
We started by looking at the support available to landowners.
- City of Trees introduced the Farmer Resilience Fund, which supports woodland creation and in field trees through Trees for Climate funding. Designed in partnership with farmers, the offer includes support in designing and planting schemes as well as offering long term establishment payments. It also opened a wider conversation about how thoughtfully planned trees can work alongside a farm business, providing benefits such as shelter, forage, timber, and greater resilience.
- Groundwork then talked through the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and the land-management actions it may support.
- The Environment Agency explained the role NFM can play in reducing flood impacts and shared examples of work already completed nearby. Seeing those local examples helped bring the ideas to life, showing how measures on individual holdings can become part of a much wider catchment response.
The key message from the event was that no single intervention will solve flooding on its own, and NFM can work in combination with other hard landscaping measures to reduce the flood risk, slow the flow and benefit landowners at the same time.
What we heard from landowners
- How does the funding work? Landowners wanted to know which land may be eligible, what each scheme involves and how an initial idea becomes a project on the ground.
- What will work here? Every holding is different, so conversations quickly turned to the options most suited to individual sites.
- Can it fit around the farm? Grazing, access, existing agreements, and everyday management all need to be considered from the outset.
- Who is responsible for what? There were practical questions about design, permissions, installation, and long-term maintenance.
- What happens next? Landowners could speak directly with the organisations involved and arrange follow-up calls or site visits to explore opportunities in more detail.
Five things to take away
- Begin with the land. Soil, slope, drainage, watercourses, and current land use will all influence which NFM measures are likely to work best.
- Small changes can add up. Better soils, stronger hedgerows, varied grassland, and well-placed trees can make a greater difference when they work together across a catchment.
- Think beyond flooding. A well-designed project may also provide livestock shelter, improve water quality, create wildlife habitat, or strengthen the farm for the future.
- Explore funding early. Funding windows, eligibility, payment terms, and compatibility with existing agreements can vary, so it is worth checking the detail before developing plans too far. Funding such as the Farmers Resilience fund offered by City of Trees is often much easier to apply for than other grant schemes and comes with a high level of support in both the design and establishment work for the scheme.
- Ask for advice. A conversation or site visit can help turn a broad idea into something practical, useful, and appropriate for the holding.
What happens next?
The Cowpe workshop showed how useful it can be to bring local knowledge, practical examples, and funding advice together.
The next step is to keep those conversations going. By working directly with farmers and landowners, we can find measures that make sense for each holding, while helping to build a more resilient Upper Irwell catchment.
If you’re interested in learning more about how City of Trees can help with planting trees on your land – please get in touch. Email us here.