www . robyorke . co . uk that they deeply care about . So one of the things I want to be able to do is to provide them with a platform to make a difference .
There was a Government U-turn seven years ago on the forest sell-off . Shouldn ’ t the Forestry Commission , not Woodland Trust , be leading on large-scale planting such as the Northern Forest ? The first thing to say is that the Woodland Trust does a fantastic job and the Northern Forest is a great idea . But there ’ s much more that all of us can do and we have an ambition as a government to plant 11 million trees in the lifetime of this parliament , and that will require action by the Forestry Commission , by landowners and …
Who ’ s going to pay for that ? I ’ ve asked to look at what the existing incentives are and the existing impediments . And we ’ re thinking of trying to support agro-forestry projects .
Money is tight and there are many Government departments demanding investment : NHS , education , housing etc . Does DEFRA fear its budgets being cut by the Treasury ? The Prime Minister has shown great leadership on environmental issues , not least the launch of the 25-year plan with the first speech by the Prime Minister on the environment for more than ten years . So we respect the Treasury , because every penny is taxpayers ’ money and we mustn ’ t be profligate or wasteful . But we don ’ t fear it , we think the Treasury understands the importance of investing in the environment , because you can ’ t have a healthy economy without a healthy environment and we need to take a more responsible approach on everything from plastics to soils .
The trade deals that come out of Brexit will fundamentally shape how the UK
14 Outdoor focus | summer 2018
Some of the countryside stewardship schemes are already returning farmland birds in numbers ... countryside looks . Is there nothing we can do until the trade deals come out ? Organisations , such as Natural England , are already working with landowners to restore habitats and enhance their management . As alluded to in the 25-year environment plan , we want to follow on from Sir John Lawton ’ s recommendations to make space for nature , connect habitats at a landscape scale , which will ensure we can see wildlife return . Some of the countryside stewardship schemes are already returning farmland birds in numbers and also I ’ d like to think about how we can sensitively reintroduce and support native species .
In 25 years ’ time , if you were flying over the UK , how would you describe the changes you can see below ? What I hope you will see is more mixed farming , more livestock in parts of the country that we might not have seen it in such numbers before , and we ’ ll see a more varied landscape , so slightly fewer fields of cereal and significantly more grassland pasture , trees , hedgerows , copses and woods with more wildlife as a result . Heathland in a healthy condition and , along our coastline , restoration of the wetlands , which provide vital habitat to waders . And I hope that what we ’ ll also see are people visiting , enjoying and appreciating the countryside and its natural beauty .
Rob interviewed the Secretary of State for the Environment , Food and Rural Affairs under cover of a piece for BBC Countryfile Magazine . Rob has also been working on collaborative conservation projects , such as getting land managers to work closer together and being braver on saving curlew with habitat management alongside targeted wildlife management . He ’ s due to interview the first female president of NFU – Minette Batters – at the Hay Festival on the 24 May and continues to seek dialogue with varied interests within a countryside about to undertake great change .