How can upland farms access green finance while continuing to deliver productive, resilient farming systems?
That was the question at the heart of the Upper Wharfedale NEIRF project, where Cumulus Consultants supported Kilnsey Park Estate, Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust and project partners to explore how nature investment could work across around 14,600 hectares of one of the Yorkshire Dales’ most distinctive upland landscapes.
Our challenge was to turn multiple opportunities into practical, evidence-based options. We combined habitat baselining, ecosystem services valuation, opportunity mapping, private market analysis and financial modelling to identify where interventions such as species-rich grassland restoration, hay meadow creation, floodplain wetland mosaics, woodland creation, water quality improvements and natural flood management could deliver both environmental outcomes and new income streams.
We bridged the gap between emerging green finance markets and the realities of upland farming. The project team considered not only what was environmentally possible, but what could be investable, deliverable and acceptable for farm businesses working with existing agreements, protected sites, tenancy structures, common land and seasonal livestock systems.
This project showed that green finance is a real but evolving opportunity for Upper Wharfedale. With robust baselining, good advice, clear buyer relationships and carefully designed contracts, nature-positive investment can support landscape recovery while helping farms build long-term resilience.
We’re pleased to have helped our clients and partners move from ambition to practical investment readiness — identifying opportunities that work for nature, farmers and the wider landscape.
