Rewilding and Nature Friendly Farming

Welsh farming is facing a deepening crisis—with fewer farms, fewer rural jobs, and growing environmental pressures. If we’re to address the interconnected challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, we must work collaboratively with farmers to transition toward more nature-friendly farming. Across the country, farmers are increasingly impacted by unpredictable weather, making it harder to grow crops or raise livestock reliably. Many also recognise that their land is less rich in wildlife than it once was, with declining insect populations, fewer birds, and the loss of natural features that once supported productive farming.

A shift to nature-friendly farming is urgently needed, and government support is crucial to enable this transition. While we continue to push for stronger action, we’re also working directly with farmers and landowners in Radnorshire. Through projects like Wilder Pentwyn and Cultivating Change, we're demonstrating what’s possible. In Powys, we offer free, non-regulatory advice that’s open, transparent, non-judgemental, and available to all who want to begin making this shift.

LAND AND FARM ADVICE SERVICE

This free service is operated and managed by the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust. Team members are professional, experienced, friendly and trained to provide unique and realistic advice to farmers and small holders. The aim of this service is to assist clients to develop sustainable, resilient land management through the provision of site assessment and advice, benefiting both owners and wildlife alike.   

Advice includes habitat and species management, basis soil and water management, identifying appropriate funds and schemes, and much more!

Find out more

OUR REWILDING SITES

Wilder Pentwyn Farm

Pentwyn Farm, nestled in the wild landscapes of Radnorshire and bordering expansive commons and open hill land, is being transformed through rewilding and nature-led restoration. The 30-year vision for Pentwyn includes bold ecological restoration and a commitment to sustainable land management. This former farmland will evolve into a place where natural processes shape the land, threatened birds fill the air with song, and diverse habitats—from grasslands and ffridd to woodland and the upper reaches of the River Lugg SSSI—support a wealth of wildlife. 

Extensive grazing by cattle, ponies, and pigs will help shape a mosaic of habitats, while wetland creation, wildflower reintroduction, small-scale tree planting, and river corridor enhancements will further enrich biodiversity. Radnorshire Wildlife Trust envisions Pentwyn as a nature-rich farm that not only fosters biodiversity and mitigates climate change but also produces high-welfare, low-input food for local markets, supporting rural livelihoods.

Gilfach

Rewilding at Gilfach Nature Reserve began with reducing sheep grazing by fencing off neighbouring land, allowing natural regeneration to take hold. Controlled, extensive grazing was later reintroduced with low numbers of Welsh mountain sheep, Welsh whites, Galloway cattle, and Luing cattle, which help manage bracken, grasses, and scrub to encourage wildflower growth. Small-scale tree planting, wetland and pond creation, and the removal of non-native conifers have further restored natural habitats. 

Now a thriving nature reserve in the Marteg Valley, Gilfach supports over 70 bird species—more than two-thirds of which breed on site—including pied flycatchers, redstarts, dippers, and red kites. The hillsides blaze with bell heather, gorse, and wildflowers in summer, attracting mountain bumblebees, butterflies like the small pearl-bordered fritillary, and other pollinators. The River Marteg cuts through the reserve, home to leaping salmon and lush riparian life. With over a quarter of Wales’s lichen species found here, Gilfach is a biodiversity hotspot.