This new role will be part of the Avalon Marshes Reserves Management Team and will be responsible for the delivery of land management, coordination of research, engagement with communities, providing evidence for funders and the monitoring of the whole range of environmental factors being surveyed on Honeygar. Honeygar is a vital part of the Levels and Moors ecological network. Using natural regeneration approaches, you will effectively be responsible for all activities and outputs emerging from the land management and evidence gathering occurring on the site. You will also be responsible for ensuring all financial instruments contributing to land management and land changes are supported with required evidence, and continue to look more broadly for funding options that are relevant to both Honeygar and the neighbouring land. This role will also be the budget holder for all land management operations at Honeygar. The Land Management and Monitoring Manager will engage with other landowners, communities and stakeholders to develop and manage a shared approach to nature’s recovery across the wider landscape. Whilst bringing together our science, monitoring and other land managers to innovate new ways of managing land to achieve our goals.

Job Description – Key Responsibilities and Tasks

Responsibility 1: Project Management

Oversee the full lifecycle of Honeygar’s nature recovery programme from vision to implementation to ensure timely delivery, high environmental standards, and measurable results:

Responsible for the active delivery and oversight of land management to deliver the Honeygar wilding vision, which involves making a series of management interventions then allowing nature to take the lead.

Responsible for the management, reporting and accounting for the Honeygar land management budget.

Lead on the procurement and oversight of contractors and other suppliers undertaking works or supplying services or materials for the improvement or management of land at Honeygar.

Work with the wider Somerset Wildlife Trust to develop and review our wilding approach to land management at Honeygar within the context of the wider landscape.

Develop and deliver plans to restore the peat soils, turning Honeygar over time from a carbon-emitting site to a carbon sink, while delivering nature restoration and restoring ecological function.

Develop opportunities for income generation at Honeygar and share learning with other land managers

Provide funders (through both private and public finance) with the appropriate evidence and reports necessary to fulfil any and all contractual obligations for that funding, with a particular emphasis on ensuring all evidence and reporting is undertaken as required by “Wilder Carbon” and other Green Finance/Funding agreements.

Supporting the coordination, the collation and analysis of evidence and research undertaken at Honeygar.

Writing land management and research-based reports for land-based activities at Honeygar (at least annually)

Managing and leading site management activities to enable peat rewetting, grazing and research actions.

Work with the innovation and evidence team to coordinate the science, evidence and monitoring group for Honeygar.

Collaborate with the SWT Innovation and Evidence team to ensure evidence is collected and analysed to a high standard and that any gaps in the evidence-based approach are identified and plans are made for enhancements.

Responsibility 2: Community and Volunteer-focused:

Work closely with partners, landowners, and communities to co-design a nature-based approach to landscape recovery, using Honeygar as a demonstration site by:

Leading our engagement with communities, landowners and other key stakeholders to involve them with and share learning from our approach at Honeygar

Develop and deliver events to showcase our work at Honeygar; produce and present audience-appropriate plans and reports based on scientific findings and event feedback; and work closely with communications and fundraising teams to promote the project through articles, blogs and social media.

Provide active and on-site leadership of the “Honeygar Rangers”(a group of volunteers dedicated to delivering work to progress the objectives of the Honeygar project).

Provide active support and encouragement of the “Honeygar Pioneers” (a group of philanthropic donors) to enable this group to expand and continue to support works on Honeygar.

Responsibility 3: Management:

Actively contribute as part of the wider Nature Recovery team, fostering collaboration and embracing the involvement of all staff, partners, and volunteers:

The Honeygar Land Management and Monitoring Manager is based on site at Honeygar (or the Avalon Marshes Centre) to support all on site activities and to provide a point of reference and visibility for staff, volunteers, contractors and members of the public visiting Honeygar.

As an active member of the Avalon Marshes reserve management team (led by the Senior Reserve Manager) and of the wider SWT fraternity, there will be times when the priorities of the wider team may override less urgent work at Honeygar. The job holder will be expected to be flexible in supporting the wider team where necessary to deliver the wider vision of the Somerset Wildlife Trust.

About Honeygar

Somerset Wildlife Trust acquired Honeygar in May 2021 as a key part of our newly launched Wilder Somerset 2030.

Honeygar Farm is located between the Trust’s Westhay Moor NNR, Westhay Heath and Catcott nature reserves in the Avalon Marshes, one of the largest and most important wetland areas in the UK. The site, a former dairy farm, comprises two adjacent blocks of land, 46.5 hectares of previously intensively grazed farmland backing onto the River Brue, a 200-year-old farmhouse and a collection of sheds and outbuildings, alongside an additional 36.5 hectares of less intensively managed land.

The site is not only perfectly placed to strengthen nature connectivity within the Avalon Marshes landscape, it will also contribute significantly to Somerset’s overall Nature Recovery Network, and offers us new opportunities to transform an ex-dairy farm into something quite amazing for wildlife, and climate resilient farming while keeping carbon locked up.