Bringing landscapes back to life
Employing pioneering science and technology to revive the traditional ecological processes that shaped our landscapes for millennia—restoring natural balance and safeguarding Jersey’s extraordinary ecosystems for generations to come.
"The team at the Reserve have been instrumental in establishing and delivering conservation grazing in Jersey over the last 15 years. Their evident passion and commitment has ensured that Jersey’s remaining coastal heathlands are now actively managed thereby enhancing biodiversity and enabling the re-introduction of such species as the Choughs. Above all they have breathed life and variety into our coastal landscapes, as well as restored an important element of our rural heritage."
“It is impossible to understate the environmental benefits gained from the Island’s impressive flock of Manx Loaghtan long-horned sheep. Not only do they lend a visual sense of natural harmony to our remarkable landscape, their presence and close-crop grazing ensures habitat restoration, soil fertility and wildlife diversity. Without their beneficial presence, much of our open grasslands, maritime headlands and woodland-fringed fields would struggle to sustain such a treasure of ecological diversity.”
Why we need to act
Our islands cherished habitats are in serious trouble, from our rare St. Ouen’s Bay dune system (with the highest remaining insect density in the UK) or our three remaining marshes that are critical to hundreds of migrating bird species.
These sites are universally and increasingly being impacted by almost a century of changing agricultural practice, climate change, pollution and other human activity which are leading to massive biodiversity loss which the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has confirmed is now at ‘crisis’ point.
One of the biggest challenges facing these habitats is neglect, bought about as our food systems has intensified. We’re working hard to turn the table, constantly learning from cutting edge ecology, farming and welfare practices to deploy and continually develop highly efficient and sustainable systems to reverse that neglect.
How do we work?
We’re doers, our role is to help our partners tackle ‘landscape scale’ habitat issues, combining our two decades of expertise, determination and passion with that of our islands major environmental organisations to create incredible partnerships.
We carefully deploy specialist grazing animals in place of the wild herbivores that provided the ecological driving force for these rare and endangered habitats for tens of thousands of years, we’re taking the first steps in re-wilding our landscapes and bringing landscapes back to life.
Where ancient wisdom meets modern insight
Our approach combines age-old practices with the latest technology and scientific insight. By using tools like cutting edge GPS collars and the almost extinct Manx Loaghtan sheep, we can help ensure the welfare of our animals while optimising grazing patterns.
We’re driven by constant improvement. We’re always looking for new ways to solve problems and new ways of working and by learning from all the other exciting rewilding projects across the world.
Working hard to make a difference
Why we act
Everyone recognises that our natural world is in crisis—and because our lives are so deeply interwoven with it, that crisis inevitably reaches us too. Nearly twenty years ago, we realised we had an opportunity to make a genuine difference, so we put our heads down and got to work.
Why it helps
Conservation grazing brings habitats back into balance. Water runs cleaner. Soils grow richer. Food systems strengthen, and wildlife becomes a daily sight again.
Real-life outcomes
This isn’t easy, sleepless lambing nights and steep cliff climbs. But the results are clear. Each grazed site supports hundreds of species, and that keeps us moving.
Meet the team
We’re a small team (of only three) and we can only achieve the outcomes that we do because of the incredible work of our two shepherds and brothers Josh and Ben Voak. Not only are they responsible for checking on our incredible animals everyday, but they’re emergency responders, midwives, machinery operators, mechanics and much more.
They bring an incredible amount of passion and hard work to the project, which couldn’t operate without them. Both Josh and Ben have taken on the management of vital parts of the project including the management of all of our grazing, health and welfare data and the management of our ‘No-fence’ collars. If you see Josh and Ben out and about be sure to stop and say ‘Hi’, they’d be delighted to answer any questions you might have.
Hands-on land manager focused on practical conservation and long-term habitat gains.
Keeps flocks moving and habitats healthy. Happy to chat on site.
Balances animal welfare with habitat goals, day in, day out.
Meet our Partners
Our success depends on the exceptional teams we work with. Together, we ensure the island’s conservation grazing project runs smoothly. We greatly value our partners and hold monthly meetings with stakeholders to discuss project updates and future plans. These dedicated individuals are Jersey's unsung heroes, and we are incredibly proud to work alongside them.
Jersey’s leading land management charity, the National Trust for Jersey has been protecting our special places since 1936 and now manages over 170 sites across the island, including some of the island’s richest and most diverse habitats. We’re proud to partner this crucial local organisation in land management across their many important sites.
The Land and Resource Management (LRM) Team are responsible for a vast array of publicly owned habitats across the island and they do an incredible job. We have the pleasure in working with them across a number of their sites.
We currently work with just two very special private landowners who have the same ambition to make space for wildlife that we do, we work with them to advise and assist with management and work towards the long term restoration of their sites.
Our vets are absolutely critical to the project and we’re incredibly grateful to the small team at New Era for their expertise and assistance across such a vast array of animal health and welfare topics.
We don’t have all the answers, so when we have a question we need to answer we’ll often turn to our friends at Nurture Ecology who assist us with management plans, site assessments and the latest thinking.
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