There’s a new face in the Lake District National Park Authority’s farming team.
Jasmine Holliday will work alongside farming officer Andrea Meanwell to deliver the new Farming in Protected landscapes programme to Lake District farmers.
The geography graduate, who was brought up on her family’s dairy farm just outside Penrith, joins from Eden District Council, where she worked with the sustainability team to help businesses and residents lower carbon emissions in the area.
Jasmine said: “When I saw the job advertised it was as if it had been written especially for me. It’s a perfect blend of everything I stand for in terms of sustainability, but I also have farming in my blood and relish the opportunity to help my own community.
“I bring a wealth of knowledge in the dairy farm side of things which will perfectly complement Andrea Meanwell’s experience of upland sheep farming. I am looking forward to learning from her and think we will work well as a team to support Lake District farming businesses.”
Farming in Protected Landscapes is a three-year grants programme which aims to help farm businesses adapt for the future, become more resilient and prepare for environmental land management. In the Lake District more than £1 million is available to farmers in the first year alone.
Andrea and Jasmine are currently talking to farmers about how they can benefit from a new national grants programme with more than £1 million available locally this year.
The pair want to continue to work with farmers, landowners, communities and businesses to balance sustainable, productive, and profitable land management choices to address and adapt, and recover from the threats facing farming, nature, climate and communities.
Jasmine said: “So far I have enjoyed travelling to the four corners of the Lake District and meeting a range of interesting people with great ideas for the future and I feel very proud that I’m now able to help the farming community through these grants.”
