Nusrat Ghani, MP for Sussex Weald, joined representatives from the Environment Agency on a visit to Furnace Brook Farm near Cowbeech to learn more about their ongoing regenerative activities to protect and manage the landscape.
Furnace Brook Farm is part of an unusual land-based initiative in East Sussex, currently coordinated by three landowners and supported by ecologists and environmentalists, who are together shaping a collective approach to rewilding and rural food production. The initiative, based on an 80-acre site, involves research various approaches to ecosystem restoration alongside the operation of a horticultural smallholding, a craft brewery and fish farm.
A range of research-based activities are being undertaken on site. Specific areas of focus currently include renewable energy generation and storage, carbon management, topsoil enrichment and regenerative design approaches to landscapes and structures. Additionally, as some of the buildings have been repurposed into workshops and creator spaces, making Furnace Brook a vibrant rural hub for arts and ecology, offering a range of land-based courses and environmental school visits.
To find out more, visit www.furnacebrook.co.uk.
Nusrat Ghani said: “Looking after our environment is one of the most important issues of this generation and protecting our Sussex Weald countryside remains one of my top priorities. We have so many fantastic farms that are working to ensure that we have a healthy and clean environment for the benefit of all. I was pleased to join representatives from the Environment Agency and visit Furnace Brook to learn more about the current projects to protect biodiversity and support rewilding and sustainable food production and other activities that benefit both the environment and future generations.”
