International FEAST Webinar

Sharing spatial tool approaches to Farmland Ecosystem Assessment...

On June 10, 2025, project partner the University of Hertfordshire's Agriculture and Environment Research Unit (AERU) hosted a webinar organised with partner Taskscape Associates, introducing the FRAMEwork-funded Farmland Ecosystem Assessment Support Tool (FEAST). This free online event brought together key stakeholders to explore FEAST and, more broadly, ways spatial assessment tools like it can help enhance natural resource management in agricultural landscapes.

The webinar was part of the project's event series 'Recodo In Real Life', bringing stakeholders into contact with knowledge tools and outputs available via Recodo, the project's legacy platform. Attendees enjoyed an in-depth exploration of FEAST's capabilities through live demonstrations of real-world case studies from across project areas with UOH leads John Tzilivakis and Doug Warner. The webinar closed with an open panel discussion featuring contributions from the UOH team, invited speakers from the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee and online attendees worldwide.

What was covered?

The webinar opened with an explanation of FEAST's core concept: a continuous improvement cycle integrating observation, performance diagnosis, options appraisal, and action planning. This introduction illustrated how the Windows-based application bridges complex ecological data and practical land management decisions, primarily targeting stakeholders in advisory roles, with functional capabilities on the ground and at policy levels.

Case Studies

UK - Showcasing Core Features The first demonstration was of Ranscombe Farm in Kent, where attendees witnessed how biodiversity monitoring data from GBIF (the Global Biodiversity Information Facility) could be visualised and analysed. The audience watched as thousands of bird observations were mapped, revealing patterns in species distribution over time. This demonstration highlighted FEAST's ability to assess individual landscape features and calculate habitat suitability based on species' life cycle requirements. It showcased the tool's impressive scope, featuring 66 indicator species and species groups, 25 ecosystem service indicators, and over 500 individual metrics covering 23 different landscape features and land uses across UK+EU farming systems.

Czech Republic - Grey Partridge Recovery The first European FRAMEwork Case Study examined an organic farm struggling with Grey Partridge reintroduction attempts in the project's Velké Hostěrádky Farmer Cluster. Doug Warner explained the species' complex habitat requirements across nesting, foraging, and overwintering phases. The FEAST analysis revealed that a critical missing element was overwintering habitat. Through the tool's "what-if" scenarios the team demonstrated how implementing winter stubble with seed mixes could unlock the landscape's potential for supporting their populations.

Luxembourg - Hoverfly Habitat Complementation FRAMEwork's Born Farmer Cluster in eastern Luxembourg features traditional orchards, arable land, grassland, and woodland. Using a University of Amsterdam hoverfly model created for the project with ten life cycle components, FEAST revealed that all required habitats existed, but only co-occurred in one area. For example, the western section had just five of the necessary components - but adding a wildflower margin and converting one field to sugar beet within the tool provided missing habitats, extending suitable zones for hoverflies across previously unsuitable areas.

Netherlands - Multiple Species Management Moving to the Netherlands itself, and the Zeeasterweg Farmer Cluster, the team tackled the complex challenge of managing landscapes for multiple farmland bird species simultaneously. Using FEAST's map calculator function, they demonstrated how to combine assessments for species including linnets, corn buntings, turtle doves, yellowhammers and yellow wagtails. This revealed clear hotspots where the landscape delivered for multiple species and areas where targeted interventions could benefit specific species without compromising others.

Southern France - Remote Assessment Challenges The final case study in the project's Basse-Durance Farmer Cluster highlighted the potential and limitations of remote landscape assessment. Using imported land use data to assess butterfly habitat, the team demonstrated how they discovered that features classified as "hedgerows" in the data were actually coniferous windbreaks when verified through Google Street View - habitats unsuitable for the target butterfly species. This illustrated the importance of ground-truthing and local knowledge when deploying spatial assessment tools remotely.

Panel Discussion - From Real Landscapes to Policy Landscapes

The webinar's open panel discussion, organised and moderated by Theo Simmons from knowledge exchange partner Taskscape, brought valuable reflections and perspectives to the forefront - connecting FEAST's specific capabilities into broader strategic discussions on spatial tools and approaches' value to stakeholders, as well as future trends and challenges. The UOH Team were joined by Rory Barber (JNCC Senior Analyst) and Hannah McGrath ( JNCC Senior Advisor in Land Management and Biodiversity), with further attendees contributing questions and thoughts via the webinar message board.

The initial conversation focused on accessibility and implementation. The speakers explored how tools like FEAST could help NGOs and policymaking bodies in their work supporting multi-functional and multi-benefit landscapes. Additionally, they highlighted how FEAST's visual interface was well placed to be used with argitech-oriented farmers and farmers with dyslexia, which studies show is present at higher rates within the sector. At the same time, the importance of not treating farmers and advisory users as a "monolithic blob" was emphasised and instead recognising diverse user needs and capabilities.

This led the conversation towards considering the flexibility and interoperability of FEAST. The panel explored integration with existing tools and workflows. An attendee from the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, USA, raised a question on pesticide mapping capabilities which John Tzilivakis confirmed were in development. Another question from Bogomolets National Medical University, Ukraine, addressed the potential for medical and hygiene research applications. Panel speakers responded with discussion on using spatial approaches to quantify and navigate land use tradeoffs. Finally, a forward-looking segment examined data interoperability and the trend toward standardized environmental data across Europe, and the wider international community, with references to initiatives like the Desantis Agreement and India's AIMS Consortium project preparing biodiversity data for AI exploitation.

Engagement and Impact

Taskscape is pleased to share that the webinar achieved good engagement, attracting participants from across the globe and representing a diverse array of stakeholder groups - with 20 registrants joining the live session and an additional 62 receiving dissemination materials but unable to attend on the day. Research organizations comprised the majority of registrants at 55%, reflecting strong academic interest in FEAST's data capabilities. NGOs represented 20% of registrants, highlighting the tool's relevance for conservation practitioners. Policymaking (13.3%) and Private Sector registrants (11.7%) rounded out the total, confirming interest in potential strategic and commercial applications.

While European stakeholders naturally dominated registration at 70%, given the tool's development context and recent H2020 funding, there was also significant interest from Africa (13.3%), Asia (8.3%), and the Americas (6.6%). This international reach underscores the universal challenges of biodiversity management and the potential for spatial tools like FEAST to help support more sustainable farming practices worldwide.

To view or download the webinar slides please head here. Please subscribe to Recodo's YouTube channel to be notified of the recording going live.