Farmer Cluster Facilitation Course now available online...
We’re pleased to announce the launch of a free online course for local leaders working with agrobiodiversity!
The 'Landscape Leaders: Farmer Cluster Training Programme' is a comprehensive course sharing best-practice information and advice.
Course material is drawn from project experience helping establish and lead 11 new Farmer Clusters across Europe. Plus, over a decade of previous engagement at consortium partner GWCT with the 100+ UK Cluster Network.
The course is designed to empower advisors, farmers and land managers who are seeking to improve biodiversity and sustainability at a landscape scale.
We've synthesised key content and takeaways from throughout FRAMEwork, bringing you an exclusive backstage pass to working with Farmer Clusters.
Inside, you'll find a unique curation of resources and project materials. Learners can enjoy interactive content ranging from research-backed summaries to guides, quizzes, specific protocols, video case studies and tools.
How was the course developed?
The course was developed by The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, UK, alongside other project consortium partners.
Its curriculum is tailored to those exploring the concept of Farmer Clusters and the environmental opportunities and challenges they respond to.
Nature doesn’t recognise farm boundaries. As a result, significant benefits for managing biodiversity and ecosystem services can be realised when farmers collaborate.
Voluntarily forming a ‘Farmer Cluster’, supported by an advisor or ‘facilitator,’ enables farmers to collectively manage functional biodiversity crucial to their farming systems while also contributing to regional conservation and sustainability priorities.
How can the course benefit me?
Learners will gain a comprehensive understanding of Farmer Clusters, from on-the-ground operations to engaging broader support systems. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
✔ Appreciate the context surrounding Farmer Clusters
✔ Understand the ethos behind their success
✔ Navigate common obstacles Clusters face
✔ Describe select biodiversity monitoring approaches
✔ Describe select habitat management approaches
✔ Communicate to build momentum
Behind every successful Cluster are pioneering farmers, passionate facilitators and others contributing leadership - but this work is impossible alone.
Supporters from Community, NGO, Green Finance, Citizen Science, Participatory Research and Policy initiatives will also find insights inside.
Who should sign-up?
✔ Lead Farmers and Facilitators interested in setting up a Farmer Cluster.
✔ Supporters seeking best-practice information and insights.
✔ Stakeholders curious about the Cluster approach.
What about access and user support?
'Landscape Leaders' is available in english on desktop and mobile devices, via the Trainer Central platform. We're currently working to provide course content in select additional languages.
While the project is running, learners can reach out to ask questions, offer feedback or request to be put in contact with people from our network.
Updates to course content are guaranteed for the remainder of FRAMEwork, which ends in October 2025. For further information, please get in touch.
How does the course fit into the project?
FRAMEwork aims to enhance how agrobiodiversity is valued by promoting collaborative biodiversity management across diverse ecosystems and landscape stakeholder groups. Our Farmer Clusters function as 'living labs' for life and social science research, and host citizen engagement initiatives.
This new course is part of our developing knowledge and action platform's core offer. Visit recodo.io to discover more free resources!
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