Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Countryside Stewardship Scheme. A UK Government grant scheme offering payments to farmers and other land managers in England to carry out management that enhances and conserves landscapes, habitats and wildlife, and (where appropriate) to improve access to them. It aims to make conservation part of farming and land management practice.

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Grants are awarded on a discretionary basis (i.e. not all applications will be successful); upon acceptance, the land manager enters into a legally binding agreement with the Government, which usually lasts for ten years. This agreement sets out targets and management actions which must be complied with in order to receive grant payments. Watersides are an inland water target feature eligible for payments under the scheme. The scheme objectives for waterside land include: Conserving the landscape and wildlife of meadows, marshes and wet pasture (through sensitive management and reductions of pesticides and fertiliser applications). Restoring and creating waterside features such as ponds, fens and reedbeds. Managing water levels in spring/winter to create suitable flooding conditions for wintering wildfowl and breeding waders. Restoring and managing ditches and dykes. Improving wildlife habitats in and alongside rivers and streams (by restoring waterside vegetation, reducing bank erosion and buffering them from the effects of pesticides and fertilisers. Woodland landscape types and features that are eligible for payments under the scheme are: Historic deer parks and wood pasture - management may include the reintroduction of grazing, scrub clearance, tree planting and tree surgery to care for old trees. Old orchards - traditional orchards support a wide range of wildlife. Management may include restoring and maintaining old orchard trees and managing grass under trees. Community forest - small-scale tree and shrub planting and management. Small upland woodlands - grazing control, management of existing trees and selective planting.