The following article was written by the CLRs Lillian Bixler who attended day 2 of the conference.
The way we use land in the UK is not a future problem — it’s a now problem.
From food security to climate adaptation, biodiversity to housing and energy, we’re asking more of our land than ever before. And that tension is clearly seen in the Fens.
At the recent LUNZ Hub ‘Big Tent’ in Ely, one message came through clearly:
there are no silver bullets — but there is real momentum in learning how to act together.
The Land Use for Net Zero (LUNZ) Hub brings together organisations across the UK to connect research, policy and practice on land use. As part of this consortium, the Centre for Landscape Regeneration (CLR) is working to ensure that this knowledge is grounded in place. This event built on CLR’s existing networks and ongoing conversations across the Fens, bringing partners from across the Hub together to learn with the region and explore the specific challenges and opportunities of lowland England.
Day 1 set the stage — grounding discussions in the landscape itself.
Through visits to Oxwillow, G’s and Wicken Fen, participants explored firsthand the unique value, opportunities and risks shaping the Cambridgeshire Fens: a highly productive agricultural landscape with a distinctive natural environment, facing growing pressure from climate change, water constraints and soil degradation.
Day 2 built on this — bringing ideas into shared discussion and action.
At The Maltings in Ely, the focus shifted to interactive discussions, presentations and creative sessions, creating space to share knowledge, challenge ideas and explore practical responses together.
A few reflections that stuck with me:
- The Fens are both a strength and a warning
Highly productive agricultural land — producing around a third of England’s vegetables — but also one of the fastest-changing landscapes under climate pressure. Drained peat soils are also a major emissions source, and water management, so crucial to the region, is becoming increasingly fragile. - Balancing outcomes, not maximising one
From regenerative agriculture to paludiculture (farming wetter peat soils), ideas are expanding into how we can balance food production with carbon reduction and biodiversity — but it comes with trade-offs, costs, and uncertainty. - Water is the foundation of everything
Again and again, discussions returned to water — storage, control, access, governance. Without addressing water at a system level, many potential land use solutions and opportunities simply won’t scale. - Innovation isn’t just technological — it’s social
Embedding researchers locally and working directly with farmers, government and communities is just as important as data, modelling or new tools. - Small changes matter
As Prof. Anjali Goswami, (Chief Scientific Advisor for Defra) put it — there are no silver bullets, but incremental actions, done collectively, can drive meaningful change.
What I found most compelling was the honesty:
We don’t have all the answers. The natural world is complex. Policy is complex. Trade-offs are real.
But there is increasing alignment around one idea: