Working for the local economy

From the outset, our aspiration for Wild Ken Hill was to make it much more than a conservation and farming project – we also wanted it to really add to our local economy.

We wanted to create a new vibrancy around landscape-scale nature restoration and sustainable farming that creates jobs and other opportunities. In the last few months, we have started to witness the first fruits of this approach, which is really encouraging. 

Firstly, we’re hiring a new Conservation Leader and Ecologist. This is a new role for a dynamic and enthusiastic individual, who will add different skills to our team. For many years, advances in agricultural productivity and mechanisation meant that farming teams have become smaller. We’ve not had the opportunity to hire someone for a long time, so it feels great to finally be doing so. For those interested, the Job Description is available here, and we are accepting applications until 31st July. 

We are also supporting the opening of a new cycling hub for north west Norfolk: Open Sky Cycles. Open Sky Cycles has been started up by our good friend Howard and is operating out of space at Wild Ken Hill, where Howard will be performing repairs, selling parts, accessories and new bikes, and even providing free coffee! You can find the location here, and also follow Open Sky Cycles on Instagram and Facebook by clicking through the links. 

UPDATE: Open Sky had a fantastic opening weekend with many people from our local cycling community coming to say hello!

This adds to the existing opportunities we are able to provide for volunteers and our work to bring children into nature and educate them as part of school visits, all of which we hope goes to adding vibrancy around nature conservation and sustainable farming. We’re heartened to be doing our bit for the economic recovery and to be showing the potential for green and regenerative economies. We have plenty more planned on this front, so we will keep you updated as things progress!