Wild Penwith
Wild Penwith is a Living Landscape project focusing on the Penwith peninsula, the south-western most tip of Cornwall. The aim of Wild Penwith is to work with local farmers, landowners, businesses, volunteers and communities to restore and reconnect West Cornwall's Living Landscape for wildlife and people.
Much of the Penwith peninsula is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Characterised by central granite moors, short, steep river valleys to the north, and gently sloping river-valleys supporting nationally significant wetlands and heathlands to the south. Penwith has a rich historical landscape with Bronze Age field systems and prehistoric ritual monuments alongside remnants of an industrial past.
What is Wild Penwith?
Wild Penwith is working with farmers and local people to ensure healthy and well managed wildlife habitats, streams and rivers across West Penwith to help create a Living Landscape enabling both wildlife and people to prosper. This work is necessary because: 
The end of the West Penwith Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) will leave many important wildlife habitats (e.g. heathland) vulnerable and unprotected. Well managed and well connected habitats are important to allow wildlife to move around the countryside, helping it to adapt to changes like climate change or development. Our work with farmers through South West Water’s Upstream Thinking project helps ensure clean water in local streams and Drift Reservoir, which supplies drinking water for Newlyn and Penzance. It is important to promote West Penwith’s amazing landscape and wildlife which are important for Penwith’s tourism, economy and farm businesses. What can Wild Penwith offer?
Wild Penwith aims to promote good wildlife, soil and nutrient management to benefit both the farmers, the environment and the local community, through: - Free farm surveys, advice and reports on wildlife, soil and nutrients.
- Working alongside Natural England to assist with Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) and Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) applications.
- Capital grant towards soil, nutrient and habitat management works.
- Free local workshops for farmers on water, soil, nutrient and habitat management.
- Help with practical conservation tasks through our Wild Penwith Volunteers group.
- Free local events for the local community e.g. Wild Penwith Farmer's Memory Day and Wild Penwith Community Hedge Survey. Please see our Events page and local press for more details.
The Wild Penwith project is supported through grant funding from The Tubney Charitable Trust, South West Water, Environment Agency. The project is also part financed by the European Agricultural Fund for European Development 2007-2013: Europe investing in rural areas. It is being delivered through the Local Action for Rural Communities Programme by the West Cornwall Local Action Group with funding from the EU and Defra. Past funders include Natural England through Countdown 2010 and the National Lottery through Big Lottery Fund.
