Rural Consultant
with special interest in the uplands of the UK
Simon Thorp & Associates provides advice about moorland and upland management. Learn more...
Simon Thorp was the Director of The Heather Trust from May 2002 until March 2018. He is continuing to work as a consultant and apply his experience in several roles. See the Current Activity page for details. Learn more...
See the blog VallumVoice for news and information of relevance to the UK uplands. Learn more...
There are a greater range of potentially-conflicting interests in the uplands of the UK than in any other area.
Simon Thorp & Associates promotes an integrated approach to management that seeks to build consensus amongst all those with an interest in the area. The value of the knowledge and experience provided by land managers must be considered alongside the evidence provided by science when making land management decisions or when forming government policy.
Many organisations and interest groups have a passing interest in the uplands, but this interest is usually confined to one aspect (birds, farming, peatland) or to one area or part of the UK.
The uplands are an important but very sensitive area, and they need knowledgeable, integrated management. Too often a single-issue approach is adopted to management and this can lead to significant unintended consequences.
There are many examples, such as: re-wilding increasing the risk of damage from wildfire, bad burning practices damaging peatland, access disturbing rare breeding birds, over- and undergrazing (by wild and domestic grazing animals) reducing the diversity of vegetation.
Activity | Links |
---|---|
Consultant to The Heather Trust | HT Website |
Moorland Management Best Practice - Consultant for Scotland’s Moorland Forum Including further development of The Muirburn Code | MMBP Website Muirburn Code website |
England & Wales Wildfire Forum (EWWF) - Chairman Liaising with government - Home Office, Defra, Cabinet Office Chaired the UK Wildfire Conference in Cardiff in November 2019. | EWWF Website |
Uplands Management Group - Chairman Producing moorland management guidance for practitioners. Recently published guidance about Wildfire Risk Assessment. | UMG Website |
Bracken Control Group - Coordinator Promotes bracken control by any means, Applications for Emergency Authorisation for Asulam since 2013 | BCG website Blog articles |
Graze the Moor Project - Project Manager Molland Moor, Exmoor 2011-2020 | GtM Final Report Blog articles |
Mobirise site creator - Get more