Our Upland Commons
The Our Upland Commons Project was a 4.5 year, £3m, 25-partner project that helped to secure the future of upland commons in Dartmoor, the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Shropshire Hills. It was led by the Foundation for Common Land and ran from 2020 to 2025.
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About the project
Centuries old farming practices on commons are unexpectedly relevant to many 21st century challenges, they can deliver nature recovery, flood management, carbon sequestration and wellbeing.
But this land management system is under threat.
Our project took action, seizing the moment for commons and turning challenges into opportunities.
The project has brought communities and stakeholders together to care for upland commons. Through innovative biodiversity initiatives and engaging community events, we have achieved meaningful progress.
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Commons are privately owned spaces. Their owners include organisations like the National Trust, National Parks, Utility Companies, or private estates. Often, they look untouched and free from intervention but they are carefully managed by the commoners.
All common land is open access, which means we all have the right to enjoy recreation on foot on commons.
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There are over 3900 farmers who are commoners in England. They have the right to farm the land, graze sheep (and sometimes cattle and ponies) and to use resources from the land, such as trees, peat and soil.
Each flock on the commons has a ‘heaf’ (area of land) where they stay without fencing. This way of shared land management is called commoning and has protected some of the UK’s most spectacular landscapes for a thousand years.
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Productive landscapes help us grow food, absorb rainfall, clean water, nurture wildlife, and take pleasure from recreation.
The management of common land, when at sustainable levels, has ensured the survival of ancient monuments and rare wildlife, plants, birds and butterflies. Careful grazing can maintain the balance of delicate upland ecosystems on huge stretches of open landscape.
But there are serious threats on the horizon that could impact on the future of these ancient spaces, and on our access to them.
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Leaving the EU has led to the biggest disruption to the way common land is managed in 70 years. It has put the economic viability of commoning further into question, with subsidies and tariffs playing significant and complicating parts.
More frequent extreme weather events place the heritage of the commons at risk, and biodiversity continues to decline.
We also know that children are accessing nature less, meaning they miss out on all the benefits of greenspace.
But hope lies with the tenacity and resourcefulness of the commoners and a determination to find collective solutions.
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Our aims included:
Encouraging more diverse communities to enjoy nature and connect with the commons closest to them.
Helping everyone to understand the multiple benefits that come from commons and the importance of the commoning system.
Sharing skills that will enable and empower commoners to increase carbon storage, protect historic sites, enhance wildlife and habitats, and maintain the ancient practice of commoning.
Equipping participating organisations so they can better secure this heritage over the long-term.
Learn more about the key highlights and strategic impact of the project
Did you know?
Commoning dates back to before 1066, with the rights of commoners enshrined in Magna Carta (1215), protecting the livelihoods of the landless rural poor.
Commoning practices today like ear-marking sheep or Gathers, where commoners work together to bring sheep off the fell, are a living part of this thousand years old heritage.
Just 3% of England is Common Land but it is disproportionately important and requires bespoke policies to secure these benefits
39% of open access land is common land
1 in 10 scheduled monuments are found on commons
82% of commons are in National Parks and AONBs and one fifth of all SSSIs are common land
Where did the project take place?
The national project shared learning from 12 commons across four areas.
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Bampton Common (grid ref NY472161)
Derwent Common (grid ref NY231170)
Kinniside Common (grid ref NY085116)
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Bridestowe and Sourton Commons (grid ref SX552880)
Harford and Ugborough Moors (gref SX649620 and SX656615 respectively)
Holne Moor (grid ref SX677704)
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Clee Liberty (grid ref SO 5838 8454)
Long Mynd (grid ref SO 4310 9405)
Stiperstones (grid ref SJ 3719 0028)
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Brant Fell (grid ref SD661966)
Grassington Moor (grid ref SE028667)
Ingleborough Common (grid ref SD747729).
What did we work on during the project?
We worked with commoners and lots of other people to produce ‘commons visions’ – a way of mapping out and delivering good things for the public, heritage and nature. This included:
Helping commoners better understand and manage nature, carbon, water through a Farmer Led Habitat Assessment.
Creating a Commons Proofed Farm Carbon Calculator and training commoners to map and monitor public benefits on their commons.
Improving flock and herd health through nutrition and disease control.
Helping commoners to access funding through a series of events – ELM Readiness
The way we improved heritage and nature on commons includes: trialing new methods of Molina, Natural Flood Management, Whinchat monitoring and management, Spring Mire and Peat Restoration, Protecting Scheduled Ancient monuments and Improving bracken management for birds, butterflies and commoning systems.
We also worked hard to reconnect the public with the natural and cultural heritage of common land. We enabled 480 families to complete the John Muir Award on commons, had whole communities working on species monitoring and ran many public events.
Who did we work with?
The project was backed by a partnership of 25 organisations.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Dartmoor Commoners’ Council, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Devon Wildlife Trust, Duchy of Cornwall, Dartmoor Preservation Association, Federation of Cumbria Commoners, Foundation for Common Land, Friends of the Lake District, Heather Trust, Lake District National Park Authority, Moorland Association, National Farmers’ Union, Millichope Foundation, National Sheep Association, National Trust, Natural England, Open Spaces Society, RSPB, Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, South West Water, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, University of Cumbria.
Project reports
You can access reports from the project in our archive.
