How we use our land
For almost a century the land and estate at Dartington have been used for research and exploration of new agricultural processes.
Today a regenerative approach is at the heart of everything we do. It supports healthy soils, creates rich wildlife habitat and nurtures our community of visitors and small enterprises who have come here because they wish to have a deeper connection with the land.
We have a number of tenants who run enterprises using the land to produce food, fungi or flowers or for therapeutic benefit.
Conservation at Dartington
From dormice to hedgerows and everything in between, conservation work plays a major part in Dartington estate life.
Powered by renewables
A significant proportion of Dartington’s energy is produced via renewables, in the form of our 950kw biomass boiler and 500kh(p) solar-PV array.
Food, farming and conservation blogs
Dartington estate revealed as home for 19 ‘at risk’ fungi
The recent UK Fungus Day prompted our Gardens, Conservation and Land Manager, Rafa, to embark on a quest to find the striking and not-so-common Earthstars (Geastrum fornicatum). Here’s how he got on…
Could our new undergraduate degree help shape farming’s future?
Our Schumacher College has launched Britain’s first degree in Regenerative Food and Farming – with the aim of enabling people who want to make a lasting difference to agriculture, from the grassroots up.
Could you take over our kitchen for a night?
We’re launching Kitchen Takeovers – a series of mid-week, rotating pop-ups where we’ll offer up our kitchen and restaurant for local chefs to exercise their talent – and we need you!
Help save a mighty mini-beast from extinction
Budding bug-hunters around Dartington and Totnes are needed to help track one of the rarest ants in England by taking part in the Nest Quest Survey.
Why boosting biodiversity is key in an era of change
5 June is World Environment Day, and this year’s theme is ‘biodiversity’. Land manager Rafael Pompa explains why biodiversity is so important – and what we’re doing to support it on the estate.
Meet our Head Gardener and horticulture specialist Colum Pawson
Colum manages the growing areas around Schumacher College and teaching our horticulture students. We caught up with him to find out what makes him tick!
Some jobs just can’t be hurried
Not many of us take nearly a decade to finish a job – but our conservation warden is positively proud of the fact.
How do we catch up with a climate that’s changing faster than we are?
As environmentalism goes mainstream and increasing numbers of organisations declare a climate emergency, Andrea Kuhn meets those who’ve been trying out the deep social, economic and cultural changes needed to get us out of this mess.
Ash die back at Dartington
We have been anticipating the arrival of ash die back at Dartington for some years. It’s now unequivocally here – and we are urgently seeking your support to enable us to remove diseased tress from across the estate.
Rapturous raptors: encouraging birds of prey at Dartington
What are raptors, and why are we trying to attract them to Dartington? Estate warden Mike Newby explains why birds of prey are vital to the farmers, gardeners and land managers who work here at Dartington.