ABOUT US

 

Nature-Based Farming restores land, grows food and creates habitats and ecosystem recovery for natural capital markets, including biodiversity net gain. We believe that farming is a service that should be measured by its contribution to society and the environment, as well as its yield per hectare.

 

Connected to the land: the ‘farmer’s foot’

Nature Based Farming has worked the land for generations. There’s a term in farming that describes this accumulated expertise: the ‘farmer’s foot’.

 

The farmer’s foot knows how every farm, every field, even each corner of every field, is different. It means that at Nature Based Farming, we know that the decisions we make – like what to plant, where and when – are right for each patch of ground we  work with.

 

It’s this deep connection with the land and understanding of local ecosystems that allows us to create thriving, biodiverse habitat banks that can be sustained for generations to come.

Meet the Team

  • Pete Thompson

    Nature Based Farming’s founder Pete is a third-generation farmer. He is a keen advocate for new and diversified farming methods, focusing his work on the creation of natural capital and extensive, sustainable food production at locations in Essex and Suffolk – projects that include the UK’s first commercial olive groves. Pete also leads the Tendring Farm Cluster, a not-for profit group set up to support the farming and land-based community and help deliver the goals of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

  • Will Sibley

    Will has worked in the fruit industry since starting work on a farm at the age of 16. Since then, he’s been a nursery owner and in 2006 was elected Master of the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers. For many years, Will was also chairman of the East Malling Trust, the UK’s leading horticulture institution. An experienced grafter and nurseryman, Will has been instrumental in the preservation of heritage varieties and the renaissance of traditional orchards for the BNG market.

  • Julian Young

    Julian has been building and selling procurement businesses for 30 years, creating competitive buying solutions that link the private and public sectors. Having moved on more recently to create a walnut and cobnut grove on 50 acres of land near the Suffolk coast, Julian has built an interest in farming practices that maximise biodiversity while delivering annuity revenue and optimising the returns from natural capital.

  • Hannah Pearson

    Hannah set up as a landscape consultant in 2011 after 15 years as part of the in-house design team for Cambridgeshire County Council and Capita. Having designed hard and soft landscaping for everything from nurseries to sports centres, Hannah focuses her projects on ‘biophilic design’, which connects people with the natural environment to create a sense of wellbeing. At Darsham Old Hall in Suffolk, Hannah is working to design a more biodiverse, wilder and less manufactured landscape, with the goal of joining up with neighbouring biodiversity hotspots so wildlife and plants can move and function more freely in the local countryside.

  • Jess Latchford

    Jess has worked in the fresh produce industry for over 12 years, with roles at farm wholesalers Secretts Direct and as founder of fresh produce marketing company Fresh Engage. An experienced matchmaker between growers and the hospitality industry, Jess is also founder of Waste Knot, an award-winning business that is transforming the food service sector’s relationship with fresh produce. Jess is an experienced speaker at industry events, including Food & Drink Expo, London Produce Day and Women in the Food Industry. She has contributed to a DEFRA panel and written for Fresh Produce Journal.

  • Kevin Tullet

    With a background in investment banking and global brokerage and a MSc in finance, Kevin has built three independent businesses during his career. He has worked alongside Pete over many years, establishing new ventures in the low-carbon and sustainability sectors.