Darent Valley Farmer Cluster

The Darent Valley Farmer Cluster is comprised of farmers and landowners who are committed to sustainably farming and managing this precious landscape, situated in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  

Steeped in history, the River Darent is a chalk stream, flanked by wetlands, rare chalk grasslands and a diversity of arable, livestock and horticultural farmland. The group, in partnership with Kent Wildlife Trust, presently manages around 2,500 hectares of this diverse landscape. 

Through the sharing of knowledge, practical advice, and working collaboratively, the group aims to increase the area and connectivity of environmental actions. These activities will provide public benefits, such as enhanced biodiversity, improved water quality and drainage, and climate change mitigation, whilst continuing to produce food in a sustainable way. 

The River Darent runs easterly from Westerham to Sevenoaks. It then turns northwards, eventually flowing into the River Thames at Dartford. The group members are currently concentrated in the mid-Darent area, between Horton Kirby and Brasted, but we hope that more farmers from the Upper and Lower Darent will join us.  

The Darent Valley Farmer Cluster members were keen to work more collaboratively, to share ideas, identify additional funding opportunities for local nature recovery and landscape scale projects, and achieve greater environmental benefits.  

Kent Wildlife Trust has a vision of a Wilder Kent. Working with other landowners and farmers is crucial to ensuring nature’s recovery across large enough areas to make a difference. 

​By working in partnership, and with the support of other partner organisations, we can achieve these common goals, increase habitat connectivity and improve water quality.

Kent Wildlife Trust Farmer Cluster Officers facilitate meetings, undertake one to one farm visits and deliver a programme of training events to group members.  Through these activities, and in cooperation with other partner organisations, such as Kent Downs AONB, North West Kent Countryside Partnership, Natural England and South East Rivers Trust, we are able to establish trusting working relationships to successfully deliver project goals.    

Kent Wildlife Trust has led on a collaborative project for the Darent Valley Farmer Cluster, securing funding from the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme for a Landscape Scale Nature Based Solutions Baseline Assessment. This will form the foundation for further cooperative environmental projects and funding opportunities.     

If you are farming in the River Darent catchment and would like to join the cluster, then please get in touch. If you are outside the area and interested in being part of a group, then we would also like to hear from you.  

For more information, please contact Marc Crouch: [email protected] | 07803 625496 

Contact us

Marc Crouch is the facilitator for the Darent Valley Farmer Cluster and is also involved with work to scope out other farmer and landowner groups across the Kent Downs AONB. 

Sign up to the newsletter

Those of us living and working in Kent can support our farmers and environmental efforts by buying locally. 

Volunteer with the Cluster
Support our conservation work and friendly group of farmers in the Darent Valley with wildlife surveys. We need the support of committed local volunteers to help sustainably carry out surveys and other conservation activities each year. You will be vital to helping us understand the wildlife present in the Darent Valley and how this changes each year, as we increase the area and connectivity of natural habitats through our collaborative environmental projects.

Find out more here:  Darent Valley Farmer Cluster Volunteer