Countryside Stewardship (CS) provides financial incentives for land managers in England to look after their environment through activities such as:

• conserving and restoring wildlife habitats
• flood risk management
• woodland creation and management
• reducing widespread water pollution from agriculture
• keeping the character of the countryside
• preserving features important to the history of the rural landscape
• encouraging educational access

The scheme is open to all eligible farmers, woodland owners, foresters and other land managers, suitable for many types of land use (eg conventional and organic farmland, coastal areas, uplands and woodlands), competitive and scored against local priority targets to maximise environmental benefit.

Applications are now open for the following funds and grants:

• facilitation fund until 18 March 2016
• woodland creation grant until 31 March 2016
• hedgerows and boundaries grant until 30 April 2016

Visit the UK government website for more information.