Nidderdale National Landscape is home to 11 reservoirs and some of these supply water to cities like Leeds, Bradford, and Ripon. The vast area of land around these reservoirs presents a key opportunity for sustainable land management.

Yorkshire Water’s Beyond Nature Initiative

Yorkshire Water’s Beyond Nature initiative aims to promote sustainable farming and environmental stewardship across its landholding in Yorkshire. As one of the largest landowners in the county, Yorkshire Water has committed to managing its 17,200 hectares of farmland under the Beyond Nature framework. A significant proportion of these farms are within Nidderdale National Landscape and we work in partnership with Yorkshire Water to support these farmers.

Sustainable Land Management

Our Beyond Nature Farming Officers, funded via Yorkshire Water, offer tenant farmers support to enable them to adopt sustainable land management practices that benefit both agriculture and the environment.

This includes:

• Developing an ecological approach to farming
• Enhancing and conserving biodiversity
• Improving water quality
• Utilising natural flood management
• Sequestering carbon
• Providing recreational spaces
• Mitigating climate change
• Integrating sporting interest sustainably with farming and the environment
• Securing social benefits, for communities, from land management

By integrating these practices, Beyond Nature aims to protect the Yorkshire landscape for future generations and play a significant role in tackling climate change.

First steps

Humberstone Bank Farm is Yorkshire Water’s first Beyond Nature farm, located north of Blubberhouses in North Yorkshire. Spanning 904 hectares (2,234 acres), this upland farm exemplifies sustainable land management practices aimed at realising multiple ecosystem values.

The farm supports biodiversity, improves water quality, sequesters carbon, and maintains sustainable grazing and grouse enterprises. Managed by local farmer Jonathan Grayshon, Humberstone Bank Farm has integrated environmental stewardship with agricultural productivity.

As of 2025…

There are 21 farms in Nidderdale National Landscape that have signed up be a Beyond Nature Farm. These are a variety of different farms with a mix of sheep, beef, dairy, covering intensive and extensive systems.