South Devon strategies

Learning Journey for Resilience in South Devon

What would make this place more resilient, who’s making change happen? What might a joined-up climate resilience strategy for South Devon look like? Through a multi-day experience, journeyers gather insights from diverse stakeholders, revealing complex challenges and innovative solutions across the region.

Our Learning Journeys aim to dip into a range of systems, activities and stories with a view to developing a joined-up climate resilience strategy for the region.

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BLC designed and led two Learning Journeys, in 2019 and 2024. We produced these journeys to:

Identify active change-makers on the ground
Listen to community voices and concerns
Understand key challenges to resilience
Discover emerging regenerative practices

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We examined interconnections between various sectors and landscapes in South Devon, including:

River systems and farming
Urban areas and energy
Moorlands and water management
Coastal regions and infrastructure

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The 2023 Learning Journey was part of a project devoted to the exploration of local climate adaptation, funded by South Hams District Council. The purpose of this Learning Journey was to see first-hand:

How climate change is already having an impact in South Devon
How farmers, NGOs, public servants and communities are taking action
What kinds of policy change would enable more action, better planning ahead and greater collaboration between citizens, statutory bodies, public companies, NGOs, businesses, academics and policy-makers to meet the risks head on.

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> Download the 2019 report

> Download the 2024 report

> Watch the 2024 film

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River: Farming, soil and food

“We have created a system where we are now having to choose between food or wildlife. Species in the UK have a particular challenge – it’s harder to adapt on an island when squeezed by human development. We need to look for ways to enable dynamism in the landscape.”

– Ed Parr-Ferris, Devon Wildlife Trust, Conservation Manager

City: Energy and mental and physical health

“A key insight was the plethora of great schemes underway in Plymouth, and how there should be a lot of synergies to improve and update what is offered to residents. The issues are all part of the same story; a deeper, harder-to-see problem. It’s inspiring to see all these projects–so little attention is given to this work, no one is hearing about it.”

– Joseph Rose, South Hams District Councillor

Moor: Water, upland farming, tourism and biodiversity

“It is hard to maintain hill farming without a subsidy, the average Dartmoor farmer loses £14,000 each year. But farmers are quite resilient and are coping with change.”

– Norman Cowling, Dartmoor Farmers Association

Coast: Fishing and public infrastructure

“Four of the landfill sites in Torbay are in flood zones, that means liable to flash floods, and one is in a coastal erosion zone. It is very rare that we only get one type of flooding: It will be a combination of high tide, torrential rainfall and then there is limited drainage capacity as sewage backs up in combined sewers. Most floodwater is contaminated. However, it is very difficult to get people to imagine that low-lying areas of housing may need to be abandoned.”

– Dave Stewart, Service Manager, Engineering, Torbay Council

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