Overview

Leven Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs) is a collaborative project led by the Forth Rivers Trust, in collaboration with 3Keel. The project recognises that government funding alone cannot meet the monumental challenges posed by the biodiversity crisis. The innovative LENs approach taken by this project is poised to make a significant impact on agricultural businesses and natural assets whilst enriching the lives of local wildlife and communities alike.

It aims to do this by matching investors with local activities and projects that preserve and enhance the Leven catchment’s natural assets. It will identify and implement a strategy for long-term investments into measures to make the Leven landscape healthy and productive while benefitting the environment, boosting biodiversity and uplifting local communities.

Project objectives

Establish a demand group

Leven LENs is bringing together businesses to identify shared commercial land management needs that would be difficult to tackle within their own supply chain in isolation. These include mitigating flood risk; improving the resilience of crop production; meeting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets; protecting nature & increasing biodiversity; improving water quality; and protecting rivers and other bodies of water.

Collaborate with supply side organisations

Once these needs are identified, an outreach partner (known as a ‘supply aggregator’) will approach land managers and farmers, and work with them to propose a selection of solutions that can be implemented on their land, and to identify how much they will cost.

The measures and initiatives are proposed, funders negotiate to decide what measures they will co-fund, and how much each funder will contribute. A deal is negotiated – usually via the supply aggregator – to ensure that the agreed funding is transferred to the landowner once implementation has been verified.

Engage with the Leven Community

Leven LENs aims to build an understanding and promote the green projects that community group deliver and offer opportunities for green skill development.

Landscape Enterprise Networks

Founded by sustainability consultancy 3Keel, LENs is a growing group of networks that bring together businesses, public bodies, NGOs, farmers and land managers, to finance and implement initiatives to improve the health, productivity and resilience of landscapes they all rely on.

LENs facilitate positive, long-term impacts on the local environment, with organisations working together to ensure their region thrives and continues to meet the needs of businesses, land enterprises, communities and nature.