This year’s AGM was held on Tuesday 3rd December at Holme Lacey Village Hall with guest speaker John Phillips Grazing & Landscape Manager at Epping Forest. Cattle grazing plays a crucial role in the management of Epping Forest’s extensive and nationally important habitat mosaic of veteran trees, woodland, pasture, heathland and scrub, and was home to the UK’s first ever no-fence collar grazing system. This new technology has allowed conservation grazing to be introduced to an urban landscape with over 12 million visitors a year, and John Phillips talked us through the fascinating history of the area and the development of their impressive herd of longhorn cattle. You can download his full slideshow here.

We also bid a fond farewell to James Hawkins who stood down as Chair after 8 years of service – Thank you so much James for help and guidance over the years! Julian Partridge has been elected to serve as James’ replacement as Chair of Trustees for 2025.