Maddy Harland is the co-founder of Permaculture Magazine and Permanent Publications, a publishing company dedicated to practical and leading edge solutions to global problems. She is a trustee of Common Earth, mandated to support regenerative development within all 56 countries of the Commonwealth through the cultivation of initiatives that restore ecosystems and build on the unique bio-cultural traditions of each region. She is the author of Fertile Edges - regenerating land, culture & hope and The Biotime Log. Maddy lives in a woodland that is a designated country wildlife site and provides both advice and networking guidance.

Mike is an ecologist with over 30 years experience and a Co-ordinator of the UNESCO North Devon Biosphere. He frequently lends his time and experience to the group. In addition, he and his wife Jo host various Sustainable Chulmleigh events on their organic farm just outside Chulmleigh, including tree planting and nest box building.

Chulmleigh District Swifts & House Martins Conservation Project, (Chulmleigh Swifts Project in short) is a local voluntary, non-charity group, funded by donations. The project was started in Chulmleigh by Vivien Drake, an avid bird watcher, during the first pandemic lockdown. It gave her the opportunity to devote time to helping save these endangered birds, whose UK populations have severely declined in recent decades. Vivien sourced some nest boxes and cups, with the help of ‘Devon Birds’ and set about promoting the installation of the nest boxes to the town.
A year later Chris & Ann Stanton moved to Chulmleigh, read one of Vivien’s project appeals in the local newsletter, met Vivien and offered their assistance in monitoring and recording the birds’ nesting sites, for yearly comparison. The Chumleigh project grew from one to three! The project aims to help boost the local populations of common swifts and house martins, whose numbers have fallen respectively by 66% (since 1995-2023) and 57% (since 1965-2018).
The project group is assisted by members of our email network who report their sightings & observations to us, and we give them updates and the latest conservation news for these birds. The project also liaises closely with the charity ‘Devon Birds’ who provide valued assistance with nest boxes and other aspects of conservation, and we assist Jerry Horn and his Devon Birds Project, where we can, with his tremendous work installing custom built nestboxes in Devon’s church towers.
We are registered on the Action for Swifts -Swifts local network website, which links us to all the other swift groups in the UK and are also shown on the national Swiftmapper UK website, tied into the RSPB and other groups.
We also liaise with South Molton 'Save our Swifts', the Swift group at Crediton, and the Braunton Countryside Centre, and of course 'Sustainable Chulmleigh' who have kindly invited us to link to their website. Get in touch via email: chulmleighswiftsproject@gmail.com

We were delighted to give a talk to the Chulmleigh Cub Pack in January 25 as part of their Environmental Conservation Badge recognition. It was a fabulous and lively session with some great questions.

Message from the school February 2025: 'Thank you Sustainable Chulmleigh for our subscription to Eco Kids - we can’t wait to work together with you.'

Recent lottery funding has provided the Biosphere with the opportunity to appoint several Community Animators across the region. Amy Roberts, whose area includes Chulmleigh is now on hand to support and advise our group, including help with possible funding!

Devon Wildlife Trust has been involved in a variety of the events we run, including leaky dam building and nest box building. They have also recently provided 30 square metres of free wild flower seeds for our Churchyard Project.

We are delighted to be working with the Little Dart Mission Community on our Churchyard project - rewilding a section of the churchyard to include a family area for picnics, play kitchen area for young people and areas of wild flowers. We hope to run various educational events in this space in 2025.

CAG offer support with insurance, guidance, and training for community groups. We are very grateful for their support.

Sustainable Chulmleigh has been helping the school create more planted-up areas on the grounds for the children to appreciate and learn about small eco systems and bio diversity.

We are working closely with NDC on our Churchyard project, planning the best times of year to mow in order to maxmise the bio-diversity of the plant life.