--- title: "From agency to farm gate: why nature, food and farming is personal" date: 2026-06-18T12:02:50Z modified: 2026-06-18T12:18:23Z permalink: "https://empower.agency/insights/climate-change/nature-food-farming/" type: insight status: publish excerpt: Systems thinking, storytelling, nature, and the future of food at Groundswell Agriculture festival. wpid: 5549 insight_cat: - Climate Change - Food and Nature featured_image: /wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_4165.jpeg featured_image_alt: Jaz Cummins at Pasture for Life event author: Ben Matthews --- ![Jaz Cummins at Pasture for Life event](https://empower.agency/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_4165-600x450.jpeg) ### Jaz Co-Founder 18 June, 2026 • Reading time: 5 minutes # From agency to farm gate: why nature, food and farming is personal Why food systems has gone from a professional interest to shaping my time and sense of purpose. - [ Climate Change ](https://empower.agency/insights/climate-change/) - [ Food and Nature ](https://empower.agency/insights/food-and-nature/) My route into food systems and regenerative farming has seen my interests (gardening, soil, eating well, nature, circularity) intertwining with my professional communications and climate and nature experience. At Empower we have worked in climate for 15 years, and specifically in food and nature, with the likes of FAIRR, Business for Nature, Clim-Eat, Compassion in World Farming and others. I learned an enormous amount through that work, about biodiversity frameworks, food systems policy, the complexity of the food, nature and climate agenda. But for a long time it remained primarily a professional lens. Then a few things shifted, in and around the same period, and the professional became personal. Learn more about our [expertise in nature, food systems, regenerative agriculture, and biodiversity](https://empower.agency/sectors/nature-food-farming-and-biodiversity-digital-agency/). ## Groundswell changed something Attending the regenerative agriculture festival [Groundswell](https://www.groundswellag.com/) in 2025, at the prompting of a good friend in farming, I was so energised by the mix of attendees and topics, but also by the openness and space for learning across the boundaries of food systems, business, land, nature and community, as I wrote about after attending: [“Diversity grows resilience”: Lessons from Groundswell for climate communicators](https://empower.agency/insights/climate-change/diversity-grows-resilience-lessons-from-groundswell-for-climate-communicators/) The conversations mirrored so much of what we grapple with in our communications work: the tension between pragmatism and bold vision, the challenge of reaching the mainstream, the way that food sits at the intersection of so many things people actually care about. ![Groundswell](https://empower.agency/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_3725-600x450.jpeg) ## Digging in with inspiring clients Throughout this time I’ve been fortunate to continue working on aligned and inspiring clients: **Business for Nature** is a global coalition that mobilises businesses to advocate for policies that protect and restore nature, bringing together companies and conservation organisations to make nature a boardroom and policy priority. **Trees for the Future** helps smallholder farming families in sub-Saharan Africa transform degraded land into thriving Forest Gardens, a regenerative approach that restores soil health, increases biodiversity and builds long-term food security and income for rural communities. **Medway Catchment Learning and Action Network** is a new project driving partnerships, trust, shared vision and organisational capacity across the catchment of one of the UK’s most polluted rivers, the River Medway. ![Digging in with inspiring clients](https://empower.agency/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_4102-600x450.jpeg) ## Local and Pro Bono Roles Like many in the climate space, the gruelling nature of recent pushbacks and escalating weather crises, has led me to local action. This also chimed perfectly with my interest in local food systems and security. Current projects include: **Co-Director at [Sawpit Woods CIC](http://sawpitwoods.co.uk/):** A community woodland project that has given me a physical relationship with a piece of land, housed on a working farm. We invite people to join us at regular seasonal events to learn to tend the woods, and are funded to bring local groups to the woods who would not access it otherwise. All of this builds local connection, and a knowing of the land and seasons that is good for body, mind and society. Being part of a group of people who have chosen to look after a small piece of the world together, has been good for my soul, and helped my communicators brain think about how to build connection. **Trustee at Great Cansiron Holistic Trust:** a new role at this Community Benefit Society, who are at the early stages of regeneratively managing 490 acres of land, working with local biodynamic farmers. **Volunteer Strategy Support at Pasture for Life:** I’m working with **[Pasture for Life](http://pastureforlife.org/)** to explore ways I can support this pioneering membership organisation, behind the certification for 100% pasture-fed livestock. I’m passionate about their approach to change, policy message, and farmer-to-farmer learning. ![Jaz Cummins at Pasture for Life event](https://empower.agency/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_4165-600x450.jpeg) ## What next? When Empower works with nature, food and farming organisations, we are not a generalist agency that has picked up a brief in an interesting sector. We are people who are genuinely engaged with this space: professionally, intellectually and personally. We follow the policy debates, attend the events, get our hands dirty in the work, take the courses. That is the kind of understanding we try to bring to every brief we take on in this space. And the more personal this has become for me, the more confident I feel that we are in exactly the right place. In the coming weeks I’ll be attending the below, and look forward to connecting and sharing my insights: - [Ark Summit Weathering Uncertainty: Cultivating Long-Term Resilience for Land, Food, Biodiversity and Community](https://www.arkce.com/summit-26) - [Groundswell 2026](https://www.groundswellag.com/) - [London Climate Action Week Food events](https://londonclimateactionweek.org/) Empower works with organisations across nature, food, farming and biodiversity, from coalitions and investor networks to certification bodies and campaign organisations. If that sounds like you,[ we would love to hear from you.](https://empower.agency/contact/) [ Contact Empower ](https://empower.agency/contact/) ![Nature Food Farming and Biodiversity Digital Agency](https://empower.agency/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Nature-Food-Farming-and-Biodiversity-Digital-Agency-600x399.jpg) ## Further insights More articles from the Empower team - [ View content ](https://empower.agency/insights/climate-change/nature-food-farming/) - [ Climate Change ](https://empower.agency/insights/climate-change/) - [ Food and Nature ](https://empower.agency/insights/food-and-nature/) ### From agency to farm gate: why nature, food and farming is personal Read more - [ View content ](https://empower.agency/insights/social-media/how-to-use-your-linkedin-content-strategy-to-rank-in-ai-search-results/) - [ Social Media ](https://empower.agency/insights/social-media/) ### How to use your LinkedIn content strategy to rank in AI search results Read more - [ View content ](https://empower.agency/insights/digital-strategy/hum-sing-shout-strategic-content-framework/) - 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[ Events ](https://empower.agency/insights/events/) ### Serviced emissions: the hidden climate impact of professional services Read more ## Topics **Categories:** [Climate Change](https://empower.agency/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/taxonomy/insight_cat/climate-change.md), [Food and Nature](https://empower.agency/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/taxonomy/insight_cat/food-and-nature.md)