Molly Biddell
Growing up and working on a farming business in Surrey, whilst climate change was on the school syllabus and David Attenborough was on the TV, shaped how I see the world – a place full of complex systems and wicked problems but also with huge potential to deliver life-saving solutions, particularly through the way that we manage land.
I studied geography at university because I’ve always been fascinated in how land, systems, and people interact. I began my career working for Savills in rural research, specialising in post-Brexit agri-environmental policy and emerging nature markets across the UK. I now work as Head of Natural Capital for Knepp in West Sussex, a rewilding project, where I focus on making the business case for ecosystem restoration through mechanisms such as Biodiversity Net Gain and Landscape Recovery. I enjoy facilitating two local farmer cluster groups in Surrey and Sussex. I also work part time for our family farming business, Hampton Estate, where I work on environmental projects, ecotourism and community engagement. I am passionate about reconnecting people with food systems and nature and really enjoy writing an opinion column in Farmers Weekly.
Many thanks to NFU East Sussex for their sponsorship and support of my Nuffield Scholarship.
Rooted Resistance or Policy Power? Finding the changemakers and reimagining land in a crisis age
East Sussex NFU
Study Overview
The UK’s rural sector holds the seeds of transformation. Through regenerative agriculture and landscape-scale nature recovery, we are already glimpsing the potential of multifunctional land use to deliver benefits for nature, food, and people. The key question is where meaningful change comes from—and what kind of change works. Can we rely on government-led regulation, policy, and science to drive transformation, or will lasting progress emerge from farmer-led innovation, citizen action, and collective governance?
My Nuffield research will explore how other countries are navigating similar agricultural turning points, examining how change is created, led, resisted, and scaled—and the balance between top-down and bottom-up forces. I will investigate the pressures driving transformation, who and what is enabling it, and how successful approaches are sustained or undermined.
This research feels particularly timely. UK agriculture is in flux: post-Brexit policy reform, the growth of nature-based markets, and the race to net zero have created both disruption and opportunity. Having worked across agri-environmental policy and nature finance, from research and advisory roles to practical implementation, I’ve seen both the ambition and the frustration of change.
I am really excited to embark upon a Nuffield Scholarship, and grateful for the opportunity to learn from businesses and communities around the world what it is that drives lasting, inclusive, and effective transformation within our sector.