Some of you may be familiar with the title – it is a phrase used by our Eastern England region. And it’s a perfect description for this year’s Eastern England winner of the RSPB Telegraph Nature of Farming Award.
Jason Gathorne-Hardy has taken an ingenious approach to flower rich grassland management, which is designed to encourage ant-hills. Along with standing dead oak wood, nectar and seed rich habitats, wide hedgerow margins, and diverse woodland, Jason has provided food and habitat for wildlife right up through the food chain.
Scarce lesser spotted woodpeckers thrive, linnets have retuned to the farm, and turtle dove, yellowhammer and bullfinch numbers have rocketed in just five years. Grassland and woodland have been designed to encourage butterflies and moths, and hay meadows have been restored focusing on old / native varieties. Lakes and dykes teem with dragon flies and damselflies, fungi abound, there is now an otter holt on the farm, several badger setts, and fallow and red deer grace the landscape.
Jason runs a diverse business on his 110ha farm. Producing their own branded high quality Alde Valley Lamb, as well arable and timber worked on site, biodiversity, landscape and sustainability are at the heart of the business. He continuously develops new ways to reconnect people with landscape, nature and food, and welcomes over 4,000 visitors to his farm every year. His network of nature trails take in river banks, meadows and woodland coppice, and the farm hosts school visits as well as food and art festivals.
Jason’s farm is a shining example of how a farm can work in today’s challenging environment. One of the stockmen that has worked on the farm for 53 years recalls how farmland birds in particular disappeared over the second half of the last century, and is amazed by how quickly Jason’s ideas have brought farmland bird populations back on the farm.
The judges felt two other farms in Eastern England deserved special recognition this year, and have been awarded Highly Commended.
John Hewitt demonstrates a faultless execution of wildlife friendly crop production on his 237ha arable farm. Species such as night-flowering catchfly, yellow rattle, turtle dove, lapwing, and tree sparrow thrive, and his diverse grassland buzzes with insects. John can now enjoy turtle doves purring in the scrub and pond he restored, watch lapwing chicks grow, and see field margins bursting with wildflowers.
The bird list stands at 160 for Toby Bulgin’s exceptional livestock farm, showing wet grassland management and organic meat production at its best. Crane, lapwing, avocet, redshank and snipe flock to his specially created shingle islands, while new and restored ponds and ditches are festooned with purple loosestrife. The farm attracts otters, grass snakes, brown hawkers, and black-tailed skimmers. Toby was thrilled to open his farm to the public this year, helping reconnect people with farming and wildlife.
If you want to show your support for farmers like Jason, John and Toby, don’t forget to vote for the overall UK winner of this year’s Nature of Farming Award – voting opens Friday 20 July at www.rspb.org.uk/farmvote
The EU LIFE+ Programme funds RSPB work which supports wildlife-friendly farming that furthers sustainable development in the European Union.