Gordon Beningfield Dorset Farm Appeal - Spring 2015

THE LARK

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST

NEWSLETTER Spring 2015 | ISSUE No. 53

Gordon Beningfield Dorset Farm Appeal Plus: Fabulous fungi in Herefordshire & solar panels in the countryside

Wild Bird Food Direct from our Farm

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Contents

Features

The Lark is published three times a year by the Countryside Restoration Trust.

The Countryside Restoration Trust is the UK’s leading charity promoting wildlifefriendly farming and campaigning for a living, working countryside.

We believe that wildlife is integral to good farming.

That philosophy is put into practice on over 1,500 acres of working farms, small-holdings and woodland across the country – where, alongside our tenants, we are demonstrating how farming and other sustainable land uses can co-exist with and benefit from a countryside rich in wildlife.

Our mission is to protect the farmed countryside, its wildlife, and the people with the knowledge and skills to look after it – and to communicate that together these represent a strategic resource vital for our future food security.

Patron: David Shepherd CBE, Wildlife Patron: David Bellamy Environment Patron: Jonathan Porritt Patron for Dorset: Brian Jackman, Betty Beningfield & Dame Judi Dench Red Squirrel Patron: Dr. Craig Shuttleworth Trustees: Robin Page - Chairman, Andrew West - Vice Chairman, Ken Gifford - Treasurer, Chris Knights, Zac Goldsmith, Robin Maynard, Tilly Smith, Annabelle Evans, Nicholas Watts MBE Editor of The Lark: Sally Bain Photographs and drawings courtesy of Gordon Beningfield, Caroline Aldersey, Julian Eales, Sally Bain, Tim Scott, Annika Rees, Viv Geen, Kenny MacKay Front cover: Holly Blue illustrations by Gordon Beningfield Published by: CB Creative Ltd The Countryside Restoration Trust, Bird’s Farm, Haslingfield Rd, Barton, Cambridgeshire CB23 7AG Tel: 01223 262999 E-mail: info@countrysiderestorationtrust.com www.countrysiderestorationtrust.com Registered charity no: 1142122 A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales No. 7320026.

Registered office: as above.

Paper sourced from FSC® compliant, responsibly managed, sustainable sources.

Good News And Bad News Extending Our Influence Solar Panels In The Countryside Fabulous Fungi In Herefordshire Gordon Beningfield Dorset Appeal Trust News

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Regulars Chairman’s Thoughts Director’s Report CRT Finances Fundraising Volunteers Education Farm Diaries Diary Dates Merchandise

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Joining the Trust Please help us continue our work by becoming a Friend of the Trust If you are already a Friend, subscription renewals will be sent to you automatically.

So please pass this on to anyone you think would like to join.

Title: _________ Surname: ______________________________________________________ Forename(s): __________________________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Postcode: _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone: ____________________________________________________________________ E-mail: _______________________________________________________________________ If you add your email address then you will be sent our monthly e-newsletters

Friend category (see box below) __________________________________________________ Subscription Rates: Individual - £20 Joint - £30 Family - £35 Concessionary (over 70) Life Member - £250

Life - £500

MAKING A DONATION Whatever you can afford will help us continue to build on the work of the CRT. I enclose a donation of £_________ I attach a cheque payable to: The Countryside Restoration Trust for the total amount of £ ________ You can also pay over the phone by credit card (01223 262999) or via the website www.countrysiderestorationtrust.com

Gift Aid Declaration Please treat all donations that I have made in the past 4 years and all future donations that I make from the date of this declaration as Gift Aid donations.

I understand that I must pay an amount of Income Tax/and or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year that is at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities that I donate to will reclaim on my donations for that year. I am aware that other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify.

Signature: ______________________________________________________ Date: ________________ Please return to: The Countryside Restoration Trust, Haslingfield Rd, Barton, Cambridge CB23 7AG

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

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News

The Chairman’s Thoughts To start with I have two very sad items.

Firstly, one of our tremendous African supporters has died at the age of 87. Ian Player was a great man who I had the privilege of meeting several times and I also met him at his home in South Africa. He took a great interest in the CRT and thought that our hopes and ideals were very near to his own.

He was a close friend of our first Patron, Sir Laurens van der Post, which, in a way, makes his passing even sadder.

Ian was a great man and his achievements were numerous; in the world of conservation his achievements equalled those of his golfing brother Gary, in the sporting world. He is the man who almost single-handedly saved the white rhino in South Africa. I spoke to him last in October and he was very distressed by the current resurgence of poaching in South Africa. It was as if he could see some of his hard work over many years unravelling.

His other great and distinguished work was to establish the Wilderness Leadership School in South Africa and I had the honour of going on a foot safari with him in the Umfolozi Game Reserve several years ago, what an experience! He was a good man and has left a life and memories to be celebrated, not mourned.

The other great loss was Dr Nigel Holmes – a good friend of the CRT who died suddenly and tragically at the age of 64. His death came as a great shock to all who knew him because of his enthusiasm, energy and humour. As a scientist he worked as a freelance conservationist who believed in getting things done and cutting through the bureaucracy and red-tape that often confronted him.

Much of his work involved restoring our rivers and streams for the benefit of wildlife and the alleviation of flooding, helping them to recover from the damage done by drainage engineers in the ‘seventies and ‘eighties. He had done much work on the Bourn Brook that flows through Lark Rise Farm.

Our chief wildlife monitor Dr Vince Lea is eager to see Nigel’s scheme through. One of the plans was to restore the meander at Westfield which had been cut off in the days of the Great Ouse River Board in the ‘seventies, which has just been completed.

Nigel and his wife Linda went with Lulu and I on one of our trips to Kenya. He was excellent company and a good man.

Shortly before he died his book “Rivers” was published by British Wildlife Publishing, which he wrote with Paul Raven (a review will appear in the next copy of The Lark).It is not only an outstanding book but it is informative and easy to read with very good photographs and illustrations.

Our heartfelt condolences go to his wife Linda.

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THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

Now for some very good news: The Gordon Beningfield Dorset Farm Appeal was recently re-launched in Dorset and already things are looking promising. It was a brilliant, positive launch and over a hundred Dorset friends were enthusiastic and positive. We have been greatly honoured by Dame Judi Dench who has agreed to be Patron of the Appeal. This means that she has joined David Shepherd, our overall CRT Patron and writer and conservationist Brian Jackman as our Dorset Patron. Gordon’s widow, Betty Beningfield, is also on board, but we haven’t thought of a suitable title for her yet.

Already there have been some very positive responses – we must wait and see what happens. It is hoped to run the Appeal until 2018 – our Silver Jubilee year.

There is so much more to write about and I am rapidly running out of space.

At every property this year we will hold a Festival of Farming, Food and Wildlife. This is to try and attract more visitors and to spread our message – which I think becomes more important with every passing day. We hope that there will be a Festival near you and it would be great to see you there, and please bring a friend.

For those wanting to go to Twyford Farm in Sussex, remember that Bob and Liz are now doing bed and breakfast –Lulu and I hope to have a couple of nights there in the very near future – and yes we will be paying the full whack. The number to ring for a booking is 01825 740726.

At Turnastone Court Farm, Gareth and Madeleine are not offering bed and breakfast, but full board and lodging to any passing curlews and lapwings in the spring. With help from Caroline Hanks our Herefordshire farming and wildlife adviser and our own Herefordshire wildlife monitor, Viv Geen, we must cross our fingers and see what happens. It may be a long and frustrating journey to get them back.

In addition to this I have just started a personal blog on the CRT website. Please note it is a personal blog – not the approved thoughts of the Trustees. It is another effort to get more people to view the site.

A lot more to write – but it will now have to be in the next edition.

Best wishes – Spring is coming.

Robin Page Chairman

News

Good News And Bad News Here is some good news and some bad news concerning the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Elizabeth Truss, Conservative MP for South West Norfolk.

The good news is that I have been notified that she intends to visit the CRT, which is extremely encouraging. We were notified of this on December 17th. The bad news is that we have heard nothing since and in the meantime she has made some very strange statements – particularly in The Sunday Telegraph on February 1st. It would appear that Ms Truss has already been well and truly briefed/brain-washed by the NFU or the CLA about new aspects of the European Common Agricultural Policy and has come out strongly against them.

As most CRT members may know I am not a great admirer of the EU but the changes she criticises are in fact very positive and long overdue. Now, in order to claim their subsidy farmers will be obliged to grow three crops to add a bit of diversity to their farms, and how the NFU, the industrial farmers, and the one crop wonders are bleating. Sadly Ms Truss seems to have fallen for their whinging. “Oh” they cry, “it is inefficient”, “it will damage profit” etc. But wait a minute – won’t it improve prospects for farmland wildlife, particularly birds? Not enough – but at least it’s a start.

Highly respected West Country farmer and CRT Life Member, Tom Morris says: “Three crops are not enough – it should be at least five crops”. Last year Tim Scott the CRT’s tenant at Lark Rise Farm had eight combinable crops. He says: “To get farmland wildlife back it is vital to have a mosaic of crops – that still leaves the problem of predators, but that is another issue”.

It also leaves the issue of “block cropping” when large farmers grow a particular crop in one large block, instead of breaking it up into several smaller areas. Block cropping – large areas of the same crop creates the exact opposite of a mosaic. It denies wildlife a choice of habitat and conditions for eating, breeding and shelter.

In my view the NFU and CLA whingers should be ashamed of themselves and Ms Truss ought to have visited Lark Rise Farm before plunging into an area that she does not seem to totally understand.

Robin Page

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

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Feature

Photographs Š Vince Lea

Extending Our Influence

Bourn Brook meander restoration

We are convinced that what the Countryside Restoration Trust is doing is the right thing, of course. But can we achieve all that we want on our own properties? Clearly not, which is why we produce information - The Lark goes to many landowners, Robin writes in the papers, and we produce regular press releases and try to get our message into the national media wherever we can. But there is nothing to beat the personal touch and tailoring advice to the needs of a particular landscape and farming set up.

The CRT was set up to get away from the idea that wildlife exists on nature reserves that are islands of habitat in a desolate sea of intensive farmland or urban sprawl. Our properties are therefore important in two ways; they are farmed with wildlife in mind, and become home for a lot of wildlife themselves, but they are also used as demonstrations to show what can be done. We have our open days which are mostly attended by interested members of the public, but we also invite local farmers along to see what we do. In the main, farmers across the country are keen to do their bit for wildlife, but may not know the impacts some of their decisions may have on wildlife, or the best options they can apply to their land for the wildlife that is local to them. Most farmers are strongly influenced by advice from agronomists and put their main efforts into maximising yield and profit - understandably!

If we can influence them in other ways then wildlife can get a better chance.

In addition to farmers visiting us, we also try to visit them and work out things that can be applied to their farming set up. A particularly successful partnership that is strengthening is centred on the Bourn Brook, which flows through Lark Rise farm in Cambridgeshire. The same brook flows through several other farms, all of which have agreed to join in our campaign against invasive non-native species - primarily Mink, Himalayan Balsam and Giant Hogweed. Now that most of those are coming under control, we are turning attention to other important matters, which are often related to farming practices and land management. We have persuaded other farmers to increase the protection they give to the brook.

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THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

Increasing the amount of grassland adjacent to the brook, rather than ploughing and growing arable crops as close as possible, means that silt and chemical run-off into the watercourse is reduced. The grassland is then good habitat for small mammals, and consequently barn owls, and insects, so that they are better for bats as well. Other landowners have also joined in with our programme of managing the trees and scrub along the banks, with a programme of coppicing bushes and pollarding willow trees. This improves the herbage layer and makes better conditions for water voles and flowering plants. Maintaining trees but not allowing them to dominate means that the rootstocks are retained, and riverbanks are held together - reducing erosion and siltation.

Building on the Bourn Brook landowner collaborations, we have also joined forces with the local Wildlife Trust and FWAG programme to work with landowners across a large swathe of southern Cambridgeshire - some 7000 acres, fifteen times the area of Lark Rise Farm. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really encouraging to see farmers across this area keen to do their best for wildlife, and eager for information which we can supply them. We are hoping to establish some simple methods of counting birds on each farm, to help guide farmers as to the impacts of their work and also to add an element of competition between farmers, which is bound to help motivate them to further improvements!

In December last year, we attended an event in London which gave us the chance to meet farmers from all over the country. It was interesting to find just how much desire there is for help in improving wildlife conditions, and we are now trying to work out ways in which we can assist these willing individuals to improve things on their patch. We had interest from the Isle of Wight to the Inner Hebrides, and many places in between. We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be on hand to help everywhere just yet, but really hope that we can begin to stretch our influence with direct hands on help as much as possible. Establishing a presence in Dorset will also give us a new focus for spreading the word!

Vince Lea

Feature

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills When all at once I saw a crowd A host of solar panels.

Solar Panels In The Countryside Would Wordsworth have been delighted by such a sight?

Probably not. How do you react to 50 acres of regimented lines of gleaming panels? Planning permission has been granted for a surprising number of these projects, usually for a period of 20 years. Are we right to support these installations on soil that could be growing crops which are less visually intrusive?

Energy Historically, we have depended on wood, peat, coal and other fossil fuels all with damaging emissions of carbon dioxide.

Some, especially coal, have cost human lives in their extraction.

Nuclear power is cleaner but brings massive and dangerous waste issues as well as large financial investment.

Alternatives, such as solar power and wind turbines are less dangerous, with little waste and fewer emissions. Both play a part in our national aims to reduce greenhouse gases.

Apparently, the UK enjoys about 60% of the solar energy received at the Equator.

The scale of operation can be small, allowing local land managers an opportunity to improve profitability. A 50 Kw solar installation can generate an income of £10,000 per year, providing up to 15% return on investment with just over 200 panels. These can be on roofs or on soil.

Solar arrays on soil These installations throw up two big issues: 1) They are so visually intrusive and can turn an attractive rural landscape into an industrial eyesore for residents and visitors. Security fencing and even lighting, necessary to prevent vandalism and theft can add to the impact.

2) They demand a change of land use and we have to question whether this is the best way of using soil, one of farming’s most precious resources. A mosaic of crops, grass, trees and

water can provide wildlife habitats, carbon sinks and provide farmers with the opportunity to choose between food or energy crops. Most of the big solar installations have grass between, some grazed by sheep (chickens and geese are also mentioned in literature) but cattle, horses and pigs could damage the infrastructure. Some German work points to successful crops of wild flowers, helping pollinators but this generally requires poor soils and skilled management. In practice, the solar panels shade out much of the vegetation, so the result is a mix of grass plus bare patches. Some soil erosion is possible on land with 3 degrees of slope or more.

Planning permission Because the projects involve a change of land use, planning permission is usually necessary. Planners do not encourage installation on ‘best and most versatile’ soils, avoid areas of natural beauty but permission can be granted to support diversification. Environmental Impact Assessments, including Phase One Habitat Survey and flood plans are usually necessary.

Consultation with local people is recommended to assess local benefits as well as issues like glare.

The preferred approach Solar panels can bring considerable benefits of clean energy at reasonable cost, helping the battle against climate change. The preferred way should be to install these on roofs. Many farms have large expanses of roofs on barns and storage areas which could provide generous areas of solar panels involving no loss of land, no hideous landscape intrusion and no loss of profit. This should be the preferred approach and planning permission on soil should only be permitted in exceptional circumstances.

John Terry THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

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Snowy waxcap, Hygrocybe virginea

Ballerina waxcap, Hygrocybe calyptriformis

Dermoloma cuneifolium

Golden waxcap, Hygrocybe chlorophana

Meadow waxcap, Hygrocybe pratense

Photographs Š Viv Geen

Club moss, Clavulinopsis fusiformis

Fabulous Fungi In Although I am passionate about plants in all their shapes, colours and perfumes, there is another taxonomic group that displays a similar diversity; the fungi. They too exist in many different shapes, colours and perfumes or odours.

We are lucky to have many different fungi on our two farms in Herefordshire; some very rare as shown by the recent discovery of the Orchard Tooth Fungus, Sarcodontia crocea, in the main orchard at Awnells Farm. This very distinctive fungus was recorded in the autumn of 2014, and has only been recorded elsewhere in the UK on seven occasions this century according to the experts at Royal Kew Gardens who are responsible for confirming the identity of different fungi.

The FRDBI (the Fungal Records Database of Britain and Ireland) shows that Sarcodontia crocea has been recorded from only fourteen counties in England (mostly southern) and one in Scotland since 1903, many as single occurrences, some probably as repeat fruiting at the same site. It is designated as Vulnerable on the 2006 Red Data List.

Orchard Tooth Fungus

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THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

Photograph Š Viv Geen

Herefordshire

A voucher specimen was taken by Jo Weightman, the county recorder for Herefordshire and mycology expert, and sent to Royal Kew Gardens for validation. The fungus itself when it first appears is a bright yellow in colour, and forms a fungal mass with small tooth-like projections or spines, and a distinctive smell of pineapple, or rotting fruit as it matures. It lives in the heartwood of apple trees, but fortunately does not kill the tree.

I came across the fungus during a survey in the orchard and you could not overlook the strong fruity smell and small flies buzzing around the fungus. I am interested to find out if there is a specific species of fly associated with this fungus. They obviously laid their eggs within the fungus, as I took a small sample home to dry, and many small larvae emerged from it.

The birds in the orchard were obviously pecking at the fungus for the larvae.

The fungus and other species in this organic orchard will continue to be monitored in the future.

In a different part of the farm at Awnells another significant find was made; several species of wax cap fungi, the jewels of the fungi world and are found in many different colours; pink, red, orange, yellow and green. There are about 40 species of waxcap in the UK; being the home of half the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population of this species. Waxcaps were once common in our meadows, but do not tolerate the use of chemical fertilisers, therefore their presence is an indication of high quality unimproved grassland habitat. This is good news for the grassland at Awnells and Turnastone Court Farm.

Eight species of wax cap along with other uncommon fungi associated with unimproved grassland were recorded at Awnells Farm by Jo Weightman. They have interesting common names such as Parrot waxcap (Hygrocybe psittacina), Ballerina waxcap (Hygrocybe calyptriformis), Scarlet waxcap (Hygrocybe coccinea), Butter waxcap (Hygrocybe ceracea), Golden waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana), Blackening waxcap (Hygrocybe conica), Meadow waxcap (Hygrocybe pratensis), and Snowy waxcap (Hygrocybe virginea). The other species of fungi associated with unimproved grasslands recorded at Awnells Farm included a club moss Clavulinopsis fusiformis, and Dermoloma cuneifolium, which often occurs with waxcaps, and has thick gills and a chunky habit to resist desiccation, just like the Hygrocybe species.

The wildflower meadows at Turnastone Court Farm also support several species of waxcap and associated fungi. This

is unsurprising as these ancient hay meadows have never been ploughed, a process that destroys the fungus by breaking up the mycelium in the soil. The CRT purchased the farm to protect these meadows from the plough.

Waxcaps perform a role in their habitat, but it is not known what this role is. There is a possible link between mosses and waxcaps, and those found at Turnastone were found in the moss covered areas of the meadow. These included Meadow waxcap (Hygrocybe pratensis), Scarlet waxcap (Hygrocybe coccinea), Snowy waxcap (Hygrocybe virginea); the first species to colonise and the most common species, and Golden Waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana). The club moss Clavulinopsis luteoalba was also present over a large area. Heath waxcap (Hygrocybe latea), Blackening waxcap (Hygrocybe conica), and Splendid waxcap (Hygrocybe splendidissima) may also be present, but these meadows were surveyed after a frost which led to the deterioration of the samples and made identification of many of the fungi difficult.

Waxcaps are good biological indicators as they are affected by many factors including chemical input, air pollution, and habitat change including the growth of tall vegetation (change in grazing regime), and the invasion of woody species. These fungi will continue to be monitored throughout the year in the future, as in wet summers waxcaps can appear earlier in the season, and different species of waxcap may be recorded throughout the season. The decline of unimproved grassland in the UK and the subsequent decline of waxcaps have led to the development of species action plans for waxcaps.

How do I identify waxcaps?

They are usually brightly coloured (but not always) and scattered throughout the grassland. The grassland should be grazed to maintain a low sward and have a low manure input. The caps of the fungi are often slimy when wetted which gives them a slimy appearance. The gills are well-spaced and waxy. If you do find them, contact your local biological records office who may be able to help.

I would like to thank Jo Weightman and friend Joyce for their expert help.

Viv Geen

Our office administrator Caroline Aldersey is a keen photographer of fungi too, here is a selection taken in Barton, Cambridgeshire

Two toned wood tuft

Fly agaric

Meadow puff ball

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

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Dorset Appeal

Gordon Beningfield Dorset Appeal I shared platforms with Gordon on several occasions, when the village halls were always packed solid and I went with him into the depths of Dorset. He loved its people, the culture of its shepherds and their sheep, its wildlife, and of course the countryside of Thomas Hardy. He thought the CRT should have a Dorset farm to show how farming and wildlife in a beautiful area should co-exist. He wanted people to understand where their food came from and appreciate at the same time the beauty of a butterfly’s wings and recognise the call of the cuckoo. When he died the CRT launched an appeal, but sadly it didn’t raise enough to purchase a farm.

I am proud that I have officially re-launched the Gordon Beningfield Dorset Farm Appeal.

Gordon Beningfield was in my view the best wildlife and countryside artist of his generation. Suffering from dyslexia he did not shine academically, yet he was informed, articulate and became a self-taught expert on Thomas Hardy. His paintings showed a delicacy of touch that few could match and he famously turned butterfly “illustration” into art. He also had a tremendous sense of humour. He was the man who persuaded me to go with him in the late eighties to the RSPB’s headquarters at Sandy to persuade the hierarchy to take farmland wildlife more seriously. It was not a success; Gordon banged the table with his fist in frustration, we were told “nature reserves are the future” and shown the door – so thanks to the RSPB’s negativity the CRT was born.

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THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

The CRT is now a much more experienced charity than when we tried before and we aim to turn Gordon’s dream into a reality, purchasing or accepting a farm in Dorset. I do have a few small problems, first I need to find a farm whose owner would like the CRT to buy, and then I need to raise the money.

Gordon had lots of exhibitions of his work in Dorset County Museum in Dorchester. We felt this was the only place we could hold a small launch event for the appeal. Over 100 people gathered to hear me officially launch the appeal. Betty Beningfield, Gordon’s widow, who attended as a patron of the appeal, is delighted that the CRT is hoping to find a farm in Dorset. Also at the event were ‘Friends’ of the Countryside Restoration Trust who live in Dorset, VIPs from the area and other invited guests. I was delighted so many people turned out to hear what we have planned for Dorset. Everyone in the room seemed pleased to hear our news and were offering to help our search for a farm.

Photograph © Julian Eales Photos from our launch event in Dorset County Museum on the 8th January 2015

“As a lover of water-colour painting and the countryside I was delighted when I discovered the work of Gordon Beningfield.

I am so pleased that the CRT is honouring his art and his life by wanting to acquire or create a wildlife friendly farm in Dorset. I am privileged to support this exciting appeal .”

Dame Judi Dench, Appeal Patron

Thank you to everyone who has made a donation to our appeal so far. Currently we have raised £200,000! But we still have a long way to go to get to our target. Have you told your friends about it? Perhaps you could run a fundraising event for the appeal?

Please ring Campaign Manager Hayley Newton to discuss any ideas you might have on 01223 262999.

The CRT has done some incredible work for wildlife over the past 21 years. The results are showing that along with our tenant farmers and volunteers, it really is possible to have commercially viable wildlife friendly farms. It is wonderful that we are now at the stage where we can choose where we want to expand, not relying solely on legacies and gifts. I really hope you will be able to support us with this goal.

Robin Page

£1m

£200k

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

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Director’s Report As I write this article there is a covering of snow on the ground and the temperature is struggling to get above freezing.

Despite the wintry conditions much of my time in recent weeks has been spent planning our Festivals of Farming, Food and Wildlife which will be held at our farms during the spring and summer months. Spurred on by the success of our Festivals at Lark Rise we have decided to roll out the format at some of our other farms. Full details of our event programme can be found on page 19.

In addition to our own Festivals and Open Days we will also be attending the Dorset Show and the Holkham Country Fair with the Exhibition Trailer. If you live near any of our properties, or in Dorset and Norfolk and are able to help in any way at any of the events, it would be greatly appreciated. We will particularly need help with putting up advertising posters and directional signage etc.

Things are looking very positive on the Education front, with the new Education Building and toilets finally completed at Mayfields Farm. The pond dipping platform has been installed at Pierrepont Farm and plans are in hand for new toilets at Awnells Farm in the near future. It has been a concern for some time that we haven’t had adequate hand washing and toilet facilities for the children visiting our farms.

In previous articles I have expressed my concerns about the dwindling number of volunteers. I am pleased to report that things are now looking much more encouraging. Two new groups have been established at Twyford Farm and a group from TCV (The Conservation Volunteers) plus another local conservation group are interested in getting involved at Mayfields Farm on a regular basis. Viv Geen our Herefordshire Monitoring Officer has also managed to get a few new volunteers for Turnastone Court Farm, so all in all we go into 2015 with renewed optimism in terms of volunteer numbers.

Having run a successful volunteer programme at Lark Rise Farm with Duke of Edinburgh students we are looking into the possibility of running similar programmes at our other properties.

Over the next few years we have a lot to do in getting some of the redundant buildings at our farms back into use. The new micro-brewery at Pierrepont Farm is going great guns, and we are currently in talks with other parties who may be interested in renting space for their businesses. You will recall that we recently restored one of the barns at Turnastone Court Farm and the Trustees have given the go ahead for this to be converted into a holiday let.

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THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

I’m sure most of you will recall that it was always one of Gordon Beningfield’s ambitions for the CRT to have its very own farm in Dorset. At the time of his death an appeal was launched but sadly it didn’t raise enough money and the idea was put on hold. Now with considerably more experience in fundraising, we have taken the decision to re-launch the appeal.

We held a very successful launch event for the Dorset Farm Appeal at Dorchester Museum in early January. Once again your generosity never ceases to amaze me and to date we have received over £60,000 in donations from friends in response to the appeal letter.

THANK YOU!!

We have set ourselves an ambitious target to raise £1 million in 2 years and then apply for Heritage Lottery Funding which would enable us to purchase a farm in Dorset. We need to find additional ways of raising this large sum of money, so if you feel able to organise a fundraising event, or have any other imaginative ideas to raise funds, please do get in touch with Hayley Newton our Fundraising Manager.

Sally Bain has settled in as our new Marketing & Communications Manager. Those of you that tweet and dabble in the realms of Facebook will have noticed our increased activity in those spheres. She has also created a blog written by the Chairman which is attached to our website.

2015 promises to be a busy and exciting year with everything that is going on. I look forward to meeting many of you at one of our events near you. Thank you again for your continued support, we couldn’t do any of this without you.

Martin Carter

Would you like to receive The Lark electronically? Please do get in touch if you would like to receive The Lark via email.

Did you know you can also view The Lark Newsletter digitally on the CRT website, visit www.countrysiderestoration trust. com for more information.

Financial review of the year – 2014

Income 2013/14 Legacies Investment income Charitable activities Fundraising events Friends Donations Other

£ 2,568,341 £ 117,083 £ 68,073 £ 114,464 £ 99,320 £ 156,422 £ 5,146

Total

£ 3,128,849

Costs of generating voluntary income Fundraising events Investment management costs Farm and land management Conservation Education Governance

£ 155,770 £ 49,712 £ 33,404 £ 242,357 £ 55,353 £ 46,193 £ 36,053

Total

£ 618,842

Expenditure 2013/14

Income This has been an exceptional year for legacies (2014 £2.57m, 2013 £186k) with the remarkable Alison Mountain leaving her wonderful farm in Twyford to the Trust. These generous gifts are vitally important making a real difference to the work that we can do, and we are extremely grateful to all those who contribute in this way.

An important source of income continues to be our Friends membership scheme. We received £99k in 2014, compared with £84k in 2013. We value highly the current support of our Friends - through membership, donations, buying of merchandise, and especially through our appeals.

The level of funds generated through postal appeals for conservation projects and campaigns continues to be successful.

This year £73k (2013 - £53k) was raised with funds enabling us to continue and expand our education programmes, to employ a Monitoring Assistant in Herefordshire and to continue our core conservation and monitoring programme aimed at increasing farmland bird numbers. We were again overwhelmed by the strength of support from our members.

Our 20th Anniversary celebrations at the Royal Geographic Society in October raised an amazing £106k.

Investment income (2014 £117k, 2013 £104k) arises principally from the Green Farm endowment and our rental properties.

Our income from charitable activities (2014 £68k, 2013 £59k) comprises our farm rents and income from agri-environmental schemes where these are managed by the Trust.

Expenditure We spent £344k this year (2013 - £236k) on our education, conservation and monitoring activities, and managing and advising

our increasing portfolio of farms and land. This year this heading has included costs for our squirrel breeding programme, our Hereford Monitoring Scheme, expanded education programmes and the continuing project on the Bourn Brook. Much of our work on wildlife monitoring and conservation however, is carried out by teams of volunteers at each farm.

Our costs of generating voluntary income £156k (2013 £119k) which includes all our costs associated with fundraising, marketing, friends and database support, postal appeals and the Lark newsletter, has increased this year. This is mostly due to costs associated with the exceptional legacy of Twyford Farm, and we have also taken the decision to appoint a full time fundraiser.

Our 20th Anniversary celebratory events in London and Cambridge this year meant that we incurred higher than usual fundraising trading costs £49k (2013 £4k).

Outcome for the year Mainly as a result of the exceptional legacy of Alison Mountain, who made us the gift of Twyford Farm, the year ended with a surplus of £2.5m (2013 £283k). The cottage and farmhouse are however in need of modernisation, and all the monetary element of the legacy is expected to be used to renovate these to a standard suitable for use by a tenant.

Following the allocation of unrestricted reserves to a designated Redundant Farm buildings fund, the level of free reserves at the end of the year was £205k, in line with our reserves policy which ensures the Trust is well placed to commence work on our future plans and projects.

Jane Downey

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

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Trust News

Photograph © Julian Eales

Santa’s Reindeer Returned To Cambridge

The CRT’s annual Christmas Reindeer Evening was held on Tuesday 2nd December 2014 at the Bury Lane Farm Shop in Royston, near Cambridge. Our Trustee Tilly Smith who farms some of Britain’s only herd of free-ranging reindeer in the Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland, made her pilgrimage south to support the CRT. Even though it was bitterly cold, the evening was a success with over 800 people attending to take a glimpse at the beautiful cairngorm reindeer. The highlight of the event was the procession with Santa (our very own Trustee and Treasurer Ken Gifford) being pulled by the reindeer on his sleigh. This was followed by a visit to the pens which allowed families to get up close to these wonderful creatures. We ran a children’s competition in the local paper Cambridge News for one lucky winner to actually ride with Santa in his sleigh. It certainly had a festive feel with music from a local brass band, CSD Brass, and due to the location being a farm shop, it gave people a chance to catch up with some Christmas shopping!

Thanks must go to all the volunteers and staff and of course Bury Lane Farm Shop who helped in the preparations to make this event a success. Plans are already underway for the 2015 reindeer event.

Sally Bain

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THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

Fundraising

Thank You

Bird Hide – An Update Photograph © Caroline Aldersey

Thank you to everyone who has already donated to the Gordon Beningfield Dorset Farm Appeal. Donations have been flying in and we have been overwhelmed by everyone’s support.

Donations in the first month alone were £60,000! We still have a long way to go, but we are getting there thanks to you. We have created a Twitter account @CRT_Dorset please follow us to keep up to date with our progress.

In Memory

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Letter B Appeal. The bird hide discussed in the last Lark magazine has now been completed and put in its place around Lark Rise Farm. It is open to the public so please do go and see it. You will be pleased to know the birds have already found the feeding stations outside and we have already spotted exciting species like Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer and Bullfinch.

I hope you have received a new In Memory leaflet with this copy of The Lark. It is not something we have actively promoted before but last year we received nearly £7,000 from In Memory donations. Thank you to everyone who has helped with the development of the leaflet and answered my questionnaire about it, it appeared to be very well received. Fingers crossed it will be successful, if you would like to donate something specific which is not on the list please contact me and we can discuss what meets your needs. Also, if you would like donations to be made In Memory of you, please remember to tell your next of kin!

Did you know we have a CRT e-newsletter? It is something I email on the first day of every month to let you know highlights from the farms and exciting upcoming events. Due to Data Protection law we are not able to automatically sign our members up, but if you wanted to receive it there is a link on our website www.countrysiderestorationtrust.com Many Thanks once again Hayley Newton

Thank You Special thanks must go to the following Charitable Trusts who have supported our work recently: • • • • • • • • • • •

10 Minute Fund – Fund my Venture Arthur Stevens Charitable Trust Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Biodiversity Fund Clark Bradbury Charitable Trust Farnham Institute Charity Gillian Bulmer Charitable Trust Herefordshire Community Foundation Na Mokulua Trust The Cobb Charity The Leggett Charitable Trust The Rowlands Trust

Shopping List Here are a few smaller items that currently need funding:

Legacies Have you considered leaving a Legacy to the Countryside Restoration Trust?

The CRT has a free information pack explaining everything you ever needed to know about legacies and writing a Will. If you would like a copy please contact Hayley on 01223 262999.

• • • • • • •

Education Officer at Margaret Wood: £5,000 Bird Hide For Mayfields Farm: £2,000 Monitoring equipment for Herefordshire: £1,000 Educational equipment for Lark Rise Farm: £900 Bird Seed for Lark Rise Farm: £500 Bird Boxes for Twyford Farm: £350 Bat Boxes for Turnastone Court Farm: £250 THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

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Volunteers

Lark Rise Farm, Cambridgeshire It has been a very positive couple of months in the world of volunteering at the CRT. We held two Volunteer Induction Days at Twyford Farm on Sunday the 18th and Monday the 19th of January 2015, the group is split between weekends and weekdays in regards to their availability, hence the two days, so Vince and I spent a half day with each group going through some potential activities, health and safety, volunteer policies and answering any of their questions/queries. One advantage of having 2 groups here is that anyone wanting to get involved with the conservation and wildlife monitoring has a choice of a weekend or weekday. So if you’d like to get involved then please get in touch with me on 01223 262999 I have a representative from the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme coming from the national office who has agreed to come and visit us here at Lark Rise Farm. Vince and I plan to

go on a tour of the farm showing her what some of the students have been doing. They are keen to help us/work in partnership with us to increase numbers of younger people volunteering on all of the CRT properties. Once we’ve had a meeting with the national representative, she will then put us in touch with all the relevant regional offices/contacts. If everything goes to plan we will be put on their website as an APP (Approved Activity Provider). I think it is very important that we offer opportunities to young people to gain experience by volunteering with us.

I’ve had brief chats with volunteer coordinators regarding opportunities to lead DofE students on our properties and all seemed keen to be involved.

Kenny MacKay

My Experience Of Volunteering At Margaret Wood Margaret Wood is a semi-ancient woodland and pasture near Denby Dale about 6 miles from my home in Huddersfield which I came across while searching for a bluebell wood in which to leave my father-in-laws ashes after he died in South Africa in 1997. My husband and I met Mr. Duncan Elliot, the woods owner at the gate to the woods and we found a beautiful old oak tree where we scattered his father’s ashes confident that he would have been pleased with his resting place. Mr. Elliot told us that he had bought the wood in memory of his late wife and that he was happy for us to visit whenever we liked. Over the next few years we returned with both my husband’s sister and mother’s ashes. By now Mr. Elliot had passed away and the woods were in the hands of the Countryside Restoration Trust and visits to the woods were assisted by a volunteer John.

When my husband lost his battle with cancer in 2010 there was obviously only one place to leave him to rest and again I contacted the CRT and this visit was facilitated by a local volunteer Phil who opened up the gates to the wood and allowed my son and I to scatter my husband’s ashes around the same oak tree. This ending then also became a new beginning for me as Phil was really friendly and told me about the volunteer’s Work Days which were held monthly and invited me along.

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THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

Having absolutely no experience of woodland management or conservation and restoration programmes I naively agreed to come along to the next work day and give it a go. This was the start of my volunteering experience with the Countryside Restoration Trust which has turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. The small band of volunteers have become very special friends and the work days are always full of fun, laughter and lots of cake! The tasks which can involve pulling up bracken, tree planting or dredging the pond are not too technical for the likes of a countryside novice like myself and although can be hard work it is hardly noticeable given the banter and jokes that run through everything we do.

The work days always end with a walk around the wood where we just enjoy the ever changing beauty of the fauna and flora, identifying the different birdsong and spotting the resident deer, foxes and badgers.

The benefits of volunteering are well researched and documented and volunteering at Margaret Wood has certainly given me more than I could ever give back and I hope to continue my volunteering experience for many years to come.

Sharon Watson Volunteer at Margaret Wood

Education

Lark Rise, Cambridgeshire We had our first winter visit from a School at Lark Rise this year, in November we had Hatton’s Park Primary school, Longstanton come to the farm for a day of activities, they included den building, foraging ramble, making bird feeders and making mini-insect hotels.

For the den building we used willow coppice and some brash material to construct our dens. Children worked in small groups to build a den or shelter. They had to consider what might be needed to build a den, discuss natural materials and what we might need to take shelter from. Whilst having fun they also learnt about how to safely move branches around the woodland area. Once dens were created the children discussed improvements that they might make to future constructions and how people might be able to survive living in the countryside.

This led nicely onto Vince’s foraging ramble where the children went on a walk and discussed how Neolithic man would have survived in the countryside. Back at the farm we had two other workshops/lessons running where we asked the children to construct a mini insect hotel. I got Cambridge Wood Works to

make small boxes that the children were able to fill with some small off cuts of wood, pine cones, teasel heads and stalks to create little habitats for invertebrates. The children were allowed to take these home to put in their gardens, with a lot of gardens being too “tidy” these days there isn’t much good habitat for the invertebrates which can be an essential part of the food required for our favourite garden birds especially when rearing chicks.

We also got the children to make a bird feeder from an egg box.

Here we are trying to show children how easy it is to make bird feeders and trying to get across how important it is to make a bit of effort to make our garden birds lives a bit easier. The tractor and trailer rides between the farm and Holt field was the usual highlight for most of the children, but I also did hear that one of the children got up in front of assembly the following day to tell their school mates about the trip to the farm and had a miniinsect hotel to show everyone.

Since then the PTA held a work day there where parents, grandparents and carers came along and gave some of their time to constructing a large insect hotel and starting construction on the woodland reading area, thanks goes to all those who were able to come along and help. We are holding another work day at Hatton Park School so that we can tidy up round the pond and we hope to start some willow fencing, a cross between and fence and a hedge, interesting called a “Fedge” which I found out the other day, it appears as the saying goes that “every day is a school day”. Also at Hatton Park Primary School we are hoping to install some raised beds again being built by Cambridge Wood Works. The school already have 2 raised beds, we plan to put on some spent Hops from Blackbar Brewery to firstly keep the weeds at bay until we are ready to plant something and the hops breaking down will add some nutrients to the soil.

Preparations are underway to get the newly situated bird hide ready for the summer so that we can add it to the already diverse activities that we offer on the farm for school visits.

Kenny MacKay

Education at Awnells Update from Awnells Farm: The spinning group goes from strength to strength and during our days at Awnells Farm we sit chatting whilst we are spinning. Conversations about the farm led to those who know little about Awnells Farm other than for spinning to ask lots of questions. Viv Geen our wildlife officer also joins in with the group and I suggested that it might be a

good time to introduce talks of various related subjects about the farm and the local area to interested people. Viv has kindly offered to be the first in a group of organised talks to be held at the farm. Viv’s talk about the Wildlife at Awnells Farm in February was greatly received.

Hazel Andrews

Education At Pierrepont Farm New Additions for a New Year The New Year kicked off with a bang at Pierrepont Farm, with the installation of our new pond dipping platform in January.

The pond is teeming with wildlife and this platform will now allow visiting groups to access this amazing educational resource safely.

There has been a new addition to my classroom for this year as well. I now share the space with a few worms! My new wormery, bought with the money kindly donated by a CRT supporter, is doing well and I’m sure will prove to be a valuable tool to aid learning about the important invertebrates and household waste.

There are also plans in place to build a log circle in the woodland to create an outdoor classroom and a base for groups doing activities in the woodland. Watch this space! After a push in advertising to schools in September, and an open evening put on for teachers, I have already had one school and one nursery visit this academic year and am currently liaising with two new schools planning visits in the summer term. In addition, two separate Brownie groups are also planning visits. Finally, after the success of the summer family activities, with attendances of 15, 19 and 17 children (plus parents/grandparents) on the three mornings, there will be more family activities put on during the school holidays in 2015.

Annika Rees THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

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Farm Diaries Mayfields Farm, Norfolk This is always a difficult time of year at Mayfields, as it is on most farms. What little grass there is has a low food value, so we are feeding roots and hay to stock and these have to be taken out to the fields. Short daylight hours make it hard to fit in all the jobs that need to be done. The land here is very heavy clay, and the mud gets everywhere; boots, clothes, dogs, livestock and vehicles all get plastered.

We were cheered immensely this month when the electrical work was completed and suddenly there was light in the barn and the yard, a great blessing.

As I write the education building and the toilets being built

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by CRT are nearing completion. The building is light and airy and we are looking forward to hosting school parties in it this summer, and to having somewhere to display children’s work and to store equipment. It will be a great relief to have proper hand-washing facilities, and a clean area for children to sit and eat their lunch.

We are planning to transform the area behind the building into a child friendly, wild-life friendly garden, with grass to sit on and a small wild flower meadow area.

We look forward to the spring, to lambing time and to new developments on the farm in education and conservation.

Sarah Jenkins

Pierrepont Farm, Surrey

Turnastone Court Farm, Herefordshire

As I mentioned last time, and with a lot of press coverage, you will be aware that milk prices have continued to fall. We have now lost 30% since last February, which is making the going tough. Any further improvements and reinvestments have been put on hold, and I have been busy doing budgets and cash flows to see how best to get through the coming year. Our milk buyer Arla, which is a farmer owned co-operation has launched a campaign to make consumers aware of its products and brands.

Any extra income that is made is passed back to its farmer members, and not to shareholders.

Since taking on Pierrepont Farm, we have been working on improving the soil health on the farm, by increasing organic matter and mineral levels. It’s a long, slow process but will make the grass more productive. A good sign is that we are getting a lot more earth worms. The down side is that we are now getting more moles. Their mounds of soil can damage machinery, when cutting the hay and silage and soil can end up in the finished product, which can be toxic to the cows if they consume it. We are now attempting to trap them to reduce their numbers, but if any of you remember the Jasper Carrot sketch about trapping moles, you’ll know that it’s easier said than done! It drives you mad to be out witted by a small, blind mammal that lives underground! Previous attempts have proved I’m not very good at trapping them, but with a few good tips found on the internet, I’m trying again with renewed confidence – only time will tell.

Bev is happy as I have caught the one in the garden.

My sister who farms a renowned herd of Jerseys has had an outbreak of TB, in part of the country which was deemed to be free of the disease. To date they have had 30 animals tested positive, which have had to be destroyed. To see them have to deal with the emotional stress of seeing some of their lifetimes work lost, is very upsetting. Let’s hope everyone involved can work together to eradicate this terrible disease, which is costing the industry and government millions and causing untold suffering to the wildlife that also catch the disease. TB is also a threat to humans.

On the bright side, we have been asked to host the UK Jersey Youth Weekend in August. We previously hosted the event in 2010, where over 40 young people attended. My daughter Zoe has already started halter training some of the calves for the weekend, where they will be clipped, washed and trained in ring skills, before finally being shown in handling competitions.

Zoe has also set up a Facebook page for Pierrepont Farm, where you can get regular updates of what is happening, and lots of pictures! Why don’t you like the page and follow what is going on.

Mike & Bev Clear

Lambing season is upon us. We have only just started and fortunately we haven’t had many lambs yet as the weather has taken a turn for the worse so we cannot put any outside.

Hopefully things will improve.

We, along with some volunteers have been busy coppicing.

The volunteers have coppiced along the banks of the River Dore to allow more light in and create more of a habitat for wildlife.

They have also created an otter holt along one of the other brooks. We have also been busy restoring 90m of hedgerow.

We have coppiced the trees that were there and will gap up with whips. The hedge will also be fenced off from stock to allow the hedge to regrow.

We now have our first lot of cattle. They are mainly Charolais crosses but also three Hereford cross and two Aberdeen Angus cross steers. They are inside at the moment eating all the silage we were able to make last year. We have our first TB test in March but because they have been inside hopefully this won’t be a problem.

One creature we are having a problem with at the moment is the mole. They seem to be invading the place. We have only caught a few so far but we are persevering!

Gareth & Madeleine Boaz

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

Twyford Farm, West Sussex Things are progressing at Twyford, we moved into one bedroom in mid-December and finally said goodbye to the builders on January 14th 2015 (following the customary 2 week builder’s holiday!) They have done a superb job of renovating the property highlighting all the original features. The beds have now arrived from Harrisons complete with their wool based mattresses, so we are now busying ourselves with curtains and soft furnishings and have been fortunate to source some classic furniture locally.

A 95 KW log biomass boiler is in place, test fired just before the New Year .The trees on the boundaries and public rights of way have been checked for safety and the dangerous ones have been felled, just in time to feed the fire!! An ancient woodland site condition assessment has just been completed by the High Weald living woods project, which has proved to be very interesting and is the precursor to our woodland management plan to enable us to manage the woodlands effectively to improve the wildlife habitat and timber production in this area of the farm.

On the farm front -in November the dreaded annual TB test was thankfully passed which is quite a relief as we are in a high risk area. Our 20 Angus calves are now weaned and growing well.

The Charolais ewes have been housed for a month now in preparation for lambing in about 3 weeks time, the commercial

Farm Diaries ewes came in yesterday because the fields are so wet and we do not want to damage the pasture. They are now enjoying hay instead of wet grass and a dry bed!

In November we booked a collie puppy from a farmer whose bitch was the last known relation to our best ever sheepdog Mist and we picked her up on Liz’s birthday. We have named her Gale – she is a very bright and happy pup and a dreadful time waster!!

In the meantime we had been given an eight year old collie who is Gale’s sister and came with the very appropriate name of Lark.

In January we hosted our first volunteer sessions ably led

by Vince and Kenny and a total of 6 volunteers began the onslaught on the rhododendrons. We look forward to their monthly visits, they are looking forward to some better weather!

Bob Felton & Liz Wallis

Lark Rise Farm, Cambridgeshire Winter at Larkrise Farm - unlike my livestock counterparts, this is a quiet (ish) time of the year down on the farm, well in theory anyway? It’s funny though, there is always so much to do. This mainly consists of all of those niggling little maintenance jobs that have been put off throughout the busy times. A pleasant chore is filling the wild bird feed hoppers up around the farm. I feed our wild bird population from October through until May. There are about 60 feeding points around the farm, and I usually put about 5 tonnes of grain to one side for this. The feeding areas bring in the usual birds, namely pheasant, partridge and yellowhammer etc, but unusual birds like woodcock can often be seen probing in the poached wet

soil underneath the feeders. Less welcome beneficiaries are rats and squirrels. This year has been a really bad rat year, they are literally everywhere, so much so that I inadvertently took 5 of them for a ride down the road last week when they were concealed within my combine header. Rats being rats, they have trashed the wiring and I shudder to think how much it will cost to repair the damage? The good news was that I had stored the actual combine at a different location and is rat free.

The soil is starting to dry up enough to tentatively start land work again as I get ready to prepare for the spring sown crops.

My enthusiasm fortunately never dampens and I cannot wait for the day when spring is genuinely in the air and my crops are bursting into life.

Tim Scott

CRT Festival of Farming, Food & Wildlife & Open Days 2015 Saturday 2 May Awnells Farm - Festival of Farming, Food & Wildlife Saturday 9 May Margaret Wood - Bluebell Festival Saturday 16 May Mayfields Farms - Festival of Farming, Food & Wildlife Sunday 7 June Pierrepont Farm - Festival of Farming, Food & Wildlife

Sunday 28 June Turnastone Court Farm - Open Day Sunday 16 August Green Farm - Open Day Sunday 13 September Twyford Farm - Open Day Sunday 20 September Lark Rise - Festival of Farming, Food & Wildlife

Diary Dates LARK RISE FARM, Barton, Cambridgeshire

MARGARET WOOD, Upper Denby, West Yorkshire

Volunteer Conservation Days – Usually held on the second Saturday of every month. Please call the office on 01223 262999 for more information.

Volunteer Conservation Days – please contact Phil Opie on 07762 642814 or jpo.92@live.co.uk for more information.

PIERREPONT FARM, Frensham, Surrey Volunteer Monitoring Group – Please call Bill Young on 01243 811563 or email bill@parmelia.me.uk for more information.

Volunteer Conservation Days – Held every 2 weeks. For more information, contact Brian Lavers on 01276 471870 or brian.lavers@ btopenworld.com or visit www.crtinsurrey.org.uk

GREEN FARM, Churt, Surrey Volunteer Work Days – please contact Kenny MacKay on 01223 262999

TURNASTONE COURT FARM, Vowchurch, Herefordshire Volunteer Conservation Days – please contact the CRT office on 01223 262999 for more information.

AWNELLS FARM, Much Marcle, Herefordshire Volunteer Conservation Days – please contact Donald Davis on 01989 565097 for more information.

MAYFIELDS, Themelthorpe, Norfolk Please call Sarah Jenkins on 01362 683337 or visit www.mayfieldsfarm.co.uk for more information.

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

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Merchandise A5 Activity Books

CRT Body warmer

Includes stickers, dot-to-dot, word searches, puzzles and colouring pages.

Reduced price of £28.00 including p/p (Water repellent & windproof with embroidered logo)

£3.50 including p/p

CRT Arctic Fleece

Fun Stickers

Wonderfully warm fleece with full front zip. Available in M, L & XL.

12 cartoon farm animal stickers. £1.00 including p/p

£33.00 including p/p

CRT Baseball Cap

Rabbit Faced Purse

Available in Navy only & now featuring an embroidered logo.

A cute fluffy rabbit faced purse.

£12.50 including p/p

£3.50 including p/p

CRT Key Ring

Farm Pencil Set

Etched metal key ring, comes in its own gift box.

a set of 6 pencils with erasers featuring farm animals.

Reduced price £3.50 including p/p

£3.00 including p/p

CRT Pen Triple function pen (pen, LED light & stylus), comes in its own gift box. £4.00 including p/p

Regretfully we have found it necessary, after several years, to increase our prices on various clothing items due to the rise in production costs. New prices will be shown shortly on our website. Alternatively, please call the office for updates.

Merchandise Order Form

Item

Quantity

Name: ____________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Postcode: _________________________ Telephone: _____________ Email: ____________________________________________________ I enclose a cheque for £ _____________________________________ (Please make payable to The Countryside Restoration Trust) You can also pay over the phone by credit card (01223 262999).

Or order on the website www.countrysiderestorationtrust.com Please return to: The Countryside Restoration Trust, Bird’s Farm, Haslingfield Rd, Barton, Cambridge CB23 7AG

Donation Total

Price