Embracing Technology - Spring 2017

THE LARK

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST

MAGAZINE

Spring 2017 | ISSUE No. 59

Embracing Technology...

Plus: Winning an Unfortunate War, Enclosures, and Hedgerows: Havens for Wildlife

Visit Twyford Farm B&B

Birch Grove, Horsted Keynes RH17 7DJ Bed & Breakfast & Self Catering Double & Family Rooms - All recently refurbished.

200 acre working farm.

Walking, Cycling, Fishing & Riding Stabling & Kennel 01825 740726 www.twyfordfarm.com A CRT Property

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THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST MAGAZINE

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 2,000 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: Sir Jonathan Porritt Patron for Dorset: Brian Jackman Patron of the Gordon Beningfield Farm Appeal: Dame Judi Dench Trustees: Robin Page - Chairman Tilly Smith - Vice Chair Robin Maynard Annabelle Evans Chris Knights Nicholas Watts MBE John Terry Zac Goldsmith Photographs and drawings courtesy of Julian Eales, Geoff Harries, Annika Rees, Viv Geen, Tim Scott, Vince Lea, Jackie Cooper, Front cover image: ‘A WINNING WAXWING’ courtesy of Geoff Harries.

Editor of The Lark: Lois Dixon

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

The Enclosures Camera Trapping Hedgerows: Havens for Wildlife Conservation in Kenya Winning the War...

Friends’ Notices & Events Poetry Corner

6 8 10 12 13 20 21

Regulars

Chairman’s Thoughts 4 Director’s Report 5 Fundraising 14 Volunteers 15 Education 16 Farm Diaries 18 Merchandise 23

Join or Donate to 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:__________________________________________________________________ Email:______________________________________________________________________ Please tick this box if you are happy to receive information/e-newsletters from the CRT:

Please circle required ‘Friend Category’ below: Subscription Rates (from April 1st 2017): Individual - £25

Joint - £35

Family - £40

Life - £500

Concessionary (over 70) Life Member - £250 Memberships can also be processed over the phone by credit card or via the website.

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 £__________________ Please return to: The Countryside Restoration Trust, Haslingfield Road, Barton, Cambridge CB23 7AG

Gift Aid Declaration Boost your donation by 25p of Gift Aid for every £1 you donate. Gift Aid is reclaimed by the charity from the tax you pay for the current tax year. Your address is needed to identify you as a current UK taxpayer. I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/ or Capital Gains Tax in the current tax year than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations it is my responsibility to pay any difference. Please treat as Gift Aid all qualifying gifts of money made from the date of this declaration and in the past 4 years.

Signature:____________________________________________________ Date:_________________ *If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self-Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code.

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST MAGAZINE

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Trust News

The Chairman’s Thoughts I am sitting in my study shivering even though I am wearing my Long Johns and warm trousers. When I woke up this morning the ground was white and although most of the snow has melted since, the temperature is still only 2 degrees Centigrade as I write.

My problem is that Lulu and I have just returned from Kenya where it was very hot and the body has not yet made the necessary adjustments to an English winter. The CRT has always had close links with Africa as explained elsewhere in The Lark and of course the great David Shepherd is our Patron. His incredible paintings still manage to inspire from generation to generation.

Although Lulu and I had an astonishing trip we saw many things that worried us – and some of the environmental concerns have parallels here in England which make them even more disturbing. For those who want to read of the problems in greater detail I shall be writing a longer version of the Lark article for my blog – which can be found in the form of two articles at www.skylarkwarrior. wordpress.com While we were away l continued to get emails and telephone calls asking if I am alright and where am I, following my disappearance from The Daily Telegraph. I am extremely well thank you everybody – I have had so many enquiries that I have not been able to respond to them all yet – my apologies, I will try in due course – and I can be contacted through the CRT and through the blog.

Also, I still write regularly in The Lady magazine and in The Countryman – The Countryman is now about to celebrate its 90th anniversary and I have been writing for it for 20 years this February. It is an excellent little magazine – still with genuine country writing.

Our thoughts go out to the family of long-time supporter, Jim Brotton, who sadly passed away in early February. Jim was a huge help in the CRT’s early days, being on hand to solve any IT issues which inevitably arose! We were extremely sorry to hear of his passing.

There is a huge amount going on inside the CRT at the moment and I must say that Sarah Stannage, our new Director, has settled in perfectly and her drive and energy is an example to us all. I must also say that the CRT gets much help from a number of superb wildlife photographers – Chris Knights and Nicholas Watts, two of our Trustees, and Julian Eales and Geoff Harries, two outstanding photographers, who are also CRT “friends”.

In this issue of The Lark we feature a fantastic cover photograph from Geoff, of a Waxwing, one of the most beautiful and welcome of our winter visitors. I hope some of you have been as fortunate as Geoff in seeing this unmistakeable bird.

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I am also increasingly aware that next year is our Silver THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST MAGAZINE

Jubilee; the CRT is 25 years old, July 2018. We have much work to do before then. We are very anxious to succeed with our Dorset farm project in memory of the life and work of Gordon Beningfield. His contribution to the CRT was immense and we hope to have an update explaining exactly where we have reached in the next issue of The Lark. The most important issue is money and we are seeking major donors for this exciting project. We estimate that we need around £1.75m – but in reaching this challenging figure we will not compromise the stability of the CRT if the funding is not available.

Elsewhere we are achieving great things; at our Pierrepont dairy farm in Surrey we had great challenges and our vision and perseverance seem to be paying dividends. As a reminder, we were gifted a remarkably beautiful dairy farm with Jersey cattle by Jo Baker, and in spite of the financial problems involved with dairy farming we were determined to keep Pierrepont producing high quality milk. To do this we received your help and generosity to provide a state of the art cattle shed, to which our tenant Mike Clear contributed two (now three) robots. This left us with a number of redundant farm buildings – and listed buildings at that. Conversion and restoration has now helped us to create a micro-brewery and a furniture workshop, with interest from a cheese maker and somebody wanting to make shepherds huts; it is all very exciting and I hope we can inform you of it soon.

Following last year when a lapwing pair (peewits) successfully bred incredibly close to one of the fields at Lark Rise Farm, we are going to try very hard to see if we can lure breeding lapwings onto Lark Rise Farm itself this year.

Then of course we have Brexit in stuttering motion.

From what we have achieved so far in the CRT we are determined that the Government will hear the voice of wildlife-friendly farming. All we hear at the moment is the need for roads, houses, schools, hospitals etc – that is the voice of OVER POPULATION and over-population is an environmental problem. I think it is about time that the Government heard, and listened to, the voice of responsible, wildlife friendly farming and the real countryside.

With very best wishes,

Robin Page

Director’s Report Here at CRT HQ we are going all out for creature comforts. In my mind, outdoor toilets have been an under-rated experience during the winter months, but at least toilet roll doesn’t freeze...

Luckily for me I’ve been able to get out and about touring the country visiting our various CRT farms, woodlands and properties. It’s been a great opportunity to speak with tenant farmers, field staff, volunteers and CRT Friends about their hopes for the year ahead.

There have been no signs of rest either for the hardy Rustics, as they have continued on with the hedge laying and conservation activities across Lark Rise, often in the rain. We very much appreciate all of the hard work carried out by our brilliant and loyal volunteers and we would not be where we are without them! Since the last edition of the Lark we’ve promoted our work at conferences and even on the radio regarding the Redlist Revival Programme and there’s been a real sense of triumph as we saw the Water Shrews return after a 17 year absence to the Bourn Brook.

We are also harnessing conservation technology more and more and you can read about this from Vince Lea, our Head of Wildlife Monitoring, on pages eight and nine.

After spending the first few days of January at the Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC), labelled the “antidote” to the other farming conference in Oxford, it was an inspiring start to the year. The ORFC was a great place to listen and participate in industry debates for farming in a post Brexit Britain. It raised a big question about whether farming can survive without subsidies. For many small family farms the Basic Payment Scheme is critical for supporting the business and without it many feel that farming would be financially unviable. Some farmers are already starting to “Brexit Proof” their business. So far no one has said the subsidies will be taken away. Indeed, the government has promised to match them up until 2020.

Agility will be key to a successful future and many of our farmers are leading the way in this area. Lark Rise Tenant Farmer, Tim Scott, continues to advance and experiment with different technologies. I am endlessly inspired by our Tenant Farmers and we can learn so much from them.

Twyford Farm is moving from strength to strength with the completion of Garden Cottage and the B&B business now well established and taking bookings alongside Bob Felton and Liz Wallis’ recent successes in securing first stage DEFRA LEADER funding to support the installation of a woodchipper to feed the biomass boiler, which will ensure the farm remains green and efficient.

Sarah Jenkins at Mayfields continues to expand her farm with a new Shepherds’ Hut, with links to tourism. The Pierrepont project is well underway and will bring about

the conversion of a collection of redundant historic farm buildings in the Old Dairy Yard to create a mix of food and craft units. The farm has a real sense of family business about it and our aim is to attract new tenants who connect with our ethos as a charity and link together local artisan products that enhance the local ecology and utilise the farm’s produce. Pierrepont already has an exceptional reputation for supporting food and drink entrepreneurs, with tenant farmers Mike and Bev supplying raw milk from a robotic dairy; next will come a cheesemaker who is looking to utilise the raw milk in the making of a new blue cheese, based at the farm. The restored and converted Bull Pen and Old Forge will soon be finished and will become home to an expanding Frensham Brewery, another husband and wife team who are reviving local craft beer production with an award winning micro-brewery.

Turnastone Education and Bunk House is gathering momentum amidst the lambing season on Gareth and Madeleine’s farm. You can read more about this as part of the CRT Farm Diary series on pages 20-22. The CRT plan to invest funds sensibly as we move towards our Jubilee Year both in the beautiful historic farm buildings but also delivering the vital conservation, education and awareness programmes needed to support the future of a living, working countryside, so your continued support as a Friend of the CRT is greatly appreciated and much needed.

The team have been working hard, planning our events programme for 2017 and this year we have included a special programme of Friends’ Events (see page 22) to show our gratitude for your support. The programme will be sent out as part of the Friends’ Welcome Pack along with subscription renewal letters from Ann-Marie and we’ll also promote them on our website, so you can book by phone and online. Please also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news on talks and walks and also to stay in touch as we take part in British Countryside Week (31st July to 6th August) during the summer. We are also hoping to launch a brilliant idea from Robin Page, ‘Muddy Up Britain’, an exciting awareness campaign to encourage families, schools and community groups to join us in promoting a living, working countryside.

With the sweet signs of spring on their way there are many happy days ahead. I look forward to seeing you all at our forthcoming events.

Sarah Stannage

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Feature

The Enclosures;

agricultural improvement or social engineering?

Imagine turning over your history exam paper when you were sixteen and finding your first question: ‘The enclosure acts; were they about agricultural improvement or social engineering?’ Tough question at any age. The argument has tested academics for centuries.

in poor condition and that the land itself was not in good heart because of overgrazing. The Rev. William Foster Lloyd asked in 1833, ‘Why are the cattle so puny and stunted?

Why is the common so bareworn and cropped so differently from the adjoining enclosures?’

The Enclosures Acts The first Enclosure Acts were as early as the twelfth century but the bulk of them were passed between 1750 and 1860. The enclosures were about putting up fences and planting hedges to make livestock management more effective, and to intensify production. Hedges, you may say, are good news for wildlife. They are landscape features that provide habitat for birds, invertebrates and small mammals, offering flowers, fruit, nesting and shelter from weather and predators. They also provide corridors for safer movement from one land area to another.

John Hales proclaimed in 1850 ‘that which is possessed of manie in common is neglected by all.’ Furthermore, the population of England more than doubled in 100 years from around seven million to 16.6 million in 1850, and much more food was needed, especially to feed new city dwellers. That meant more effective agricultural production was necessary and it was thought that private land owners were more capable of growing the extra food than commoners, especially if land was enclosed for cattle and sheep production.

But the land that was enclosed was ‘common land’, 6.8 million acres (2.72 million ha. or about one sixth of all land in England) that was available to thousands of peasants for grazing, hay making and arable production, usually an open field system. The area included wasteland, marshes, fens and rocky areas, but this land was still grazed. As a result of enclosures and land ownership moving to rich and powerful landowners, thousands of peasants, who were dependant on this land for a living, were presented with three choices. They could move to the cities, cross the ocean to the ‘new world’ or become workers or tenants under landowners, who were becoming increasingly rich and powerful, thanks to enclosures.

And who was overseeing this agricultural ‘improvement’ programme in England, i.e. passing the Enclosures Acts? Mainly Members of Parliament, which included many big landowners, who gained a great deal from this ‘privatisation’ programme.

Commons well managed?

But perhaps it wasn’t just about land grabbing. There was an argument that many animals on common land were

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THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST MAGAZINE

The 1850s also saw some significant improvements to crop production, that became known as the Agricultural Revolution. Turnips replaced fallow; the Norfolk 4 Course rotation, new corn drills and the recognition of the value of nitrogen alongside the use of clover all helped to boost cereal yields by 50% between 1800 and 1850. Large landowners were better placed to adapt and adopt and pay for these new techniques. Draining of common fenland in Lincolnshire in the 1600s was an early example and later, parallel events, known as the Clearances, occurred in Scotland.

A significant boost in food production, it was thought, could not be managed by commoners. This argument is somewhat frail because there is evidence that many met at least twice a year, exchanging information about the state of their lands, sanctioning those who took more than their fair share from the common pool. E.P Thompson was clear about this. ’Commoners were not without common-sense’.

John Clare (1793-1864), the poet, saw enclosures as a human tragedy. ‘Inclosure came and trampled on the grave of labour’s rights and left the poor a slave’.

Photograph © David Hughes

By John Terry - CRT Trustee

The arguments against; 1. Commons should continue to provide an income for the poor who would stay independent.

2. Rural populations would be sustained (The Industrial Revolution was also blamed for some movement to cities).

3. Some commoners were capable of adaptation.

4. Thin livestock can be healthy. The fashion for fat cattle was not good for man or beast.

Outcomes of enclosures?

In 1801, the rural population was 65% of that of England and Wales; in 1901, the figure had dropped to 23%. The equivalent figures in France were 59% in 1901 and 31% in 1982.

Gang labour became the norm in Lincolnshire from the nineteenth century because so few people were left in the countryside. This is still the case today, and it could be claimed that it is one of the factors leading to our dependence on immigrant workers.

A few wealthy landowners still own a high percentage of land in the UK reducing the opportunities for youngsters to get onto the career ladder as farmers.

Most people in the UK live in towns and cities (80%) and are relatively indifferent to information about how food is produced and its provenance. In France, there seems to be much more interest in local food.

Photograph Š David Hughes

The arguments made for enclosures were; 1. The open field system prevented ‘improvement’.

The system did not allow the new techniques such as 4 course rotation and commoners could not innovate.

2. Commoners could not manage their pasturage, hence poor grass and thin livestock.

3. Commoners were lazy and impoverished; enclosures could help provide them with paid employment.

The wider debate This debate throws into focus how natural resources, like land, should be managed. Does privatisation bring more short term yields but not necessarily long term sustainability, including community aspects? Can common community approaches be made to work for the good of all? Communist state farms were not a good example, but some community projects in the UK really work. Other natural resources to be considered include the oceans, wild land areas of the planet, the atmosphere and space.

Hedgerow at Lark Rise Farm, Cambridgeshire THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST MAGAZINE

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Otter (Lutra lutra) swimming

Feature

Camera Trapping Lark Rise Farm, Cambridgeshire

By Dr Vince Lea - Head of Wildlife Monitoring

Trail cameras have been one such development which we have been using at the CRT in recent years. Viv Geen started using these in Herefordshire a while ago and recently used one to demonstrate that the nocturnal turf stripping at Turnastone was not (as had been speculated) caused by a Wild Boar but was in fact Badgers, looking for worms. At Lark Rise I have been lucky enough to have a couple of cameras thanks to a grant award from the Clark Bradbury Charitable Trust.

The Bushnell Trophy Cameras have many advantages over older models – ‘no glow’ infra-red LED lights are completely invisible to wildlife, and illuminate

Eight Pheasants feeding

nocturnal wildlife for black-and-white images. They are activated by motion and heat – so any warm bodied animal moving within 60 feet can trigger the camera.

The trigger speed has been reduced to 0.2 seconds so most animals are still in frame when the shutter goes.

Battery life and microchip storage capacity increases mean they can be left running for weeks on end in remote locations – thousands of images can be stored.

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THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST MAGAZINE

Yellowhammer, Chaffinches & Greenfinch Photography © Dr Vince Lea

Technology is making a huge difference to the way we study and conserve wildlife. Huge advances are being made in so many aspects it is hard to keep up with them all and work out what can be useful.

So far I have used the cameras for two main applications. Firstly to see what species are visiting the various feeding stations around Lark Rise farm, and secondly to monitor activity on mink rafts. In both cases I have found out things with these cameras that would have been impossible without them. At the feeding station at Lark Rise Farm small seeds such as millet and canary seeds are intended for species such as Reed Buntings and Chaffinches. The seeds were disappearing in a day or so, but I was not seeing large numbers of finches and buntings whenever I visited the bird hide that overlooks the feeding area. What was eating everything? The evidence from the cameras was pretty clear. The first things to appear after I left the area were Pheasants, and they spent most of the day feeding on the ground-fed seeds. The way the food was placed in a relatively small area meant that smaller birds could not get a chance among the eight Pheasants. As soon as it went dark, rats started to appear on camera, and up to four were seen at any one time. By the time dawn came round most of the seed was depleted but Pheasants were still the first things to appear looking for whatever was left. Using this information I have made several changes to the feeding station; scattering the small seeds over a wider area gives the small birds

Otter visiting mink raft

a chance to feed in peace and makes it harder for the rats to find everything. I also mentioned that Tim could include the area in his annual pheasant shoot and they managed to bag eight Pheasants. Soon after, however, a new group of 11 Pheasants took up residence! I set up a wire exclosure to keep Pheasants out of the seed area, although they can still put their heads through to get some seed, so Tim has given us a couple of grain hoppers to provide a reliable supply of larger grains to keep the Pheasants happy. Rat traps have also been deployed and, so far, have accounted for three of the vermin. The number of small birds has gone up considerably and there are sometimes flocks of 30+ Greenfinches, 20+ Reed Buntings, 15+ Yellowhammers and Chaffinches to be seen - and even a Brambling!

Thanks go to Tony Roberts who has volunteered to go through the hundreds of images to work out the relative numbers of visitors to the feeding area over the camera trapping time.

Elsewhere around Lark Rise, Tim provides grain hoppers all over the farm principally for Grey Partridges, but available for all sorts of species and I was interested to know what might be taking advantage of this generous food supply. Hares, Pheasants, Redlegged Partridges and a few small birds were seen; all welcome visitors of course. But wherever I have used the cameras so far, there have also been ‘vermin’ species such as Muntjac Deer, Grey Squirrels, Rats, Carrion Crows and Magpies. This highlights a problem of unintended consequences but also tells us what we need to do. Advice from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust suggests moving the feed hoppers fairly regularly to avoid a build of rats; setting baited traps after the move is likely to mop up the squirrels and rats looking for the ‘missing’ food. Wide gauge wire mesh can be used to stop larger species such as Muntjac from getting access to the food – these small deer are quite destructive to wildflowers and tree regeneration in woodlands. An increase in our campaign against crows and Magpies would benefit the nesting birds later in the year as well as preserving more of the grain for the desired species.

On the mink rafts, I have been using clay pads to detect the presence of American Mink which leave their footprints behind if they go through the inviting tunnel. Seeing footprints is the trigger to set a trap.

However, native (protected) Polecats have returned to the area and have near-identical footprints to mink.

There is a formula involving measurements of the gaps between toes and breadth of the pads, but it is hard to

tell them apart without clear firm tracks; furthermore the accuracy of the formula is in some doubt. Setting up a camera could potentially confirm which species is visiting, and any tracks that are left could be examined to see if the formula agrees with the evidence from the camera. So far, I have not had a case where a clear set of tracks has been left by an individual caught on camera.

There was one instance where both mink and polecat were seen to visit the raft, so the tracks could have been left by either species. The technology theme continues with this particular example, as the evidence from the camera that a mink was around meant I set a trap to catch it, and I used the ‘Mink Police’ with its mobile transmitter device that alerts me to whenever the trap is activated. Within four hours of setting the trap I had a text to my phone saying the trap was activated – and I quickly returned to find the mink, well and truly caught! In the old days traps were only checked every 24 hours so that mink would have had a long wait for the moment of dispatch and the trap would not have been available for any further mink for that time.

The cameras have also revealed lots of other visitors to the mink rafts. Most impressive is the number of Otter movements along the Bourn Brook. Within the first five days of camera trapping on Bourn Brook I recorded four visits by Otters, with one very large male and three smaller individuals, possibly the same animal three times although size impression suggests there could be two, perhaps a female and a well grown youngster.

We’ve also seen lots of Moorhens, a good sign that the mink control has helped this species, a Heron wading the brook in the dead of night as well as Mallards, mice, rats, a brook-leaping Fox and various small birds and a pigeon coming for a drink. I’m hoping that, once the spring warms up and Water Voles become active once again, we might get footage of them as well in areas where the mink control has brought about a change in their fortunes; one has recently been seen half a mile from one particular raft.

A trail camera attached to a tree THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST MAGAZINE

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Feature

Hedgerows: Havens for Wildlife

By Viv Geen, Monitoring Officer (Herefordshire) Hedges have formed part of the British landscape since the introduction of the Enclosures Acts 1700-1801. The patchwork of small fields connected by a network of hedges is a quintessential British scene. Post war Britain saw the intensification and mechanisation of agriculture to meet the need to feed a nation. This led to the loss of hedgerows to create large field systems. Although today hedgerows are still being uprooted, the stewardship schemes and the recognition of the value of hedges to farming have reduced this large scale loss. The Hedgerow Regulations 1997 now make it a legal duty for a landowner to apply for a hedgerow removal notice to remove a hedge, and hedges can now be transplanted instead of being totally lost in certain circumstances.

Top: Sweet violet Viola odorata Ancient Woodland Indicator Bottom: stash of nibbled nuts & seeds found in the hedgerow, collected by a vole or wood mouse

Their value to the farm is not only as an important stock barrier, but they also provide shelter for stock, reduce soil erosion, and act as a source of biological pest control.

Development is now the major cause of hedgerow loss in the UK, not farm intensification.

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Mature hedge before management If hedges are cut more frequently it is best practice to allow a bit more growth each year to create a taller more robust hedge. Hedge junctions are very important for farmland birds, and where possible, free growth of the hedge should be allowed. Roadside hedges need to be cut every year for road safety reasons.

Height/width of a hedge The taller (at least 2m) and wider the hedge the more food and protection they provide for wildlife, particularly birds.

A taller and wider hedge also provides a more efficient stock barrier. Bushy hedges with blackthorn outgrowth have shown to shelter the largest number of bird species; usually about 19. A straggly, a recently laid, mechanically tidy and box-shaped hedge will only support eight breeding species.

For birds to breed successfully, hedges need to be 1.4 metres tall and 1.2 metres wide so that nests can be at least 1.2m from the ground and away from predators.

In Herefordshire we are lucky to still predominantly have a small field system surrounded by hedgerows connected to woodland sites; forming an important wildlife network in the county. However, these hedgerows must be managed appropriately to ensure that they retain their wildlife value as well as their stock retention function.

Hedgerow management best practice Correct time to manage a hedge Hedges must not be managed during the breeding bird season which is from the end of March to the end of August under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. However, cutting the hedge in the autumn months of September and October is frowned upon in the field of conservation.

Cutting a hedge in the autumn removes the important food supply of berries, nuts and seeds for many farmland birds, mammals and invertebrates. It is preferable to cut a hedge in November/December before the frosts come. The weather can be wet at this time of year which makes it difficult for farmers to drive machinery over their land, but this is not always the case, and hedge cutting should be left as late as possible. Cutting alternative sides of the hedge if the hedge is cut in the autumn will allow berries and seeds to form on one side.

Frequency Hedges should not be cut every year, and it is good practice to operate a rotational hedge cutting operation on a long cycle; cutting hedges every 2 or 3 years, or preferably 5-10years. This ensures that scrubby hedges, important for species of bird like the Whitethroat, and mammals such as the Hazel Dormouse, can form.

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Tall, dense species-rich hedge Management Methods Coppicing This technique is used to restore old hedgerows of high conservation value containing mature hedgerow trees.

Such a hedge at Turnastone Court Farm is currently being coppiced. A dormouse survey was carried out along the hedge in 2015 and no signs of dormice were found. Although it is still an important hedge for other small mammals and birds, the old coppiced hedge had become tall, straggly and needed management before the hedge failed completely.

This hedge is connected with hedges containing dormice and needed management for this species. Coppicing is the best method where the hedge has become a row of leggy stems. The hedge is cut down to the base of the old coppice.

Care must be taken not to disturb the coppice bowl which is an important habitat feature for dormice and other small mammals. New shoots will regenerate from the old wood and regenerate the hedge.

A coppiced hedge needs to be fenced from livestock to prevent them eating the new shoots. Hedgerow trees should be left at intervals along the length of the hedge. These are our veteran trees of the future! Barn owls use solitary hedgerow trees as nesting and roosting sites. Standing dead wood, and piles of dead wood logs should be left along the hedge for important woodland invertebrates, and fungi.

Laying Many of the hedges at Turnastone Court Farm have been laid, and the national hedge-laying championships have been held at Turnastone in the past. Laying is less drastic for wildlife than coppicing. It is the best method to use to regenerate an old hedge but keeping it stock proof. Hedges that were laid a long time in the past are often unsuitable to be laid again. There must be enough top growth (2.5-5 metres tall) with main stems 5-10cm thick. Stems less than 10cm in thickness are best for laying. A newly laid hedge needs to be fenced until it has become established.

Mechanical cutting or trimming When a hedge is mechanically cut it is important that your hedge cutting contractor is supplied with a hedge cutting guide in the form of a cab card; detailing your required cutting height, width and shape. An ‘A’ shaped hedge makes it more stock proof and provides shelter and good wildlife habitat. As the top is less dense it acts as a wind break. Cutting along the top of the hedge can allow easy access to predators. Hedgerow trees must be left along the hedge and tagged, if possible, to allow the hedge cutter to see them.

Fencing Fencing is important to a hedge where livestock could nibble a newly created or managed hedge. Stock can also compact the soil beneath a hedge whilst taking shelter. This can affect the growth at the bottom of the hedge. Fencing creates a herb layer beneath the hedge; increasing the wildlife value of the corridor, and protecting the roots of the hedgerow plants.

Comma butterfly on Hogweed in hedge

Species diversity and disease Species diversity in a hedge is paramount to maintaining or creating a wildlife rich hedge. Native species of local provenance are particularly important, and producing your own saplings from seed is the best way of knowing where your trees have come from.

The arrival of Ash-dieback or Chalara in the UK, affecting one of our important landscape trees, has been a ‘wake up’ call. This disease is believed to be present over most of England now (being first recorded in Norfolk). Although it is affecting all of our ash trees of a certain age there is very little we can do about this other than to learn from it. The huge cost involved with the management of the diseased trees has given rise to the guidance of only managing the trees that are deemed to be a health and safety risk. Diseased trees, where there is no risk to the public, just need to be observed. A five step plan has been developed to identify which species are associated with the ash (currently 640 across all levels of association) and to develop management recommendations. The impact on the ecosystem function (how ash leaves decompose), and the effect on the plant community composition of ash woodland is also being researched with the aim of determining whether by planting other tree species the impact of ashdieback can be mitigated.

It is thought that a large percentage of our ash trees will be lost, but not all (90% on the continent), as some have been shown to have some resistance to the disease. The ash trees at both farms in Herefordshire are monitored. I believe that it is present at Awnells Farm, however the symptoms of this disease can be very similar to other causes, such as stress caused by drought.

Hedgerow Wildlife Birds Different parts of a hedge are used by different species of bird; they all have their separate niches. Blackbird, song thrush, robin, greenfinch, linnet, dunnock, whitethroat, wren, and long-tailed tit are all hedgerow nesting birds.

Whitethroat, wren, and long-tailed tit all feed in the hedgerow. Partridges, yellowhammer and reed bunting all nest in the bottom of the hedge. Chaffinch, greenfinch and linnet all feed at the bottom of a hedge. In the winter flocks of starlings and house sparrows roost together in dense hedgerows for safety and protection.

Insects A species rich hedge with a grassy margin provides a valuable source of insects that help control pests. Many insects such as butterflies rely on a specific hedgerow plant on which to reproduce and feed. Hoverflies are important pest controllers during their larval stage, and important pollinators as adults. Spiders and ground beetles live in the hedge bottom and are important pest controllers.

Both Comma and Gatekeeper butterflies are regularly recorded along the hedgerows on the farms in Herefordshire. Gatekeeper butterflies or ‘hedge browns’ are often found near hedge corners or gates and stiles where brambles grow; the male butterfly sets up territories along the hedge and patrols them to keep out other insects. The comma lays its eggs on the leaves of hops, nettles, and currant bushes. This solitary butterfly has its favourite perch sites along the hedge, and may live in an area as small as a square metre in a hedge. Favourite nectar plants include bramble, thistles, and knapweeds.

Photography © Viv Geen

Holes in standing dead wood provide valuable nesting and roosting sites for birds, bats and small mammals.

Mammals Mammals may use a hedgerow as a commuting corridor (bats, hedgehogs, polecats), or as a feeding site (dormice, bank voles, yellow-necked mice, wood mice, grey squirrels, badgers, foxes), or it may be used as a nesting site (hedgehog, wood mice, dormice, yellow-necked mouse).

Foxes and badgers will create their earths and setts beneath a hedge for the protection it offers.

How to age a hedgerow ‘Hedges that have existed for hundreds of years are colonised by additional species. This may be useful to determine the age of the hedge. Hooper’s rule, based on ecological data obtained from hedges of known age, suggests that the age of the hedge is equal to the number of woody species counted in a thirty-yard distance multiplied by 110 years.’ There is also a second method of deciding if the hedge is of ancient origin: by the types of wild flowers that grow in it. Certain species are very slow to spread, or perhaps only would normally grow in certain conditions such as woodland shade. These key species are known as ancient woodland indicators. These include the English bluebell and the primrose.

Alan Brooks and Elizabeth Agate (1998). “The Hedgerow Landscape : Hedgerow Dating”. Hedging. BTCV. ISBN 0-946752-17-6. The Good Hedge Guide, Bayer and FWAG. The Ecological and Conservation Implications of Ash Dieback (Chalara) and Methods to Mitigate Impacts, Ruth Mitchell, Alice Broome, Ralph Harmer, CIEEM Inpractice Issue

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Cheetah and cubs in the Masai Mara

Conservation in Kenya – and Lack of it in England

By Robin Page - Chairman

It should also be remembered that two of our founder Trustees had strong links with Africa – Sir Laurens van der Post and Elspeth Huxley – both outstanding people and both committed conservationists in Africa and Britain.

In 1999 when the CRT had a small amount of spare cash we were able to loan some money to Fauna and Flora International to enable Flower Valley to be purchased and its wonderful “Fynbos” flora to be saved and protected – wildlife friendly flower farming. We were quickly repaid, but the CRT’s involvement was key in allowing a very successful scheme to get off the ground. So for me, Africa and the CRT have a close connection.

What did we find this time – in Nairobi National Park, the oldest national park in Kenya the Chinese are about to build a Standard Gauge Railway right across the middle of the Park. It is quite outrageous. An argument can be made for the new railway, but not through the small but remarkable National Park. But then look to England – HS2 the idiotoic new high speed railway that will plough through some of England’s most beautiful and vulnerable countryside to shorten a journey time by what, 16 minutes? Then of course throughout England the Green Belt is being widely ignored and trashed. How can we

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criticise Kenya with this nonsense happening in England?

In Northern Kenya and down in the Masai Mara we have huge cattle invasions into vital conservation land going on – much of the damage being done comes from wealthy and influential men – cattle ownership is difficult to monitor and tax. In England green fields are being sold for huge sums of money for development – I despise the sellers as much as I do the ivory poachers and the land invaders of Kenya. The central problem in Kenya is said to be over-population. Isn’t that the real issue behind most of England’s problems too – roads, schools, the NHS, care homes, hospitals etc but nobody will speak out about it.

And what do we get from the BBC – beautiful pictures from Kenya of wildlife – nothing on the development and pressures that are threatening wildlife, and alarms here of a “Housing Crisis” – never the true reason, an overpopulation crisis - spin,spin,spin.

Photography © Anthony Cheffings

Lulu and I have just been to Kenya again – it has become something of an addiction – I blame Armand and Michaela Denis all those years ago with their black and white BBC television series “On Safari”. I have just worked out that I first went to Kenya about forty years ago – what incredible changes I have seen in that time. I have some wonderful memories too – a friendship with George Adamson – what a man, and his relationship with his lions defied belief. Then in January 2014 we had an unforgettable, moving experience – a meeting in the bush with Satao – a wonderful “Tusker” elephant whose tusks were so enormous that they made furrows in the sand as he walked. We both cried at the end of May that year when he was found dead with his tusks ripped from his head. Oh, and incidentally – I did actually meet Michaela Denis in Nairobi on one occasion.

Cheetah and cubs in the Masai Mara

A 300 hp tractor at full power stirring and smashing the soil to create a seed bed for potatoes with another one doing the same in the background

We are Winning the War...

Many of you were probably not aware that we (‘we’ being the general public), are waging a war but we (‘we’ being members of the CRT), are not part of this war.

Unfortunately we (‘we’ being the general public), are winning that war. The war is against insects; insects sting or itch so the average person wafts them out of the way or tries to kill them, insects are also unwelcome in our houses.

Every vehicle is a fly swatter and there are 30 million vehicles on the road now. One evening after dark, in early September, I came down my long farm road, (all two miles of it) travelling at about 30 mph and I saw over 600 moths in the lights wafting past my car. I then went along the main road for 2 miles at around 50 mph and saw about 12 moths and some of those I heard hit the car. That is the sort of impact vehicles have on insects along a busy road.

When was the last time you had to clean the insects off the windscreen of your car? It is then you realise, that we are getting short of insects.

Every time farmers go out with the sprayer, we may not be trying to kill insects, but by spraying a herbicide or a fungicide we are starving them. We also spray insecticides to kill all insects over the area we are spraying and an individual farmer might well spray his whole farm with an insecticide in the course of a year. Power harrows are excellent tools for preparing farmers seedbeds but no one gives a thought or even realises that the fast rotating tines will be smashing insect eggs or larvae.

Insects are fundamental to terrestrial food chains. Most of the birds we see in our gardens rely on moist insects to feed their young, as they cannot provide them with water specifically. The species that are declining, usually run out of food at some point during the year, usually insects.

I would imagine that most Friends of the CRT are not waging the war against insects, as we realise how important they are to us. We must educate other people on why insects are so vital to us all and make our gardens and fields more insect friendly.

How many more people do we want or need in this country? More people mean more houses and more cars and that means fewer insects.

When there are no insects left in the world, the only remaining birds will be crows, birds of prey, pigeons and gulls and all of the crops that need pollinating by insects will not produce seeds.

Photography © Nicholas Watts

By Nicholas Watts - Trustee & Owner of Vine House Farm

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Fundraising

Fundraising Successes!

A busy first year as Fundraising Manager is beginning to generate results...with £23,125 received from charitable trusts since the November edition of The Lark.

The Scott (Eredine) Charitable Trust, the Na Mokulua Trust and the Dominic Trust have been valued supporters for many years and have provided donations of £3,000, £750 and £2,232 respectively towards our core work. We’ve also received an unrestricted donation of £2,000 from new supporter, the Spear Charitable Trust, whilst the Chapman Charitable Trust has generously donated £2,000 for conservation work.

I also continue to apply to trusts for donations towards specific projects. My appeal for funds towards the restoration of the historic sluices at Turnastone Court Farm received a welcome boost with a kind donation of £3,000 each from the Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust and the Gillian Bulmer Charitable Trust (also known as the Pippen Trust). The New Grove Trust have pledged £2,000 subject to all funding being secured…only another £27,700 left to raise!

My other focus for grant applications has been securing funds for equipment for the Pierrepont education programme. £1,043 from the local Farnham Institute will enable us to purchase the resources we need to start a Forest Schools session.

Another long-term supporter, the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, has given £3,000 which, alongside a donation of £100 from Rowan Bentall Charitable Trust and £1,000 from the Overwood Trust, will be used towards the costs of the installation of a large bird hide capable of holding groups of 10 children. I am still working on raising the remaining £6,100 to enable the project to go ahead.

If you have any contacts within a family or grant making trust that you feel may be interested in our work, please do get in touch!

Sponsor Elaine this April!

Elaine Spencer-White is donning her walking shoes once again, as she takes on a new challenge in support of the Gordon Beningfield Dorset Farm Appeal. This year, Elaine will be tackling the Cotswold Way. Starting on Friday 28th April in Chipping Campden, Elaine will be walking the 102 mile National Trail along the Cotswold Escarpment, to reach Bath on Thursday 4th May 2017.

Please give any support you can to Elaine, by sponsoring her online via her Virgin Money page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Beningfield2.

Any contributions and messages of support are gratefully received.

A huge thanks to Elaine for once again choosing to support our Dorset Dream!

Sarah Clay Fundraising Manager

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Volunteers

Volunteer News We are still making good but slightly slow progress with the conservation work and monitoring at CRT properties; but we are all moving forward together. Rome wasn’t built in a day. We are always looking for new volunteers, so please feel free to invite friends and family along. Any grandparents, parents or carers reading; why not bring some younger members of the family along? With it being increasingly difficult to get into certain areas of work, some hands on experience volunteering for a charity goes a long way in the eyes of employers and higher education purveyors. I would not have my job with the CRT if I hadn’t been a volunteer first. Similarly, students within the sector sometimes don’t get the practical experience they require during their study, so have to do the appropriate voluntary work after completing their course. If you know someone that is interested in gaining work experience to help them complete their studies, I would be interested in talking with them.

I hope that having the CRT involved with the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) award scheme will bring us more volunteers in the long term. I am currently working with some students and trying to get them to understand that nature is something that “belongs” to all of us and communicating the importance of their work in achieving the CRT vision of restoring a living, working countryside. I don’t know who said it, but I’ve always liked the idea that nature and countryside is something we borrow from our grandchildren. Makes you think about how we interact

with nature. The CRT has been working where appropriate with The Conservation Volunteers (TCV). The partnership has created a volunteer group at Mayfields Farm in Norfolk where we had previously struggled to get a group of people together. So we are looking to work in partnership with the TCV at some other CRT properties such as Lark Rise, Turnastone, Twyford and Harold’s Grove. I am really excited about working with the TCV as it compliments the work of all our volunteers past and present. The TCV and their employees and volunteers will work with the CRT to achieve our charitable aims. I am also hoping to persuade a few students that study within our sector to come and do some volunteering with us; students can bring a lot to an organisation. The very fact that they are studying the relevant laws, theories and technology brings fresh air to organisations; their students are also potential future employees or even politicians. I don’t think that anyone would argue that the City of Westminster would greatly benefit from further knowledge of the countryside, it’s people and the wonders it holds.

We welcome any volunteers who wish to join the CRT, so please get in touch if you would like to get involved.

Kenny MacKay Conservation and Education Adviser

Volunteer Dates Volunteers for any of our properties are always welcome!

Please email info@countrysiderestorationtrust.com or get in touch using the contact details below.

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LARK RISE FARM, Barton, Cambridgeshire: Volunteer Conservation Days – usually held on the second Saturday of every month. Please call the office on 01223 262999 or email info@ countrysiderestorationtrust.com for more information.

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TURNASTONE COURT FARM & AWNELLS: Vowchurch & Much Marcle, Herefordshire: Volunteer Conservation Days – please contact Viv Geen via vgeen@countrysiderestorationtrust.com for more information.

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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 two weeks. For more information, contact Brian Lavers on 01276 471870 or brian.lavers@btopenworld.com.

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MAYFIELDS FARM, Themelthorpe, Norfolk: Please call Kenny MacKay on 01223 262999 or email kmackay@countrysiderestorationtrust.com for more information.

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TWYFORD FARM, Sussex: Volunteer Conservation Days – third weekend of every month, volunteers can choose to go on Saturday or Sunday, whichever is more convenient. Next volunteer dates will take place on 18th-19th March and 15th-16th April. Please email bobfelton@farming.co.uk for more information.

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

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MARGARET WOOD, Upper Denby, West Yorkshire: Volunteer Conservation Days – please contact Phil Opie on 07762 642814 or jpo.92@live.co.uk for more information.

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Education

Lark Rise, Cambridgeshire In 2016, we decided to turn the annual visit of the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd into an educational event. Bury Lane Farm Shop were once again kind enough to let us hold the event there and I am pleased to say that it was a huge success. I would specifically like to thank Fowlmere Primary School for coming along on the day; I am hoping that we can continue to work together on the delivery of the curriculum with regards to nature, farming and the countryside as a whole. We are very lucky to have access to the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd; their condition and health is down to expert management by Tilly Smith and her team. As well as good husbandry, these animals live at the correct altitude providing them exposure to Arctic conditions, which is why the Cairngorm Herd look so great compared to many Reindeer kept in captivity at sea level. It was this message that was getting lost in our previous ‘Christmas themed’ event and we wanted children, especially, to recognise that a Reindeer isn’t just for Christmas and when Father Christmas chooses his team to pull the sleigh you can bet that the Reindeer are from the Cairngorm Herd. Joking aside, it is land management such as that employed by Tilly and her family, from which we have become so detached. We feel that to not use our involvement with the Cairngorm Herd as educational we would be doing a disservice to their work and how they are effectively working with nature.

So the next time you see Reindeer, ask yourself, are those Cairngorm Reindeer?

Our Educational day at Bury Lane Farm Shop was for schools and the general public. Everyone that turned up on the day was greeted by CRT staff and of course Alex and his team of Reindeer handlers. We produced a goody bag for children to take away with them, which contained information on the CRT and the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd. The day was much more relaxed and enjoyed by everyone. I was even able to answer questions about wildlife, conservation and land management, rather than

directing traffic in the car park!

During the winter, visits to the farm become a bit less frequent, but it looks like this may be changing as schools are keen to get children to understand the seasons. This is great news. Some understanding of the seasons will allow a greater understanding of farming and what farmers do throughout the year. It will also help children understand some of the difficulties that wildlife face, as part of their survival. It is not as easy as it seems. Whilst waiting for the good weather to return, I am working with some schools to create Willow structures within their grounds and hopefully fix some ponds. Whilst these features are great for education, they also provide valuable habitat in an often ‘habitat-less’ world. I’m glad to see the return of ponds to the countryside; something that farming has also got involved in. It wasn’t so long ago that we were paying farmers to drain wetland for agriculture. Hopefully, this is one tide that is definitely changing. Some schools are very lucky in that they have good facilities for outdoor education, others less so. I still think it is very important for children to see some things in a landscape-wide setting.

Children need to be able to meet people that live and work in the countryside and gain knowledge of where their food comes from. Most importantly, education of this kind will bring into question the land management pressures associated with intensive farming and its potential effects on nature.

A huge thanks goes out to all of the kind people who sent in old binoculars, as per my plea in the last edition of The Lark. These are already being used to educate children; so thank you - you know who you are!

Kenny MacKay Conservation and Education Adviser

Education in Herefordshire The Autumn/Winter terms have been incredibly busy in Herefordshire. The delivery of the project has now expanded to schools outside of the Golden Valley to across Herefordshire. The schools remain very enthusiastic about the project which has led to a waiting list of schools requesting visits. The children’s enthusiasm for learning about food, farming and countryside is fantastic and I look forward to building the connections with new and existing schools when I return from maternity leave.

In the meantime there is still a large number of varied school visits across Herefordshire, before Baby Jones makes an appearance at Easter.

Helen Jones Education Officer, Turnastone Court Farm

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Education

Mayfields Farm, Norfolk With such a mild Autumn, it was great to have several school groups making the most out of visits later in the year and getting their pupils outside to enjoy the seasonal changes at Mayfields. Our lovely regular visitors from Owlet class at Sculthorpe Primary Academy are doing just that, and are coming to visit us each season this academic year. In November, the group enjoyed spotting and collecting Autumn treasures, then creating some fantastic Autumn crowns and masks with our findings. We played a brilliant acorn hunt game of ‘Jays versus Squirrels’. Each child had five acorns, which they had to hide in the garden and then find again a short while later. Both teams did well, but a few ‘squirrels’ forgot their hiding places and couldn’t find all five (and one cunning and resourceful ‘jay’ managed to collect six acorns!) This led to some interesting discussion about competition, seed dispersal techniques and what happens to those acorns that do not get found...we will be looking out for little acorn saplings in the garden come Spring!

In the build-up to Christmas, I decided to trial a festive nature morning for families from two local schools who we have worked with previously. So on a Saturday morning in December, a small group of children and their families joined us to make Christmas decorations from natural materials and follow a festive wildlife trail. Christmas gifts

for wildlife were wrapped and hidden along the woodland boardwalk with clues, and the children had to spot the gifts and deduce which species would most like to receive them! Decorations made included sheep’s fleece angels, sparkly dragonflies from sycamore seeds and twigs, and acorn cuplet baubles. Some of the mums in particular got very creative, designing their own natural decor! This was a lovely start to the festive season: the classroom was festooned with holly, ivy, mistletoe – and, by the end of the day, plenty of glitter too!

Now that the New Year is upon us, we are already looking forward to Sculthorpe school’s Winter visit, the first of 2017. I am excited to see the educational developments that this year will bring. Plans are afoot for a new shed with a covered potting area and we hope to start work on the raised pond too – exciting times ahead!

Most importantly we hope to welcome many more young people at Mayfields and spark some inspiration for wildlife and farming.

Teresa Linford, Education Officer, Mayfields Farm

Pierrepont Farm, Surrey Forest School comes to Pierrepont!

Forest School is a specialised learning approach that is can provide, regularly exposing young people to a natural growing rapidly in the UK since it was first introduced area is beneficial for the CRT in helping us meet our in the 1990s. The ethos originated in Scandinavia and educational aims. Giving children a sense of ‘belonging’ involves running regular sessions in a woodland or at their Forest School site and exploring the use of natural other natural environment. The sessions promote the materials, is a big step in encouraging them to take an development of a relationship between the participant and interest in and look after the natural world. the natural world. It promotes self-led learning through play and practical activities, developing skills such as As the year goes on, it is my hope that our Forest School problem solving, managing risk and social skills, as well as programme will grow, and either through more afterincreasing self-esteem and confidence. school clubs or by offering it to local schools, many This year we are introducing children in the area can Forest School sessions to benefit from the Forest Pierrepont Farm. It will School ethos. start in April as an afterschool programme for a Annika Rees small number of children, Education Officer, running once a week for six Pierrepont Farm weeks at a time. Children will have the opportunity to be involved with activities ranging from making camouflage crowns and clay faces on trees, to whittling and fire lighting.

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Farm Diaries Lark Rise Farm, Cambridgeshire Here at Lark Rise Farm we have had a strange winter with lots of cloudy, miserable, drizzly days but precious little rain and consequently the Bourn Brook is little more than a ditch. We have had a few frosts which should be good to kill off many of those fungal diseases that over winter in the autumn sown crops. Although the rainfall has been minimal the soil has still been too wet for tractors, however the frosts have come to save me. The beauty of frozen soil means one can cultivate usually saturated land and not make a mess. One top tip; once the frost is leaving the soil, get off the field ASAP, otherwise you are in deep, deep trouble as that seemingly solid soil turns into a bog.

When I get on the subject of wildlife on the farm I turn into a record that has stuck, namely rambling on about our Grey Partridge. This pretty little iconic farmland bird just goes from strength to strength. They are really thriving on our over wintered stubbles and are just starting to pair up and getting increasingly aggressive with each other. The soggy stubbles

The main farming topic is our field dedicated to the control of blackgrass; that yield sapping weed. This field should lure many farmers to Larkrise and just hopefully a few will go away with our CRT message. The purpose of this demonstration field is to look at different crops and varying cultivation techniques including direct drilling. The beauty of direct drilling next years crop into uncultivated soils means a crop grows in an over wintered stubble, thus killing two birds with one stone! Time will tell whether direct drilling works for us on our very heavy clay soils? Initially the direct drilled crops looked best but they appear to be going backwards right now.

Finally we are still blighted with hare coursers. Fortunately just before Christmas one gang were caught by the police, but still they come.

Tim Scott

Margaret Wood, South Yorkshire

Mayfields Farm, Norfolk

I love the wood in winter after the leaves have fallen from the trees you are able to see much more of the goings on. The bird life is no longer hidden in the canopy I love watching the gangs of Long-tailed Tits flitting from tree to tree. If you put up a hare or a deer you are able to follow its progress as it runs through the wood. A light covering of snow helps, highlighting the contours and brightening the shade.

As I write on a cold, damp January morning, my attention is once again focussed on how wet the land is at Mayfields during the winter, and how much this affects what we can do here. At this time of year, we carry as few sheep as possible. The wet clay will not allow the use of any machinery to facilitate feeding of animals or any winter land management work. In the last week we have had a mains water leak immediately behind the buildings which flooded the yard and the barn, making life uncomfortable for the housed livestock.

I have been clearing the bramble that grows on the woodland floor. It hides the bluebells from view and although it provides cover for wildlife there is more than enough for it. The bramble that grows in the shade of the wood never gets enough light so it doesn’t produce flowers or fruit so it’s of no use as a food source. The other day I had been working away for about half an hour when I put up a woodcock it must have been hiding all the time I worked and only moved when I got to within a few feet of its hiding place.

The last work day was spent removing the guards from the young trees. We have planted hundreds of trees over the years.

We thought the guards were supposed to self destruct over time but no one seems to have told them that. They just hold on grimly to the tree as they grow until there is a build up of moss inside and we have lost a few trees as they have rotted away. The appearance of the wood is greatly improved after their removal.

There was a casualty of the early January gales; a large beech has gone over and is now resting on its stronger neighbours.

We were surprised at how small the root ball is on it. There are two or three trees like this in the wood that have been that way for many years.

Phil Opie

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are also providing habitat for numerous Snipe. Another highlight is a short-eared owl that frequents an area of scrub (Bristly Oxtongue) in an awkward corner of a field.

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We are, however, preparing for Spring. Planned projects for the future look promising. The Red Squirrel enclosures are being upgraded and improved to offer more space and habitat enrichment. A training Apiary is planned which is very exciting; never has there been a more important time to educate future generations about the importance of pollinators to our beautiful natural world.

Also in the pipe-line we are working on the possibility of creating an apprenticeship scheme involving the heritage skill of working with heavy horses on the land. Heavy horses are being increasingly used on farms and by wildlife trusts for jobs such as rolling bracken and forestry work. A horse is far more environmentally sensitive than a machine, and I am told that a horse and horseman is a cheaper option. Certainly Duke, our Suffolk Punch is the only way not to destroy our ground, which is under a Higher level Stewardship scheme, in the winter.

On a different note, we have introduced a shepherd’s hut that is available to rent on a nightly basis to anyone requiring a “glamping” adventure.

If anybody is interested in becoming involved with any of the topics I’ve covered, please do not hesitate to be in touch.

Sarah Jenkins

Farm Diaries Twyford Farm, Sussex

Pierrepont Farm, Surrey

Life at Twyford has always been many faceted but we have now introduced one more - a holiday let. Formerly known as Garden Cottage, now Bellflower Cottage - named after the unusual Ivy leaved Bellflower found in the woods above the lake. The name change was brought about by Mulberry Cottages who are currently doing publicity and lettings for us, who stated that they already had two Garden Cottages on their books. This cottage was in serious need of renovation and after many months of builders upheaval was ready for business in August. It was good to be able to preserve the original features – inglenook fireplace with the bread oven, a section of wattle and daub and of course the beams some of which are extremely low and have taken several victims already despite constant warnings, whilst providing creature comforts for the guests. So Bellflower Cottage is now available as a holiday let, sleeping six with one bedroom downstairs with easy access and a wet room for the less able. Probably the biggest challenge was creating a reasonably flat lawn out of the building site. Our next project is to restore the wonderful Victorian greenhouse - we have started by taking one half down and sand blasting the remainder of the woodwork ready for restoration as soon as possible.

Good news, good news. The barn owls that regularly hunt the water meadows in front of the house have successfully reared three chicks which have now fledged. They have been seen out and about across the SSSI recently practising their flying and hunting skills. It is brilliant to know that the conservation efforts we put in here are working well.

We had a wonderful open autumn and this seemed to suit our B&B guests who enjoyed the autumn colours and walking. We have bookings for the coming season despite a brief hiccup when our website was hacked and came out in Japanese!

On the farming front we have done some overseeding with a perennial mix including clover and chicory on the ground which is not in stewardship.

In July we launched our Raw Milk vending machine. The sales of Raw Milk direct to the public have been growing ever since and an article in the local paper doubled sales in one week!

Our customer base is growing and they are asking for cream and butter and the younger customers always ask for ice cream, so watch this space for the next development.

The cattle came off the Forest in October having only strayed once or twice! We sold half of them as stores straight away, the rest are indoors being finished. We have been rearing crossbred calves and have bought in a bunch of young stores all native breeds, a mixture of Highland, Hereford, Angus and Sussex ready to go out on the Forest in the spring. Our relationship with The Ashdown Forest continues to grow, we hope our combined efforts will improve the heathland.

We have put in a new feed passage in the cattle barn which enables us to accommodate the increased numbers.

Regarding the sheep, the Charollais are due to start lambing later this month, we are looking forward to seeing the progeny of our latest ram Foulrice Redpath who came down from Yorkshire last autumn. The native ewes will lamb in April. On a more sombre note we experienced sheep worrying first hand in November losing four in lamb ewes which had been driven into the river and had drowned. This is an increasing problem nationwide, we need to make the public aware of how much harm even the smallest of dogs can inflict.

Our most recent livestock purchase has been four beautiful Welsh Harlequin ducks who unfortunately have had to be kept indoors ever since due to bird flu precautions.

The Volunteers have worked hard at the rhododendron clearance and have also made bird feeders out of materials left over from the cottage. New volunteers are always welcome here generally meeting on the third weekend of the month.

Please call us on 01825 740726 if you would like to join our happy team. We are now working up to the Open Day on Sunday 7th May in bluebell time.

Bob Felton & Liz Wallis

We have had a very busy summer on the farm, with Mike taking on more of the field work to cut contractor costs which has meant I have spent more time with the cows as Tony has been on a tractor helping with the harvest too. The milk price has finally hit rock bottom and is now on the turn for the better! However, there is still a long way to go before it matches cost of production so efficiencies will carry on at Pierrepont. The cows have adapted well to the efficiencies we have made to their management and they are milking well still and looking good too. Most of the crops have been harvested now, just the fodderbeet to go. The weather has been good to us this year producing plenty of grass for hay and silage, although the maize didn’t yield quite as well as we hoped we have produced plenty of forage for the winter so the cows won’t be going hungry this year and we won’t have the need to buy in expensive forage.

The Show season has been limited this year due to the poor milk price and lack of time, but we did manage to get to a few shows, with Discovery Lirsks Topaz standing Reserve Champion at Surrey County, and Discovery Mays Icecube taking Champion Jersey at Bucks County. At the South West Dairy Show we were hoping not to be last, but to our delight Pierrepont Flash Honey stood Reserve Champion calf and then Topaz won the Intermediate cow class. Pierrepont Iatolas Maple came 3rd and Icecube stood 5th in the Junior cow class; so we came home very pleased indeed. Zoe has also had a very successful Young Handlers year winning at Bucks, Edenbridge (with a Holstein), Norfolk (with an Ayrshire) and finished the year off at the All Britain All Breeds calf show with Reserve Champion Jersey Handler for the second year running.

Mike & Bev Clear

Turnastone Court Farm, Herefordshire Well we have now purchased some Pedigree in-calf Hereford cows, some with calves on them. There is nothing more iconic or pleasing to see than Hereford cattle in Herefordshire. They are due to calve in the spring so it will be a rather interesting time as calving cows is a first for us.

The winter, so far, has been kind to us. No flooding like the previous three years. It is the end of January now and we are half way through lambing our first lot of ewes. As always, it started badly. We suffered a few stillborn and deformed lambs and were concerned as we had heard reports of the Schmallenberg virus being around but on the whole most of the lambs are OK. We are just hoping the weather stays kind as we will have to put them all out to enable us to bring the next lot of ewes in ready for lambing.

Gareth & Madeleine Boaz THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST MAGAZINE

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Friends’ Notices Update to your CRT Friend Subscription Annual subscription price increase As a charity we are working hard in our campaign to create a living, working countryside and would not be where we are now without your continued support. We appreciate your generosity and will always find ways to continue our important work, at the same time as offering you value for your Friends subscription.

As part of that effort, we have recently reviewed our pricing structure in relation to general inflation and a number of changes in the industry. Unfortunately we have come to the conclusion that a small price increase on all annual subscriptions is necessary in order to maintain our Friends programme and continue to provide you with the required level of service.

The following changes will come in to place from 1st April 2017 and will be detailed in any renewal letters after this date:

Annual Friend subscription

Current Price

Price from 1st April 2017

Individual

£20

£25

Joint

£30

£35

Family

£35

£40

Life Membership

No change

Concessionary Life Membership

No change

To discuss these price changes further, please contact the CRT main office on 01223 262999 or send an email to info@countrysiderestorationtrust.com and we will be happy to go through everything with you.

2017 Friends’ Events The below events are being held for CRT Friends in 2017: Date

7th May

Location

Event

Twyford

Dawn Chorus walk for Friends, followed by Bluebell Day*

Pierrepont

Dawn Chorus Walk

Turnastone Lark Rise

Dawn Chorus and Cowslip Walk

13th May

Margaret Wood

Bluebell Day

11th June

Pierrepont

Open Farm Sunday* - Guided walks free to Friends

30th October

Lark Rise Turnastone

28th November

Margaret Wood

29th November

Harolds Grove

8th December

Lark Rise

Going Batty: A talk about all things Bat related

Woodland Walk to celebrate National Tree Week Supporters Social Night

*These are farm events which will also be open to the public The CRT are taking part in National Countryside Week which runs from 31st July-6th August 2017.

2nd August

Turnastone

4th August

Lark Rise

5th August

Mayfields

For further details or to register for any of these events, please visit our website www.crtuk.org or contact the CRT main office on 01223 262999.

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THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST MAGAZINE

Spring into Summer

by John Poolman SPRING INTO SUMMER Now the rich verdure is aglow We too are here And we too know The way we were The things we ought to do.

O Summer Sun, sleepy in your good pleasure O Summer Steps which we can scarcely measure The long slow hours, will go away too soon.

O Golden brightness, pass not quite away.

O loveliness, be mine In June as May. THE COMING OF THE DAWN A fox barked in the early light As the wind blew in the sorrowing dawn.

When morning came, the trees shook water Off from their leaves.

In these cooling drops, The badger made his way Unmarked except That I had seen him and could speak for him.

Bats flittered home in the morning twilight To rest their bodies underneath the eaves Of homes that would not welcome them If owners knew that they were there.

But, as for me “A redcap madness in my heart Will not be stilled.

O God the strings have broken I am free Free as the bird upon the branch To celebrate my liberty.”

MARCH MADNESS All the day long, the March wind raves In the trees’ topmost branches The listening landscape lies appalled At his mad murderous voice, He dances like a hare Across the sunset And drags down snow Over the fields and hedges CHALK STREAM IN SPRING The weather in the afternoon Is hot and dry And in low lying ditches, Streams run turgid.

But boys with rod and line, Are fishing on the stream’s bank.

In ridges, pools of heat Lie, where no sun is shaded.

And somewhere the unaided Sheet of fresh water Clear, like crystalline Is much too beautiful for words.

FALL’S EYE VIEW. Clear autumn day.

Still air, sound carrying.

Sunlight, deceitful promising warmth it then withholds.

Afterwards, the harvest moon Gold, cold, gleaming In the October sky, Shines alike on wise and foolish, Coming and going Along the leaf strewn lanes.

SNOW MASS The snow this morning, Stayed upon the branches In one white paradox as if, The quickening sap Had sprung already.

Blossoms like almond petals Lay around the tree’s bole And nothing broke the silence they had made.

Haiku for Spring

by Pat Coutts Primroses.

A Brimstone gossiping by.

Winter turns.

Kiss Goodbye to the Countryside

by Jo Woodward Kiss goodbye to the countryside, say ‘tara’ to the farm, so what if we can’t feed ourselves, really where’s the harm?

So long as Tesco has food upon the shelf, there’s no need to fuss or worry for oneself.

And when we’re all held hostage by the ones who grow our food, it will be too late to say you never understood, that when you kiss goodbye to the countryside and say ‘tara’ to the farm, it’s only your own future that you will bring to harm.

If you would like your work (poetry, prose, photographs) featured in the Lark, please send to Lois Dixon ldixon@countrysiderestorationtrust.com THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST NEWSLETTER

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CRT Legacies

Would you like to know the birds will still be flying after you have gone?

How your legacy could help create a living, working countryside: • £100 could fund the conservation of a section of water course running through farmland for one year in order to protect a vital habitat for species such as otters and water voles.

• £250 could enable us to bring a school group onto our farms to learn about nature, the countryside and farming.

• £500 could enable us to carry out a season of regular surveys on one of our farms to make sure particularly important species are thriving.

• £1,000 could pay for the equipment needed by one of our volunteer teams to carry out vital conservation work on the land.

For more information and a free legacy information pack please contact 01223 262 999 or visit www.countrysiderestorationtrust.com

22

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST MAGAZINE

Merchandise

Total

Quantity Price

Further merchandise is available on our website - www.crtuk.org

Slim wall calendar containing 12 stunning images of the living, working countryside

Update your details Please help us to keep our records up to date and provide us with your correct contact details and contact preferences, either by filling in the form below or by giving us a call on 01223 262999.

Donor No: Title:

Please return to: The Countryside Restoration Trust, Bird’s Farm, Haslingfield Road, Barton, Cambridge CB23 7AG

£3.25 including p/p

Pen/LED Light/Stylus – comes in gift box

You can also pay over the phone by credit card (01223 262999).

£4.00 including p/p

(Please make payable to The Countryside Restoration Trust)

Silver Triple Function Pen

I enclose a cheque for £_______________________ __________________________________________

Email:_____________________________________ __________________________________________

£4.00 including p/p Size: 41.5cm x 38cm featuring the CRT logo.

Please tick here if you do not wish to receive emails from the CRT

Item

Cotton Printed Tote Bag

2017 Wall Calendar - SALE

Donation

E SAL

Address:

Postcode:

Date of Birth:

Telephone: Email: I am happy for the CRT to contact me via Email

SMS

You can update your preferences by logging on to the Friends section of our website: www.crtuk.org/my-account I do not wish to receive marketing/fundraising info by post

by phone

Please note that by opting out of ‘post’ you will no longer receive a hard copy of the Lark



Gift Aid - boost your donation by 25p for every £1 you donate: Yes, I am eligible - please send me a Gift Aid form No, I am not a UK Tax payer

Merchandise Order Form

Surname:

Name:_____________________________________ __________________________________________ Address:___________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ Postcode: __________________________________ Telephone:_________________________________

First name:

THE COUNTRYSIDE RESTORATION TRUST MAGAZINE

23

The Countryside Restoration Trust, Bird’s Farm, Haslingfield Road, Barton, Cambridgeshire CB23 7AG Tel: 01223 262999 E-mail: info@countrysiderestorationtrust.com www.crtuk.org Registered charity no: 1142122 A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales No. 7320026.

Registered office: as above.