Farm Nature Enhancement Plan; 2025 -
2024-2025; NRF Grant aided- Phase 3; Butterflies / Bees and Water.
We built 3 ponds that will assist with holding back flood waters. These have been surrounded with; Downy Birch / Sliver Birch / Willow and Aspen. We have also planted around drainage ditches to maximise the habitats available to a vast variety of butterflies and of course night and day flying moths. We also created 2 large 40ft butterfly banks and 3 scrapes of 10x10ft for solitary bee`s. The Butterfly banks are planted with a meadow mix of flowers and grass`s, that all benefit a whole range of insects, from hoverflies to beetles and then also the caterpillars of butterflies who will eat the leaves and hide in the tussocks overwinter. Finally, we planted some of seeds in the polytunnel to be planted out in the spring.
2025-2026; NRF Grant application - Phase 4; Complete planting of wildlife corridor trees and create wildflower meadows around butterfly banks / tree compounds that have been built over the last few years. Main target creature to help on the site this year is the Northern Brown Argus Butterfly.
2026-2027; Phase 5; look back and review whats working or not. Plant fruit bushes and trees around paths on the farm.
2027-2028; Phase 6; Finish tweaking site so that it is all as I had dreamed off achieving in this short time period.
Spring is coming;
Pictures below are of frogs moving from wetland ponds and scrapes to find partners, a great sound when they are all croaking away as your sitting there listening to them with the Skylark singing its heart out above you out of site and the warm sunrays encouraging spring flowers on the side of the burns.
Meadow Creation; 2025.
Between the mosaic of tree planting we are keeping the meadow habitats, these will be left alone to encourage voles and mice, which will in turn encourage kestrels and Barn / Tawny Owls along with other raptors such as Sparrow Hawks, Common Buzzard and Hen Harriers. This young barn owl picture below was taken (2000) when one of the young was seen testing his flying for the first time, he survived along with another from that same brood. Leaving the meadows uncut has most certainly increased the populations of finches that we now see flitting around on the seed heads.
This year (2025) we will be trying to develop more wild meadow planting, like the picture below left with Harebells and white native Yarrow. The second picture is of our old woodland that has been untouched for a good 40 years, a stunning display of native Bluebells. We hope to start coppicing the hazel again and creating gaps in the canopy for glades to get light in to encourage butterflies etc, while also using the wood we cut down for firewood in the house and on fire pits for clients of The Bunkhouse, as well as a few heaps to rot down for the bugs and fungi.
Leaky Dams and wetland creation / enhancement; Mostly completed by Spring 2025, now just small tweaks required yearly.
We have established a few leaky dams on the burns as the 1st picture below shows the team at work back in 2023. This was done in conjunction with Mossy Earth and River Revivers, these first ones were washed away with the excessively heavy rainfall we had here in Oct 23. A bit of redesigning was required, but we built them again in June 24, but better of course. The middle picture did have two dams in it.
The picture on the right below is of the burn that we have left to its own devices. We have left fallen trees in it and its looking great by creating varied habitats down its course. Better than the straight fast flow as pictured in the centre. Shingle banks and pools of slower moving water, so happy.
The leaky dam project is working great for crating a wider wetland around the burn as the second row of picture below show.
Second row of pictures- first two pictures show the dam pushing water onto surrounding ground to create a small wetland habitat, with the third picture showing how the flow has been slowed down by the 2 leaky dams pictured.
The third row of pictures are of the new ponds created in Spring 2025 with the aid of the NRF grant. Cant wait to see the vegetation and wildlife use them.
