1 November 2021
Did you know that Bumblebee Conservation Trust are proud members of the Farm Wildlife partnership? Bex Cartwright, Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Kathryn Smith, RSPB Agricultural Advice Project Manager explain more.
Farm Wildlife is a partnership of conservation and farming organisations who have come together to develop, promote and demonstrate a shared approach to conservation on farmland. By being more joined up, we are able to provide a more consistent message to farmers, their advisors and other land managers about the important things to consider when it comes to general farmland management and conservation.
The Farm Wildlife approach to farmland advice is underpinned by six key actions. Developed by the Farm Wildlife partnership as a simple recipe for wildlife conservation, Farm Wildlife is a resource for everyone working in this area of conservation.
These six key actions include the sensitive and appropriate management or establishment of:
- Existing habitats – which are often the most diverse and hardest to recreate
- Boundaries – such as hedges, ditches and dry stone walls
- Wet features – including ponds, streams and scrapes
- Flower-rich habitats – including meadows, wildflower margins and pasture
- Seed-rich habitats – such as overwinter stubbles, wholecrop silage and wild bird cover crops
- Habitats and management practices within the farmed area, including beetle banks, livestock choices and the management of pests.
When delivered together across the whole farm, the benefits for wildlife can be substantial. The approach is demonstrated across a number of farms already, including RSPB’s Hope Farm in Cambridgeshire and is also woven through the new Fair to Nature standard. The Nature Friendly Farming Network are also encouraging their members to embed the approach on their own farms.
The Farm Wildlife approach is also being built into a new project that links volunteers with farmers to survey farmland biodiversity. Keep an eye on the Trust events page in the new year for Bumblebee Conservation Trust survey training events in the South West and Eastern England in spring 2022 if you are interested in volunteering on this exciting project.
Not all farms will be able to deliver all six key actions from the outset. But a clear set of guiding principles to explain the whys and the hows should explain how farms can be improved for wildlife over time. It’s also important to note that we would always encourage farmers with rare or specialist species to seek out the appropriate advice from the relevant organisation.
Farm Wildlife is a tool that farmers and landowners can utilise, wherever you are in the UK. The website contains lots of resources to support the delivery of each key action, including technical advice and a range of case studies demonstrating the delivery of these approaches around the UK. Over the next few months the Farm Wildlife partnership are developing new sections of the website so please keep a look out for updates.
You can read a case study here on the Farm Wildlife website about Trust’s work with Calon Wen farms as part of the Pasture for Pollinators project and how the six key actions have been implemented Case Study – Dairy Farm Creating a Buzz.
