Environmental preservation and enhancement is a priority within the business and is being achieved through a number of methods. In 2006 we entered a 5 year program at Hyde Farm and Temple Farm under the Entry Level Scheme (ELS) administered by the England Rural Development Program (ERDP) - a subsidiary arm of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The ELS incentivises the adoption of various environmental measures so we have implemented a broad range of options which will compliment the farm's natural features and increase the biodiversity. These include the following:

  • Enhanced hedge management
  • Creation of protected habitats under trees within arable fields
  • Creation of buffer strips alongside water courses
  • Introduction of uncropped naturally regenerating areas
  • Introduction of small plots of rare grassland species
  • Rotational provision of Skylark plots in cereal fields
  • Management plans enhancing best practice in term of soil and crop protection issues
  • Creation of areas sown with specific grass and wild flower mixes to provide high levels of pollen and nectar for insects

 


Elsewhere on the farms:

2006 Saw us plant a significant amount of new hedge plants and sow a new wild flower area at Hyde Farm.

2007 Sees us currently undertaking a major enhancement project on our stretch of Bisham Brook which is a small stream eminating from the River Thames between Hurley and Temple, and rejoining the main river near Quarry Wood where the flow heads on towards Bourne End. Since the Environment Agency stopped their regular maintenance programs of small waterways such as this, the health of the stream has deteriorated as water flow has slowed dramatically. Whilst the stream is still home to numerous families of swans, and ducks and it is not unusual to spot herons, we are clearing the overgrown scrub and dredging the silt deposits in order to reinstate the stream as a healthy biodiversity rich habitat. We expect to see a dramatic rise in fish populations and hopefully a return of the Kingfisher.

We also aim to enter another ELS agreement on our rented land areas which will extend many of the options outlined in our original ELS agreement outlined above.