Environmental preservation and enhancement is being achieved through a number of methods. At its core we have had a succession of 5-year programmes, with our existing Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier scheme running from 2019-2023. It is administered by Natural England – a subsidiary arm of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The scheme incentivises the adoption of various environmental measures so we have implemented a range of options which will complement the farm’s natural features, build on previous schemes, and overall strive to increase biodiversity. These include the following:

• Creation of buffer strips alongside water courses to mitigate any pollution risk
• Creation of areas sown with seed producing species to feed wild birds seasonally
• Supplementary feeding of birds when natural supplies are scarce in late winter
• Areas sown with optimal grass and wildflower pollen & nectar sources for insects

Annual BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) Breeding Bird Surveys are professionally undertaken on our land and indicate good diversity, with several at risk species accounted for and subsequently monitored. We are also involved in the Bisham Barn Owl Group with 6 monitored boxes helping to provide successful nesting opportunities around the farm.

We also work closely with the South East Water catchment sensitive farming officer and their protocols to ensure we play our role in maintaining local water quality.

The electricity for the farmyards is provided by a 30KWp solar installation at each site.

We are pleased to be able to offer our land and accrued environmental land management knowledge to provide solutions for offsite biodiversity net gain requirements. Principally (but by no means exclusively) working in conjunction with local development in the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead (RBWM), we can work from our latest baseline ecology surveys to target, design, and create enduring biodiversity enhancements where they are not achievable within or adjacent to the development itself.