Crucial habitats for birds and bees created at farm

Crucial habitats for birds and bees are being created at a dairy farm in the New Forest as hedgerows are restored and field borders rich with pollen and nectar are planted.

Parts of the Bisterne Estate near Ringwood are being transformed to become havens for wildlife, such as nesting birds, hedgehogs, butterflies and many other insects. Areas of the farm will also become wildlife corridors linking important habitats across fields and between woodlands, allowing bats to use them as road maps for navigation.

The project has been designed and delivered by the Better Boundaries Project, an innovative pilot run by the New Forest Land Advice Service with support from Natural England.

In the past few months, over 3,000 metres of hedgerows of hawthorn, blackthorn and other boundary features have been restored and created, native trees such as oak have been planted along field borders to replace non-native conifer, whilst a hectare of land is being transformed into a small copse of oak, maple and hazel trees with a natural pond.

Crucially, pollen and nectar seed have also been planted to try to reverse the loss of wildflower-rich field edges which scientists believe is one of the causes of the decline of bee populations in the UK.

According to the recent State of Nature report compiled by 25 wildlife organisations across the UK, the number and diversity of bumblebees increases rapidly when wildflower, nectar and pollen mixes are provided. The decline of wild plants on farmland is having a knock on effect on insect pollinators which may have far reaching consequences for farming, people and other wildlife.

Environmental Land Management consultant Jane Nordstrom, who has worked with the Bisterne Estate for many years, worked closely with staff and contractors at Bisterne Farms to deliver the project on the ground. Much of the estate is in Higher Level Stewardship, but there were some important features still to bridge with additional work.

Julie Stubbs, manager of the New Forest Land Advice Service, said: ‘Habitat loss has been one of the key factors in the decline of so many species of wildlife. What this project shows is that agriculture and managing the environment for wildlife can work side by side to try and reverse that decline.

‘Over the coming years we plan to monitor the hedgerows and areas enhanced by the project and compare them to other parts of the farm to see what difference it has made to wildlife. We are keen to expand the project to other interested farms and estates.’

Hallam Mills, owner of the Bisterne Estate, said: ‘We have 4,000 acres of land, about half of which is in the New Forest National Park. This project was unique on the farm, as it brought together the dairy, arable, conservation and sporting enterprises to support the same aim - improving the habitat for wildlife. Thanks to the great help and proactive work of the New Forest Land Advice Service, farm staff and Jane Nordstrom, the project was delivered on time to excellent standards. The brand new copse and restored hedges already looks very natural on the site. I will be fascinated to monitor progress and to see how the project helps improve the habitat for wildlife. I am sure it will be a great success’

Members of the public can see some of the project work done so far at Bisterne Farms when it open its doors on 9 June as part of Open Farm Sunday.