Wildlife comes first with living landscapes policy

In France the farmers bring tractors to the Champs Elysées in Paris so everyone is aware of how they farm. Last weekend Oxford was full of farmers attending either the Oxford Real Farming Conference, or the Oxford Farming Conference, but there were no French-style demos.

At BBOWT we have developed profitable ways of farming our land for wildlife and encouraging neighbouring landowners to do the same through Living Landscapes. This means restoring wildlife habitats beyond the boundaries of nature reserves, and encouraging landowners to create ecological networks to support wildlife.

The Upper Thames Living Landscape, 23km2 of riverside meadows, ditches and riverbanks, is centred on the BBOWT nature reserve at Chimney Meadows. Here BBOWT has transformed 70ha of arable fields into flower-rich grassland, which is now yielding valuable crops of hay for the high-value equestrian market, and income that covers our costs.

Alongside this economic success are the benefits for wildlife. Shallow scrapes mimic the broad furrows of traditional meadows to provide feeding areas for wading birds such as curlew, snipe and lapwing. BBOWT’s own Dexter cattle and Hebridean sheep, and a local grazier’s Sussex cattle are grazing on Chimney Meadows and the adjacent National Nature Reserve. This grazing regime through the winter helps to manage the grassland, and creates better conditions for wild flowers. Old hedgerows have been re-laid and now benefit farmland birds such as yellowhammer and corn bunting, and the undergrowth gives shelter and food for small mammals such as field voles and shrews. These in turn provide food for the barn owls that nest in the boxes we have put up in nearby trees.

With support from funders including WREN, a not-for-profit business that awards grants generated by landfill tax through sites owned by FCC Environment, and colleagues at the Environment Agency, BBOWT is tackling the issue of diffuse pollution from phosphates and sediments. We have demonstrated how pasture pumps work; these are sustainable water supplies for cattle to drink from so they avoid trampling the river banks and polluting the River Thames. Keeping the nature reserve’s water courses well managed has helped other charismatic animals like water voles and otters. Chimney Meadows nature reserve is part of the national Coronation Meadows network, which means that green hay from the wildflower-rich meadows is used to create new wildflower areas on neighbouring ’ land. This will increase the potential for improved biodiversity over a wider area in west Oxfordshire.

Now that BBOWT has established a successful farming for wildlife project at Chimney Meadows, we are turning our attention to the Upper River Ray floodplain east of Oxford. Here on 42km2 of meadows east of Bicester another Living Landscape area has just been enlarged by the acquisition of Meadow Farm, near Blackthorn.

Last year BBOWT appealed for donations to help purchase this 28ha site of five beautiful and floristically diverse meadows that have never been ploughed in modern times.

More recently a local farmer has been taking a hay cut in July and then grazed cattle on the aftermath. This traditional way of managing pasture has allowed the site to retain its beauty, which the Heritage Lottery Fund recently referred to as ‘an oasis of biodiversity’.

Last month BBOWT received a grant of £758,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help buy the land and set up a three-year programme of projects engaging community groups and schoolchildren in activities on Meadow Farm, as well as inviting local farmers to see how they could benefit from being part of the Living Landscape. This time next year perhaps the rival farming conferences in Oxford could bring pasture, cattle and sheep to Oxford’s High Street? BBOWT has livestock they could borrow and beautiful sites to showcase farming for wildlife.

Visit www.bbowt.org.uk/what-we-do/living-landscapes