Enriching our landscape - an Essex success story
important because an estimated 75% loss of ponds occurred during the 20 century and around 1 %
is still being lost per year due to drainage, infilling or incorrect management (Williams, Biggs,
Whitfield, Thorne, Bryant, Fox & Nicolet 1999). In addition, the two ponds were restored after
many years of neglect to improve important habitat for Great Crested Newts. Great Crested Newts
are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and arc a national and local BAP species.
Field margins are either 2 or 6 metre strips of uncultivated land adjacent to the field boundary and
they offer an important refuge for wildlife in an otherwise barren arable landscape. Throughout the
farm many field margins have been created providing an important wildlife corridor for birds,
mammals and invertebrates. The farm is one of 12 national sites being used by the Farmed
Environment Company. The field margins on Wick field contain six different plots, normal
cultivations, no spray, natural regeneration, tussocky grass, legumes and a grass and wildflower
mix. The research, carried out by the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology, will last for three years to
determine the best way to farm field margins for wildlife.
In very large fields where the centre of the field is over 200m from the edge, 'beetle banks' have
been created to provide a mid-field refuge for predatory insects and a habitat for other wildl ife. As
many fields have good boundaries just one ridge in the centre of two fields have been created. In
a few years it is hoped that the amount of insecticides that arc used decreases.
Under the Essex Coast Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme, Essex Wildlife Trust created 34 ha
of coastal grassland. 17 ha are let to a neighbouring grazier and 17 ha are managed in-house. The
combined management results in a diverse sward benefiting both breeding birds and over-wintering
wildfowl. In addition, the Trust is conducting an experiment with Sea Hog's-fennel, a rare coastal
plant occurring in only three isolated populations in the UK the largest being the Essex Wildlife
Trust reserve at Skippers Island. Seed has germinated in 2,500 pots and these will eventually be
transplanted on to the marsh. Sea Hog's-fennel is the sole food plant of the Fisher's Estuarine
Moth, an endangered species due to rising sea levels. Both Sea Hog's-fennel and Fisher's Estuarine
Moth are Biodiversity Action Plan species in Essex.
Organic farming in Britain has grown since the mid-1980s from 6000 hectares in 1985 to 500,000
hectares in 2000. Nevertheless, demand for organic food products in Britain outstrips local supply;
70% of organic food consumed in Britain is imported (Brereton 2004). In 2003 the Trust agreed to
convert 14 hectares of arable fields to organic production at Abbotts Hall Farm, to assess the
environmental impacts of organic over conventional fanning. For the first two years clover is
grown which will build soil fertility, followed by wheat, beans (for soil fertility) and then wheat
again.
During 2001 and 2002 the Trust farmed Abbotts Hall Farm in a modern traditional way to understand
how conventional farming worked and to gather baseline data. In 2003/2004 the Trust began to
diversify the crops. This included introducing spring crops to provide winter stubble, which is an
important food source for seed-eating birds which can continue to find spilt grain and weed seeds
throughout the winter.
Probably the best farms for birds are those with hedgerows, hedgerow trees, grass margins or
headlands as well as streams, ponds or ditches with cover. Farmlands with only grassy field
boundaries or with hedges cut down to below three feet high will support only a few species such
as Skylark and Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa. If some tree species were allowed to develop
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