Natural England

Natural England and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust are working with farmer Bill Reid to restore 30 hectares of semi-improved pasture into traditional wildflower rich hay meadows at Swillbrook Farm on the edge of the Cotswold Water Park in North Wiltshire. This project is taking place on land alongside the Swillbrook Lakes Nature Reserve - famous for its nightingales - and the existing hay meadow of Acres Farm Meadow SSSI, the intention being to form a contiguous high quality habitat that reflects the species in the existing hay meadow.

Isobel Whitwam, Natural England's Project Officer, commented; "Bill Reid has managed to retain a very good landscape of pastoral fields, big thick hedges and old and veteran trees on his land, and now, with funding and expertise from our Environmental Stewardship Scheme and the WWT's Landscapes for Wildlife Project, he will be able to transform his pastures into traditional lowland hay meadows full of wildflowers such as knapweed, birdsfoot trefoil, tormentil and devils bit scabious".

Work is already underway, with the first fields being over-sown with seed collected from nearby WWT grassland reserves. Other work includes restoring ditches for water vole, installing bird and bat boxes, constructing an otter holt on the Swillbrook, and restoring hedges.

ENDS

Notes for editors:

1. Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings.

2. Natural England took over responsibility for the delivery of Environmental Stewardship from the Rural Development Service on 1 October 2006.

3. Environmental Stewardship was launched on 3 March 2005. It is composed of three tiers:-

• Entry Level Stewardship (ELS), a whole farm scheme which aims to encourage farmers and land managers across England to deliver simple but effective environmental management;
• Organic Entry Level Stewardship (OELS), which is open to farmers who manage all or part of their land organically;
• Higher Level Stewardship (HLS), which, when combined with ELS or OELS options, aims to deliver significant environmental benefits in high priority areas.

4. Environmental Stewardship builds on the very best practice already evident in British farming. In particular, it takes forward Defra's two flagship agri-environment schemes, Environmentally Sensitive Areas and Countryside Stewardship. Primary objectives of the new scheme are to:

• Conserve wildlife (biodiversity).
• Maintain and enhance landscape quality and character.
• Protect the historic environment and natural resources.
• Promote public access and understanding of the countryside.
• Natural resource protection.