Conservation

Cottenham used to be known for it's herb rich pastures, these were used to graze cows from which the famous Cottenham cheese was made. The Fen Edge landscape at that time was one of small fields bounded by ditches and hedges. Myriad wildlife were nurtured by the diversity of plants, grasses, wild flowers and insects. Sadly with the advent of industrial farming many hedges were pulled out and ditches filled in.

We aim to turn back the clock whilst still keeping the farm productive. We believe that we are only stewards of the land and it is our duty to protect it for future generations.

Over the next two years we shall be planting nearly 3Km of new native species hedgerow. When established the hedges will be maintained in a wildlife friendly manner by only cutting every three years at a time of the year when birds are not nesting. The hedges will be interspersed with hedgerow trees of various varieties.

These hedges will re-create the original field boundaries that existed before the 1960's when they where grubbed up. Where there is now one field there will be five. As only one of our fields had a proper name, Peartree, we have named the re-created fields after trees. So we have Oak, Alder, Poplar, Rowan, Chestnut, Walnut, Ash and Peartree. According to an old farming neighbour Peartree once had a William Pear tree in one corner, we shall plant a new one.

All the field boundaries will have 6m margins of native grasses to encourage insects and provide sanctuary for small mammals. They also encourage the insect predators that help to keep our organic crops pest free.

We have also provided areas planted with Nectar and Pollen bearing grasses to provide food for insects. Other areas have been planted with wild bird seed mixtures.

We have re-profiled 50m of ditch, making the sides less steep to allow amphibians to emerge, the ditch will also have a sluice so that the water level can be raised in the spring and summer. A new farm pond has also been created.

Next winter we shall be planting 2.5 acres of new woodland, this will be in a single block and will be known as "Black Dog Wood". It will be planted with native broadleaf trees.

Cottenham was once famous for it's orchards but sadly few are left, many were grubbed up to be used as arable land and others have been built on. Orchards are great for bio-diversity so we have planted 1.25 acres of organic apple trees. The trees are widely spaced, as was once traditional, which allows hay to be made. When they are mature we will probably graze sheep amongst them.

We have our own "birder" Ray who visits weekly to record the species on the farm and we plan annual reviews to see what difference we are making. Already we are seeing more Grey partridge, Lapwings and Grey Hare on the farm. We also have barn owls who use the box we provided them in our large barn which has subsequently been named "Owl Barn". Recently three Short Eared Owls where seen hunting together, a rare sight indeed. For more on birds see our Bird page.

Organic farming not only protects and encourages wildlife it also conserves the soil on which we all depend. It is sobering to think that without the few centimetres of topsoil life on our planet would not exist, Soil erosion is particularly evident in the Fens where a combination of shrinkage, due to drainage, and loss by wind has seen many metres of the finest soils in the country lost of the last century. The grass/clover leys that are part of our crop rotation protect the soil and improve it's structure. Not using chemicals means that the number of worms increases and these improve the soil and are in themselves an indicator of it's health. It has also been shown that organically managed farmland sequesters more C02 that conventional land thus helping to reduce global warming.