Speaker: Joe Hampson
Joe Hampson, Re-Wilding Officer for the Somerset Wildlife Trust, enthusiastically engaged the small, but interested audience in BRISLI as to how he and his colleagues plan to re-wild the 81-hectare Honeygar Farm, on the Somerset Levels. They are employing a hands-off approach allowing nature to take the lead.
He described the three key points of their task:
1. Nature Recovery Network
2. Protecting Carbon Stores
3. Flagship site/catalyst for change
With the ‘Nature Recovery Network’ the main aim is to improve the already high quality habitat of the Avalon Marshes. 2030 is the target for having 30% of the land managed positively for nature.
To take forward the aim of ‘Protecting Carbon Stores’ the plan is to reduce the cattle from 120 to 40. Belted Galloway and Long and Short Horn Cows will be more at home on the wetter fields. The key is to have more than one kind of animal. They are looking into the possibility of Exmoor ponies and goats. The variety of dung provided will benefit the insect population. Another result will be more sedges, rushes and orchids. Different grazing habits will keep the land in better shape.
With deep drainage a lot more carbon dioxide is released. The main task is to retain more water. The site is blessed with two to four metres of peat. Hydrological interventions will hopefully raise the water levels to around 10cm below the ground.
Joe talked about using box plots annually to gather information and monitor the changes their management of the land have brought about.
The box plots are most useful when it comes to ‘Flagship site/catalyst for change’. We were given a long list of aims, measuring carbon dioxide and methane; water table depths; peat levels; the weather; the numbers of bees, dragonflies, birds, mammals as well as botanical, fungi, and water quality surveys. This is an ambitious task ahead of Joe, his colleagues and volunteers the project has inspired.
Since the Somerset Wildlife Trust has been managing the farm, mammals like Otters, Stoats, Water Voles and Weasels have been recorded along with some notable avian visitors such as Cetti’s Warbler, Cuckoo, Lapwing, a Night Heron and Snipe. So far no waders have been recorded but surely it is only a matter of time.
The farm has been a magnet for students from a variety of universities. This is something that Joe and his colleagues want to encourage and they hope to see the numbers grow.
The team at Honeygar are very passionate about spreading the word concerning baseline greenhouse emissions and why restoring agricultural peatlands really matters. They are keen to engage and work with others, smaller communities as well as the big land owners in Somerset.
The Society’s President, Lucy Starling, suggested a visit to Honeygar Farm was a strong possibility.
The farm is located within the Avalon Marshes Centre Complex at Shapwick Rd., Westhay, Somerset
BA6 9TT
Andrew Harrison
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