When branches and woody prunings accumulate, they are often burned, chipped or removed. However, there is another option that keeps the material on site while creating valuable structure for wildlife. In this article, I explain how to build a living dead hedge using coppiced willow stakes, branches and brash. A conventional dead hedge consists of
Last year, I began growing Devil’s-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis) after purchasing 25 small plug plants from Cumbria Wildflowers. They arrived with only a modest amount of growth above the compost, but represented the beginning of a much bigger ambition: to propagate this valuable native wildflower and establish it on suitable land grazed by our Highland
Growing Devil’s-bit Scabious for Marsh Fritillaries Read More »
When we begin managing a piece of land here in Cumbria, carrying out a baseline species survey is one of the first ways we seek to understand what is already there. Before judging whether grazing or other habitat work has benefited wildlife, we need a starting point: a record of the species using the site
This week, I received 25 Devil’s-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis) plug plants from Cumbria Wildflowers. These small, hardy wildflowers hold the key to one of the most hopeful and beautiful rewilding stories in northern England: the return of the marsh fritillary butterfly (Euphydryas aurinia). I’ve potted the plugs up to grow them on with the aim
Every hoof-step, every pause, every shift in the herd leaves a trace — not just on the surface, but deep in the soil. Regenerative grazing is the quiet art of working with those traces, letting cattle shape the land gently, naturally, and in rhythm with the seasons. For us, this is a new journey —