Neil & Leigh Heseltine, Hill Top Farm 3/3
How do you monitor it?
One of our regrets is that we didn’t start monitoring biodiversity and the changes even sooner, either with pictures or more formally. We work with the National Park, The National Trust land and Higher Level Stewardship to monitor the changes. We have figures from 2006 and 2007 but they’re probably not detailed enough. My advice would be to try to monitor more, even photos are a good way to monitor what’s happening and changing. I can also tell you what I see anecdotally and in some areas we’ve had botanists looking out for certain species.
View over Hill Top Farm (Gail Caddy)
What lessons have you learnt and would like to share with others?
One regret is that we didn’t do it sooner! In the agricultural community, I think there is a bit of ‘either farm in the conventional way or get out!’. I firmly believe there is a way that is a middle ground, somewhere in the middle of two extremes and the middle ground can deliver for nature, climate, farming and food production, and is a healthier product for humans to eat.
This is the middle ground, it’s right environmentally, economically and socially, delivering from all three perspectives.
Bird's-eye primrose at Hill Top Farm (Tom Aspinall)
Species examples at Hill Top Farm:
Common Twayblade Orchid, early marsh and other marsh Orchids, fragrant Orchid, bird's eye primrose, butterwort, spearwort, marsh-arrow grass. A whole host of sedges including carnation, glaucous, tawny, flea, star, dioecious, yellow as well as saw-wort, horseshoe vetch, Northern bedstraw, yellow rattle, common cottongrass, lousewort and marsh valerian. Loads of other plant species, too many to mention here.
