Return
Return
Richard has farmed his beef and dairy herd for 15 years on a mixture of traditional pasture and woodland, adjoining Semington Brook and the River Avon in Wiltshire. He has always had a keen interest in creating a more sustainable farming system and has planted over 30,000 trees and hedge plants on his 70-acre farm, to create a hedged pasture system that he uses for rotational grazing.
As part of Richard’s approach to farming alongside nature, he wanted to return a part of the Semington Brook that had been straightened back to its natural state – a wild water space.
The two acres of land was heavy clay and very wet, so it lent itself to a wetland.
EnTrade facilitated the sale of Biodiversity Units generated by nature-based projects that Richard worked with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust to design. Richard was paid by EnTrade to create new biodiverse habitats on his land.
He offered this project to EnTrade’s Bristol Avon Catchment Market (BACM), and EnTrade facilitated the quantification of the Biodiversity Units and matching to organisations seeking to buy them. He then received payments to create the wetlands, scrub, wildflower-rich grassland, and plant hedgerows on his land. Richard also received a bonus as his project offer contributed to a financial surplus*.
Richard said: ‘We needed a helping hand – people who could do the mapping, ecology and joining up the dots, then the whole market piece. We couldn’t have done it without them and they couldn’t have done it without us. Put the two together and it has worked really smoothly.’
The new habitats were created by digging three ponds and using the spoil to create a more varied landscape by building bunds. Seed was sown to establish the grassland and trees and shrubs planted to create areas of scrub and hedgerows. These new habitats will benefit birds, bats, small mammals and insects by providing food and shelter.
Putting this marginal piece of land into a nature-based project has created an impressive positive benefit for local wildlife and biodiversity. It is hoped that in the long-term it will contribute to a wider wetland habitat. With a variety of native scrub and tree species being planted there is the possibility of supporting local beaver populations and contributing to a valuable ecosystem. And the farm business has a new guaranteed income stream. Richard has received the payments needed to establish the project and will continue to receive annual payments for the costs to maintain the habitats. All the maintenance activities Richard needs are included in a clear and easy to follow management plan devised by EnTrade and BACM ecologists.
Richard received support to develop the project over six months and it was delivered within 12 months. It will take up to 15 years to mature and develop into a mosaic of scrub, wildflower rich grassland and wetlands teeming with insects, birds, amphibians and other wildlife, but it will be regularly monitored to measure the benefits for wildlife. The monitoring costs are included in the price buyers pay for the Biodiversity Units. EnTrade holds the Compliance and Monitoring funds for local ecologists to carry out monitoring and make sure the project delivers for nature.
Richard said: "I completely recommend EnTrade - their competence, understanding and enthusiasm from the team. When you put those things together, it works."
*The surplus is the monetary difference between the amount buyers are willing to pay (Bids) and the amount suppliers are willing to accept (Offers), after market fees and costs have been deducted.
