In the restored orchard, a stonechat was spotted by our friends at Wild Goose Rural Training when they were planting fruit trees in January. The beautiful adult male was taking advantage of the long grasses which hadn’t been cut for hay for the first time in a long while. Stonechats tend to be winter visitors to Worcestershire, but this is a new species record for Monkwood & Green Farm. Long grass is a great place for birds like stonechats to hunt for insects which use the protection of tussocky grasses to hunker down for the winter. By simply stopping any management of this field for two years, it's allowed 3 acres of new habitat to develop. We will graze the orchard in the autumn going forwards but there will always be areas of long grass here and across the site for our winter visitors. 

Up at the highest point on the nature reserve, kestrels now hunt over the grassland that’s transforming into scrubby wood pasture. We‘ve created 13 acres of new wood pasture overall, and whilst a third of this will be grazed during the winter months, the rest will be left as long grass and scrubby thickets. We will step in with grazing or our volunteer teams if the scrub needs knocking back a bit, but largely leave it alone and see what happens. I’m hoping that this will mimic its natural state and bring lots of new opportunities for birds, insects and small mammals. The fact that we now see kestrels hovering overhead indicates that the grass is already forming tussocks, a great habitat for field voles which form a big part of a kestrel’s diet.

This change is probably due to a combination of things linked to a more relaxed style of management. The hedge is a lot denser since it’s been laid, so it offers more protection to nesting birds. As we don’t cut the base of the hedge any more, blackthorn suckers and long grass have sprung up, ideal for species like chiffchaffs which nest surprisingly low to the ground. 

The brilliant thing is that none of the changes in the way we manage Green Farm have needed fancy equipment or expert knowledge, and they’re not new ideas either. Leaving long grasses and wild corners, encouraging scrubby thickets and laying hedges is something that we’ve been doing for hundreds of years. It’s common sense rather than innovative thinking and you can do it too. Even a tiny wild corner of your garden can be so much better for wildlife than planted borders or mown grass, and don’t worry about what your neighbours might think! You will be doing something wonderful and in turn, you’ll feel more connected to the natural world too.

My takeaway message from Green Farm is one of hope. From local contractors and our conservation trainees, to our dedicated volunteers and local school children, seeing what we can achieve together for wildlife has been truly inspiring. We are ordinary people with a simple desire to see a better world. 

Working with over 250 different people over the lifetime of the project has reminded me how decent humankind can be. Every single person has been positive, friendly and motivated to just make a difference, whether that’s been planting a tree, doing a survey or just connecting to nature. And to be able to record the changes in wildlife abundance because of our actions has been so wonderful. 

As we’ve said all along, this is just the beginning and it will take time for a buzzing, biodiverse landscape to emerge. But what a start we’ve made together. I hope you’ve enjoyed being part of the journey too through these blogs. Look out for more updates in the future!