Phase two will be all about water and wetland habitats; quite different to the woodlands, orchards and wood pasture that we’ve focused on recently but just as essential to a healthy, biodiverse landscape. We can see from LiDAR images taken from a drone that Green Farm slopes gently downhill towards Monkwood, which means that the lowest points in the landscape where water might gather tend to be on the eastern side of the reserve. Here lie a few ponds that hold water for most of the year. We know from spring surveys that pairs of smooth newts, great crested newts, frogs and toads already make their homes here. Common darter dragonflies fight for territory as late as November in a mild autumn and, occasionally, a grey heron can be spotted keeping watch.

With a little bit of digger work, these ponds could be given shallow, sloping side and shelves to add different depths and wetland margins. We could introduce native aquatic plants, such as marsh marigold, water violet and bogbean, to entice damselflies, whirligig beetles and water boatmen. This would help to transform these ponds into real wildlife hotspots.

In the two southern fields at Green Farm, there are large areas of soft rush that naturally indicate wet ground. In these areas, it would be really interesting to explore a wetland mosaic of damp grassland and seasonal scrapes. I don’t think the fields are large enough to hold breeding pairs of waders like curlew and lapwing (although I’d love to be proven wrong) but snipe in the winter and the odd greenshank would be very nice. It’s all about trying to squeeze in as many opportunities for different wildlife in 60 acres. Habitats like seasonal pools don’t exist at Green Farm unless the soil is saturated so by simply creating them, Green Farm suddenly becomes available to species that are looking for that particular habitat.

Will there be a phase three I hear you ask? Probably! Phase three would look at meadow restoration to transfer plant seeds from the richest meadows at Green Farm to the poorest. These seeds may spread on their own in time but by giving them a helping hand, we’d hope to restore species-rich hay meadows across the reserve far quicker. This could be as simple as walking through a meadow when the seeds have set and shaking out your socks in the recipient meadow! Seeds that have brushed off will then be scattered wherever you’re standing and may establish from there. But for a really decent chance of success, we’d probably use a seed harvester to collect the seed and a harrow to lightly scuff the ground so that the new seeds fall directly onto the soil.

Giving nature a gentle nudge whilst letting go of the reins has always been our aim at Green Farm. It will be fascinating to see where this will lead and I’m looking forward to continuing the journey!