Ecology

What could the new JCB Academy, a school for young engineers in Staffordshire, possibly have in common with biodiversity? Why, a wild flower meadow of course.  Not many moons ago,  JCB commissioned

Read more

Naturally occurring Wild Flower Meadows are one of the most beautiful sights in the countryside although sadly they don’t occur as often as they used to.  Travelling through the Highlands of Scotland, Yorkshire or Wiltshire for example will reward…

Read more

Ponds are beautiful, whatever their size, but creating a wildlife natural looking pond can be a challenge especially if you dream of having wild flowers cascading down the banks to the water’s edge.
A tried and tested solution is one…

Read more

Just out taking some photo’s of our wildflower turf and spotted a Ringlet butterfly (Aphantopus hyperantus). Their ecology suggests that they can be found in open fields, rides (grassy tracks), and glades within woodland. Although it was quite an…

Read more

James was out taking pictures today of our wild Flower Roof Turf for a customer and spotted this beautiful Ringlet Butterfly.
We checked it out on the Butterfly Conservation Website just to make sure of what…

Read more

We were full of anticipation the other day when the Hawk Conservancy arrived to check out the nest boxes on the farm.  You will remember last year we were able to proudly announce, like all surrogate parents, the successful…

Read more

Last time we talked about how thrilled we were to have Mason Bees here in the courtyard at Ashe Warren.  We were especially pleased to see that they were very attracted to the

Read more

We were really pleased when we discovered we had Red Mason Bees (Osmia rufa) nesting in the wall of  our office, which is an old converted farm building.  These bees are smaller than honey bees…

Read more

The number of honeybees in the UK has halved in the last 25 years, and three-quarters of butterfly species and two-thirds of moths have seen population declines since the 1970s.  How can we halt the decline in our nectar…

Read more

The last entry in our “Advantages of a Wildflower Meadow” series focuses on birds & mammals.  From small seed loving birds such as Yellowhammers to glorious and spectacular Red Kites not forgetting field mice, voles and more importantly humans.
We’re…

Read more