Historic Maple Cross farm receives £40,000 to restore nature

Woodoaks Farm in Maple Cross has received two grants of £20,000 from Grundon Waste Management to help with the movement that aims to bring “nature back” and make “farming open and accessible to all”.

Specifically, these funds will help pay for new oak doors for the farm’s 16th century threshing barn and has helped install 750 metres of double fencing to protect newly-planted hedgerows.

Other works are taking place to restore wildlife habitats including land regeneration, wildflower meadows and pond restoration.

At the barn, left to right: Debbie Valman, Rose Lewis and Kirsti Santer. Woodoaks Farm (Image: Woodoaks Farm)

Previously owned by the Findlay family since the 1920s, in November 2020, the farm was donated to the Soil Association Land Trust, which is directing the initiative.

Rose Lewis, the Soil Association’s programme manager for Woodoaks, says restoring the hedgerows provides critical wildlife corridors and habitats for a host of animals, birds and insects - as well as increased water retention and improved drainage.

The farm featured on BBC One's Countryfile in 2021. BBC (Image: BBC)

She said: “Agriculture is responsible for a high amount of carbon emissions impacting on climate change, together with a massive decline in wildlife due to intensive farming, ripping out hedgerows, and the use of chemicals.

“Our goal is to regenerate the farm by bringing nature back and making farming open and accessible to all. We have already gone from growing three crops to over 30 different types, and our new hedgerows have 10 different species of plants, providing important pollination and food sources from the first flowers in spring, through to autumn berries.

“Grundon’s support for the fencing project has been critical to the success of these new hedges. Providing barriers from rabbits and deer is essential to enable the growth of the young plants and we are very grateful for their help for both this and the barn restoration project.”

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Over 100 volunteers from the local community joined forces to plant the 750m hedgerows over a series of five volunteer days.

Kirsti Santer, Grundon’s marketing manager, said: “Visiting Woodoaks Farm really brought home to us the amazing things that are happening there.

“The hedges are already taking shape and are such a tangible example of nature in action, we were very pleased to have contributed in our own small way to helping restore the countryside and build a more sustainable future.”

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