At Weston Park Farms we take our responsibility to wildlife and the environment seriously. We aim to maintain a sustainable food production system whilst at the same time providing food and habitat for all manner of flora and fauna. As part of this commitment we are signed up to the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. In part, this involves removing land from crop production and instead using it for environmental benefit. Some of the ways we do this include:

​

• 6 metre grass field margins. These provide safe haven for insects which in turn are food for small birds and mammals. They also provide corridors for many species to travel between habitats.

​

• Flower rich margins. You may spot these around the farm along field edges. They are there to provide a pollen and nectar rich environment in which bees and other pollinators can flourish. They also provide foraging areas for farmland birds such as yellowhammer.

​

• Winter bird food margins. These are planted with plant species such as barley and millet to provide food for farmland birds such as grey partridge and corn bunting through the winter – bridging ‘the hungry gap’.

​

• Overwintered cover crops. Following harvest, we will plant much of the farm with a cover crop which soaks up leachable nutrients from the soil so preventing them from entering water courses during prolonged wet weather. Cover crops also help to keep alive the soil biology such as bacteria and fungi, when no cash crop is being grown.

 

We politely request that walkers and horse riders do not access these areas. Please instead keep to the signed public rights of way.