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The Countryside Restoration TrustLiving Countryside
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A Trust success story - 10 years of '98 Land

Ten years ago, 142 acres of land adjoining the CRT's existing land at Barton came on the market. For 20 years it had been a bleak landscape of monoculture – intensively-cultivated winter wheat, with only a ditch or two to break up the 'prairie'. This was just what we wanted to demonstrate our ideas! The CRT was able to buy it with the aid of a National Heritage Memorial Fund grant.
Now known as the '98 land, it has become part of Lark Rise Farm and is a demonstration site for wildlife-friendly farm management. What has happened in 10 years is remarkable. The landscape had been transformed and Government Wildlife Target species flourish. The CRT's stand for wildlife-friendly farming has been vindicated.

From a cereal monoculture, the '98 Land has become a patchwork of crops with 1½ miles of new hedgerows, 3 miles of grass field margins and beetle banks across the fields to encourage wildlife.  
From the first year key groups of birds, mammals, butterflies and plants have been monitored. Standard methods are used so Lark Rise can be compared with national wildlife surveys. Year by year monitoring has shown an increase in the resident species and appearance of new species.

A simple assessment of 10 years' achievement

Lark rise before
Lark Rise before the transformation

۰ Farmland birds that are decreasing elsewhere have increased dramatically (see table below).
۰ Barn owls have reappeared to breed after an absence of 40 years.
۰ Mammals range from the badger to the rare harvest mouse.
۰ Brown hares are back to 1950s numbers.
۰ Butterfly species have increased from 14 to 22, and include the rare white-letter hairstreak.
۰ Over 250 plant species recorded, including rare arable weeds which make the land ‘Nationally Important’ for plant conservation.

Lark rise after
Lark Rise after the transformation

Click here for a full presentation on our achievements at Lark Rise Farm. (10mb PowerPoint file)

Please help us continue our vital work as we lead the way in wildlife friendly, sustainable farming.

Click here for more information on Trust Properties.

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