As you may know, we have a small farm of just under 40 acres which we aim to manage with conservation in mind.
Since we arrived in 2021 we have created ponds for Great Crested Newts, new small woodlands and herbal leys on all of our fields. We have encouraged our enormous burgeoning hedgerows by reducing the trimming to once every three years, and are trying to improve a somewhat recalcitrant (but getting there) wildflower meadow.
We also installed a barn owl box and various other bird boxes (we have a barn owl who hunts over our land but he has not yet taken up residence). We grow a small batch of basketry willow each year for my craft courses; and in winter the old bomb craters in our fields fill up to make winter splashes. And despite all of the additions, the farm remains productive, hosting a local grazier to bring his cows to us every spring, summer and autumn (winter is too muddy).
My husband is a keen birdwatcher and in the last two years, as our conservation measures have taken hold, he has recorded over 85 species of birds, including residential and migratory. Regular visitors include red kites, owls and this year we had the excitement of wild quail. We now have a local BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) volunteer who comes to record our wild birds on a regular basis.
We also frequently find new visitors of the insect variety (such as this enormous puss moth caterpillar found when I was trimming my willow harlequin tree – don’t worry, he was put back!). And we have been delighted to see a hare in our fields on a regular basis.
So, we were thrilled and delighted to be nominated for the Cheshire County Farms Competition 2025, and to come Third in The Farmed Environment category! Whoop!!
On a more crafty level, I entered the Bunbury Gardening Club annual show with a small basket made from blackberry brambles and sedge flowers – all foraged from our farm. It was very exciting to win First Prize in the category of Crafts made from Natural Materials!
In 2026 we will be welcoming various groups for farm walks, and of course you can enjoy making the most of our various natural harvest on the willow weaving and wild weaving workshops. Hope to see you soon!
sargiesmess.co.uk 
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