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species such as insects to thrive. Bees love clovers and many of the other legumes that are abundant in herbal leys. As pollinators they have one of the most important jobs on the farm in helping to develop and maintain healthy pastures – the healthier the pasture, the greater the range of insects it attracts. Insects in turn attract small mammals who subsequently attract a wide range of birds and so it goes on. It was clear to us that the Bee Steward programme and its benefi ts would be of great interest as we look to create greater biodiversity on the farms for the future. Soil health is also an area we are also keen
to develop. Herbal leys create complex root systems which help to support good bacteria in the soil and provide greater nutritional value for livestock in the pasture they eat. In addition, these root systems hold in water like a sponge, helping to prevent fl ooding and run off from the land.
BIODIVERSITY IN THE FARMING COMMUNITY It’s clear that biodiversity can have many additional benefi ts other than simply the wide range of species it supports. T e issue is that farms are businesses, and so need to ensure that they can recoup any investment in changes to their farming processes and dairy farmers need to know that making biodiversity changes won’t signifi cantly defl ate their future productivity. T rough a series of meetings, a team of
like-minded businesses were brought together. T ey are the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, the National Trust, Lanhydrock Estate, T e Duchy of Cornwall, Duchy Nurseries and Kelly’s Ice Cream. Working together we set
we can identify areas to develop herbal ley meadows and research their eff ects
in reversing the decline of bumblebees, whilst measuring their eff ect in
up T e Fowey Valley Bumble Bee Project to establish a corridor along the Fowey Valley in Cornwall. Using the Bee Steward technology, we can
identify areas to develop herbal ley meadows and research their eff ects in reversing the decline of bumblebees, whilst measuring their eff ect in creating better pastures for dairy cattle. T e project is up and running and has been fully funded for the next 5 years by the
creating better pastures for dairy cattle”
Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation. Our hope is that through the science of Bee
Steward and detailed fi eld research (literally!) of project managers from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, we hope to create the blue print for farmers all over country to create more biodiverse landscapes on their farms backed up by the confi dence of the results of this innovative 5 year research project. Wish us luck!”
FOODLOVERMAGAZINE.COM | 27 “Using the Bee Steward technology,
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