A Patchwork of Nature

Before 1987, Denmark Farm was intensively managed for livestock and so highly degraded for wildlife that RSPB Wales described it as “a very barren place … very low in wildlife interest”. The Trust's aim was to see whether this process of degradation could be reversed without major interventions or capital expense and to monitor the speed and extent of the return of wildlife. Reinstating more traditional grazing regimes, haymaking, reversing drainage, stopping most fertiliser inputs and fencing off overgrazed hedgerows, streams and ditches were all used to help 'kick-start' natural processes.

The results have been astonishing. After only ten years the Countryside Council for Wales described Denmark Farm as “a notable nature reserve”. For example:

• in 1985 only 15 species of bird nested on the farm, but now each year an average of 47 species breed, including many species otherwise in decline such as linnet, reed bunting, bullfinch, song thrush, tree pipit, redpoll and marsh tit;
• the density of breeding birds has more than doubled since detailed surveys began in 1990, with a peak of 249 pairs on just 40 acres in 1998;
• fields formerly dominated by rye grass are now rich in traditional flowers, grasses and sedges, with the most diverse meadow containing well over a hundred plant species;
• butterflies such as green-veined white, large and small skipper, meadow brown, orange tip and ringlet have particularly benefited and 19 species are recorded on average each year – many more species and in much greater numbers than on neighbouring, intensively managed farmland;
• the lake, pond and field scrapes now support 14 species of breeding dragonfly and damselfly – a notable diversity in west Wales;
• formerly bare pastures are now rich in shrews, voles and mice, providing an all-year food source for an impressive range of predators;
• the rough pastures have an average population of 207 million ground invertebrates per hectare, compared to only 16 million in a rye-grass field  – or over 1,100 compared to under 90 beneath a pair of size 9 boots!

All this has been achieved without introductions (apart from trees and shrubs planted to form shelterbelts and woodland) and without prescriptive management that favours any one species over another. This is perhaps the Trust's most vital contribution to conservation in the wider countryside. It embraces the role of Nature in allowing each habitat to establish its own constituents and complexity, its own web of life in its own timescale. In so doing, it encourages humans to see themselves as an interdependent part of the environment rather than wholly outside of it and solely responsible for its engineering.

In reality, this is a much more pragmatic view of conservation, recognising that we ourselves simply cannot control everything around us. The Trust also believes that even small-scale upgrading of parcels of land, dotted in amongst the bright green or golden acres of monoculture, could make an enormous difference to the overall biodiversity of our countryside. These would be all the more valuable if connected by wildlife-friendly corridors, providing vital stepping stones for some species to spread back out from habitat 'islands'.

It is the Trust's belief that a biodiverse countryside is essential for the health of the environment upon which we, as humans, depend. This is why it advocates moving away from the idea of isolated nature reserves to a more integrated approach to restoring the health of the countryside in its entirety. The Trust also believes that this is the best chance of long-term, sustainable livings to be made from the land. So, building on the experience of Denmark Farm, the Trust is working to enhance biodiversity on a wider scale by persuading sympathetic landowners to enhance their hedgerows, ditches, streams and field edges as well as larger areas where possible.

Finally, we must not forget the enormous value of accessible wildlife for future generations. Today, many children and adults can only recognise a small range of wildlife and are unaware of its role in the web of life or in traditional lore. Some even fear wildlife as a source of danger or germs. Bringing these people closer to Nature, experiencing its wonder and sowing the seeds of future positive action is another part of the Trust's vision. Creating images, like those of the hay meadows, which are truly worth holding in our collective culture and creating in reality.