Environmental Stewardship is an agri-environment scheme run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in England which aims to secure widespread environmental benefits. The scheme is composed of two levels: The Entry Level and Higher Level Schemes.
Since 2010 have been involved in The Higher Level Stewardship Scheme.
Environmental Stewardship has a number of wide-ranging objectives, which include:
- Protection of water and soil
- Prevention of erosion and water pollution
- Flood management
- Wildlife conservation
- Protection of archaeological sites and historic features
- Providing public access to the countryside
- Conserving rare traditional livestock breeds and varieties
We can’t fulfill every one of these objectives at Churchfields, but our scheme is tailored to our farm.
A few examples of work we have done through this scheme are orchard restoration, pond creation, hedgerow creation and management and buffer strips (strips of land left in permanent vegetation) around the edges of arable fields.
Our work includes an orchard…
…and a pond supporting biodiversity.
