Many horse paddocks suffer from the same challenges: patchy grazing, declining grass quality, increasing weed problems and rising maintenance costs. However, introducing cattle as part of a planned grazing strategy can often transform these areas. Horses are selective grazers and repeatedly graze the same areas while avoiding others. Over time this creates a patchwork of […]
End of Day 4 progress on the wildlife pond in Bedfordshire James talks us through the progress at the end of week one of this wildlife pond project. For more on wildlife creation projects please contact james@james-gillies.com
Day 4 of the ongoing wildlife creation project. James talks us through his early morning onsite. Update on the wildlife creation project in Bedfordshire, creating habitat for fish, birds, mammals and invertebrates. For more information on ponds and wildlife projects contact james@james-gillies.com
Day two of James's wildlife pond creation project located near Bedford. James talks us through day two progress and how he decides how to create the pond, the essential equipment used. For more on wildlife creation projects contact james@james-gillies.com
Using drones and analysing drone footage is the best and fastest way for us to now survey and easily diagnose land management issues. Using drones saves time and money and enables us to quickly pinpoint any issues, survey inaccessible areas and to povide surveys of land and farm buildings. We also use drones to do […]
Perfectly working pond overflow on a wildlife pond we created last year. The pond is working perfectly, the inlet and overflow ensures the pond levels are kept so that the pond works exactly as designed and the banks don't become water-logged. For consultation and pond creation please contact James
This week I was asked by a client with a small farm about the posibility of 're-wilding' - the short answer is re-wilding is only effective on a large scale. James explains more here... Contact james@james-gillies.com to discuss your land plans, big or small!
There has been publication of new funding for small woodlands in 2020... James tells us more here. For more information on woodland funding - and project creation in general contact James to discuss how we can help you create a biodiverse habitat for wildlife whilst not needing to meet the financial obligations!
Drones had received a bad press lately largely due to mis-use around airports however their usage in a land management capacity cannot be understated. Being able to survey large sections of land without disturbing the natural environment is invaluable, as is being able to access areas such as rooves without using ladders or cherry-pickers. Topographic […]
Wildflower Meadows for Wildlife. Inside Your Meadow. Meadows are wonderful, evolving entities. The first year of any meadow it has a huge array of beautiful annuals for colour, however your subsequent years are always a fantastic surprise as to what you will get. Different flowers will germinate in different years all dependant on the condition […]
Why Meadow Habitats are imperative for Biodiversity A meadow is a crucial habitat which could comprise over 150 different species of flower and grass that support a myriad of insects from bees and beetles to grasshoppers and butterflies, which in turn support many small animals and birds. A meadow could contain up to 40 […]
The Hungry Gap - Helping Wildlife During the Barren Months The Hungry gap is basically the period of time between the last of the winter crops being harvested and the emergence of the new spring plants, which happens to usually coincide with the beginning of the mating season for many farmland bird species. It is […]
Bio Diversity Offsetting – How both land owners and nature are benefiting... Biodiversity Ofsetting.. sounds a bit scary doesn’t it?! Sounds really like something that big developers and huge government organisations do.. How could you as an individual land owner help..? Anyone who has some land and falls within certain designated areas can benefit from […]
Rewilding.. Nature innovation by going back to Britain's wild origins In the most basic of terms ‘rewilding’ is the practice of returning vast swathes of countryside and natural habitat to how nature intended; including the reintroduction of long lost species that would have once called that landscape home. Rewilding is returning the countryside back to […]
Our region has some of the most beautiful wildlife spectacles, not just through the Spring and Summer months but even now as the nights draw in and the temperature falls; Autumn has some really fantastic sights too. We have made a list of our top sites to visit for nature this Autumn. Westonbirt Arboretum […]
Creating a Wildlife Habitat – Ponds – Why and How One of the best ways to create a hard-working, year-round, biodiverse habitat is by creating a wildlife pond or wetland. Wetlands and ponds provide habitat and food sources to all kinds of wildlife; everything from pond-skaters to foxes can make use of a wetland or […]
Current DEFRA regulations state that you can, in most cases, dredge ditches and streams that run through your land without permission or approval. Over dredging can, in fact, increase flooding and not reduce it as people have long believed. Increasingly frequent studies from many sources including; The Environment Agency, The Fresh Water Habitats Trust, BBOWT […]
Summer 2018.. Its hot.. Its dry and we aren't the only ones struggling! Water shortages affect wildlife and long spells of hot weather can make this worse, damaging habitats from moorland and woodland – and everything in-between. Drought threatens the survival of birds, mammals, invertebrates, amphibians and plants. Climate change predictions suggest that there will […]
If your pond is drying out it can look like a disaster for wildlife. But fear not… In the wild, drought in natural ponds is not nearly bad as it seems. According to the Freshwater Habitats Trust approximately 40% of our lowland countryside ponds do dry out in drought years. Surveys show that ponds that […]
At the beginning of 2018 we started the 100 Meadows Initiative… basically in 2018 we wanted to create 100 (or hopefully more!) meadows to help reverse the decline in wildflower habitats. The decline in wildflower meadows over the last 50 years has meant that this diverse and valuable ecosystem which is home to so many […]