Search is on for Scotland's most wildlife-friendly farmer
RSPB Scotland is looking for wildlife friendly farmers to enter the second annual Nature of Farming Awards. The competition will reward the Scottish farmer doing the most on their land for biodiversity with a cash prize, and they will automatically go forward to the UK finals, with the overall winner receiving £1000.
Farmers have until March 31st to enter the competition, which rewards those safeguarding birds, bees, plants and butterflies which rely on sympathetic farming.
The contest is run with the backing of BBC Countryfile Magazine, Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife, with an expert panel visiting the top 3 farms in Scotland. The Scottish winner goes on to the UK final, with the winner chosen by a public vote.
Mark O'Brien, Farm Advisory Manager with RSPB Scotland said:
"The Nature of Farming Award is a chance for farmers to get recognition for doing their bit for rural biodiversity. We want to hear from the thousands of farmers who do a fantastic job of caring for the Scottish countryside and the wildife that relies on it. And of course we can offer advice on simple steps that farmers and land managers can take to provide better habitats for farmland birds."
Last year's Scottish winner, Patrick Bowden-Smith who farms in Fife, had a wide range of measures in place to encourage water voles, otters and invertebrates.
In Scotland, numbers of many farmland birds have reduced as suitable nesting habitat has disappeared and insect rich grassland has declined. However, many farmers have recently taken simple steps which can give wildlife a substantial boost. For instance, populations of corn buntings and corncrake in Scotland are showing some signs of recovery following years of decline. Much of our farmland wildlife finds life challenging and the actions of individual farmers across the UK can make a huge positive difference.
Wildlife-friendly management includes providing the 'big three' necessities of life for farmland birds: safe nest sites, summer food for hungry chicks and a plentiful supply of seeds in the winter. Insect populations can be boosted by creating or maintaining areas of nectar- and pollen-rich plants while all wildlife benefits from appropriate management of semi-natural habitats within farming systems.
Deborah Long, Conservation Manager at Plantlife Scotland says 'The health of Scotland's farmed landscape for wild plants and flowers is crucial for Scotland's wildlife, all of which depend on our native flora for food and habitat. With the continuing pressure of development and, with climate change, the drive to push more land into production, Scotland's wild plants need all the help they can get to maintain diverse and healthy populations. Farmers have a key role to play in ensuring favourite wild flowers like Cornflower and Devil's Bit Scabious have corners and corridors in which to thrive.'
Paul Kirkland, Director of Butterfly Conservation Scotland, said 'Farmers have a really important role in the welfare of rare and common butterflies and moths in Scotland. Maintaining areas of unimproved grassland, for example, enable populations of Common Blue and Small Copper to thrive. Butterfly Conservation works with farmers across Scotland to take small but crucially important management steps to help Scotland's butterflies.'
For more information/interviews, please contact RSPB Scotland’s National Media Officer Davey Fitch on 0131 311 6500, 07894 173 116.
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Use this link with the User Name: RSPB and Password: Award for a selection of images which you can download and use with this story, free of charge.
Farmland birds in the UK have declined by more than 50 per cent between 1970 and 2004.
Examples of what farmers do for wildlife:
For lapwings, two-hectare areas left fallow and created by ploughing in autumn then leaving undisturbed until mid-July are ideal nesting sites. Short, tussocky, damp pastures are good nesting areas in pasture. Nesting areas should be in large open fields away from tall hedges or woodland, with adjacent damp areas for young to feed. Marking nests means they are not destroyed by machinery. For skylarks, reducing mowing frequency and the amount of grazing on some fields, can help skylarks to nest successfully.
For corn buntings, farmers can increase insect numbers for young birds by leaving rough strips around fields to provide seed food in winter. Unharvested mixtures of seed-rich plants, including cereals, will boost winter food. Beneficial insects such as ground beetles will move from these areas into crops in the spring.
Grey partridges, need a combination of rough grass margins and ‘beetle banks’ - raised grass banks through the middle of large arable fields. The birds also need weed-rich areas or pastures with a high proportion of native plants for summer feeding, and stubbles or unharvested crops for winter-feeding.
Greater butterfly-orchid. Found in rough pasture and meadows, within scrub and open woodland. Farmers can manage grasslands through grazing and hay cutting, and open up woodlands through coppicing.
Small pearl-bordered fritillary. The small pearl-bordered fritillary lays its eggs on violets growing in rough moorland, wet flushes, or grassland with patches of bracken. It requires extensive cattle or sheep grazing to maintain medium-length vegetation in open sunny conditions.
Butterfly Conservationis the largest insect conservation charity in Europe with over 12,000 members in the UK. Its aim is the conservation of butterflies, moths and their habitats. The Society runs conservation programmes on over 60 threatened species of butterfly and moth, organises national butterfly recording and monitoring schemes, and manages over 30 nature reserves. Further information can be found on our website: <
http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/
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Plantlife Scotland is the national office for Plantlife - the leading charity working to protect wild plants and their habitats - in Scotland. We are based in Stirling, from where staff carry out conservation and outreach work across the whole of Scotland. We have been championing plant conservation since 1989 and have an enviable track record for campaigning, promoting and protecting Scotland's threatened, wild plants. Further information can be found on our website: http://www.plantlife.org.uk/
BBC Countryfile
Whether you live in the countryside or the middle of a city, BBC Countryfile magazine aims to bring the reality of country life and green, sustainable living into your home. Launched in October 2007 and published monthly, each issue is a celebration of rural life, offering practical advice on how to enjoy the British countryside, highlighting areas to explore and discover, and displaying the countryside’s breadth and variety, while also tackling important and often prickly issues. Bolstered by the BBC’s massive rural output, each issue features a unique mix of celebrities, key influential figures and, most importantly, real people with real lives in the countryside.