Local trust launch appeal to bring back wildlife to Bucks farmland

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust are hoping to raise £70,000.

BBOWT have launched the appeal in an effort to bring back birds, bees and butterflies back to the region’s farmland.

They say wildlife on British farmland has been hit hard in recent decades, with bird populations having fallen by 63% since 1970, and half of the 27 farmland bumblebee species also in decline.

The appeal comes as part of their £3 million Nature Recovery Fund launched in 2023, with funds raised designed to go to support work such as providing tailored advice to farmers or managing habitats for threatened species including yellowhammers and water voles.  

The Trust explains that nature-friendly farming could be the solution to decreasing wildlife, saying that using fewer chemicals would lead to healthier soil and cleaner waterways, while permanent bands of grass around fields could give homes to vital pollinators and other insects.

It's also advised that smaller changes can also help, such as providing quiet corners of grassland for mammals such as brown hares to shelter and feed their young.

BBOWT’s Land and Farm Advice Manager, Scott Brown, said:

“As farmers increasingly recognise that working with nature is essential to a healthy and resilient food system, the need for BBOWT’s expertise has never been greater. We have a very clear vision of what nature-friendly farming means for our three counties: more wildlife, healthy soils, improved water quality and nutritious food. It is going to need a combined effort to bring this vision to life though – hard work by farmers, our expertise and your support can make it happen.”

BBOWT’s Chief Executive, Estelle Bailey MBE, said:

“Farmland makes up 68% of our three counties, so to truly have an impact on nature’s recovery, our work must expand far beyond our precious nature reserves. I want future generations to experience the joy of countryside filled with life - swallows darting above fields, butterflies and bumblebees feeding on abundant wildflowers, hedgerows alive with the sound of birdsong,

and to eat locally grown food that supports a healthy, resilient landscape. A gift to our Nature Recovery Fund will help us do more to bring wildlife back to our countryside.”