Bickley Hall Farm
The new headquarters of Cheshire Wildlife Trust
In December 2006 Cheshire Wildlife Trust moved to new headquarters at Bickley Hall Farm.
Towards the end of 2006 we raised an Appealfor at least £20,000 to help us move to Bickley Hall Farm. Thanks to the generosity of our membership we exceeded our target and raised a grand total of £60,000 including Gift Aid. Our staff and volunteers spent a busy period in the run-up to Christmas getting packed up at Grebe House ready for the move.
An unbelievable number of boxes had to be packed, moved, unpacked and the contents sorted.
Our new premesis are far more spacious, with a larger reception area, and a meeting room which also houses our developing library, as well as plenty of office space. Outside is a garden, at present slightly neglected, which we will develop as a demonstration wildlife garden.
In the future we hope to converting some of the outbuildings to create a classroom facility for school groups.
The Farm
As well as the buildings there are 200 acres of farmland at Bickley. This has been farmed without pesticides and herbicides for the last forty years. It is a blend of unimproved grassland and wildlife friendly crops and is home to a variety of wildlife including badger, curlew, lapwing, tree sparrow, yellowhammer and grey partridge. The farm includes part of Bar Mere - an SSSI - and several ponds.
We will continue manage the land in an environmentally sensitive way providing an oasis for farmland birds and animals. We hope to be able to demonstrate best practice for less intensive farming, and the the land will be entered into the High Level Stewardship scheme. The farm also grows more than enough winter feed for our herd of traditional breeds of cattle, and winter quarters for them.
We hope to make the agricultural land open to members and the public by by creating a network of nature trails,which will link with the nearby Sandstone Trail and Bar Mere.
 |
The first Longhorn calf to be born at Bickley, her name is Heather
|
|
