Education2

The Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Countryside Stewardship offers payments to farmers and land managers for changes in management that will produce real benefits for the countryside. The scheme seeks to improve and conserve landscape and scenic beauty, wildlife habitats, history and archaeology and to provide opportunities for people to enjoy the countryside. The Scheme incorporates a number of management measures and capital items which can be combined to form an individual management agreement. Guidelines are agreed for managing specific landscapes and the best way of restoring, conserving or improving them. Applicants agree to enter into the agreement for 10 years. The Education Access Initiative is an option the applicant may agree to include into his individual agreement. It allows educational establishments the opportunity to visit these sites, free of charge, to better understand and appreciate the countryside.

The Farming Operation

The Simpsons have diversified the farm business, looking at ways of combining farming, conservation and tourism. The main livestock on the farm are sheep and the farm supports 700 breeding ewes. Other livestock include 60 fattening bullocks, hens, and 30 acres of corn and 26 acres of roots and brassicas. The production of hay and hayrage is the other main farming enterprise, producing up to 12,000 bales a year from the grassland to sell to farmers and horse owners. The farmhouse has been converted to a farm hotel, and incorporates an educational centre and the Country Tea Rooms, and a future plant centre.

Wetland Area (Pl) see map

This area of wetland and scrub is being managed under a Wildlife Conservation Scheme with the North York Moors National Park. The main trees here are silver birch and rowan which are tolerant of the wet ground, the birch has been coppiced to let more light into the area and holly, oak and ash have been planted to add variety. The area supports a range of plant species including spotted orchid, foxgloves, primroses, sphagnum moss and is the only site within the North York Moors of the rare Royal Fern.

To further enhance this area a pond was created in 1993 and a fungi walk is planned.

Pond Area (PZ) The pond was created in 1990, in a naturally wet hollow and designed to blend into the landscape. The pond creation was part of an overall scheme including hedge, tree and woodland planting, see (W2) below, and was stocked with rudd, roach, bream, trout and carp by the NRA.

New Woodland (W 1) This area has also been planted with trees through a Forestry Authority Farm Woodland Scheme in 1992/93. Species as at (W2). J1 Wild grass and flower enriched grassland.

New Woodland (W2) This area was planted with broadleaves through a Forestry Authority Farm Woodland Scheme in 1990. The trees planted in this area are, oak, silver birch, common alder, rowan and hazel.

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