Our Farming Diary at Chatham Green........ Now that harvesting has been completed at Chatham Green, cultivations are underway to establish a seedbed for the following crop. Ploughing of the stubble (as seen in the pictures) is a process of inverting the topsoil, so that debris of the last crop is buried whist also bringing fresh [...]
Tuesday morning saw nearly 100 staff from Westborough School visit our Chatham Green Project to engage with the outdoor learning opportunities at our wonderful ‘living classroom’. We organised the event to run as if school children were visiting the site so the staff could get a real idea of what’s on offer to their pupils. [...]
The Wilderness Foundation was delighted to be joined by The High Sheriff of Essex, Mrs. Julia Abel Smith DL on Monday 10th June 2013 for the occasion of breaking ground on the new visitor/education centre attached to the Chatham Green Project. The Chatham Green Project is a conservation and education initiative on 400 acres of [...]
On 6th June 2013, the Wilderness Foundation visited to Essex Schools Food and Farming Day as exhibitors at Writtle College. We met 3,000 children and explained to them the importance of creating wildflower areas on farms. The children were each allowed to make their own 'seed bomb' which consisted of mud and a few wildflower [...]
The Wilderness Foundation is looking to recruit 5 young women to participate in our 'Wild Swans' Leadership Development Programme.
We were lucky enough to catch some Badger activity on camera recently! The video shows 2 minutes of badger activity as they left their sett at 8.30pm and returned at 1.30am. Enjoy the show! We also caught a couple of stills:
Reception and Year 1 classes from Ford End Primary School visited the Chatham Green Project for an afternoon of bug collection, identification and then some bug art! The group spent an afternoon in the glorious sunshine on the Chatham Green Project meadows using pooters and beating sheets collecting and identifying invertebrates (to order level!). The [...]
Happy Earth Day! Earth Day 2013 is focused on climate change and the many faces it is revealing. Climate change is not just about increased temperatures, it is about all the knock-on effects that come from global environmental change. Whether natural or not, environmental changes are happening on a global scale and it is a [...]
We are looking to choose a set of focal species for the Chatham Green Project and need your help! The Chatham Green Project is about balancing the 21st century needs of farming, nature and people and so part of what we do is to try and create the best habitats we can across the farm. [...]
On the 19th April, Wilderness Foundation staff led a MARISCO workshop with Writtle College's Level 3 Animal Management students. The students were asked to put themselves in the shoes of farmers, house builders, local residents, environmental activists, fishermen and rambling groups in a multi-stakeholder threat analysis workshop based on the CMP Open Standards principles. Conflicts [...]
On the 17th April, pupils from Monks Eleigh CEVC Primary School visited an old hay meadow owned by Strutt & Parker (Farms) and transformed it into an exciting new apple orchard. The new orchard boasts 12 local heritage varieties: Catherine Clopton Red Honey Pippin Lady Henniker Maxton Old Blake Red Millers Seedling Suffolk Pink St. [...]
On the 16th April, the Wilderness Foundation visited Ford End Primary School to teach their pupils about the 7 'Leave No Trace' principles. The whole school took part in an interactive assembly where they were introduced to the 7 principles and asked to help apply them to various situations. Later on in the day, one [...]
On the 27th February, the whole of Tiptree Heath Primary School visited the Chatham Green Project site as part of the Diamond Jubilee Woods project! Arriving on two double-decker buses and a coach, 170 students and around 30 teachers, parents and support staff made there way over to our plantation and enjoyed a morning of [...]
The Wilderness Foundation UK and Strutt & Parker Farms hosted its last community tree planting day this weekend. Over 1000 trees were planted in the most successful tree planting day ever with people turning up all day long despite the severe weather. Around 70 people turned up, with a mix of ages and abilities, despite [...]
Over 200 students from both Otley College in Suffolk and Writtle College in Essex have participated in the Diamond Jubilee Woods project this winter. During this winter, 150 Animal Care and Countryside (FE) students from Writtle College braved the cold to plant around 2,000 trees at the Chatham Green Project. During their visit they participated [...]