A Trust success story

Ten years ago the CRT received a National Heritage Memorial Fund Grant for some £370,000, which enabled it to buy 142 acres of land from Corpus Christi and St Catharine’s Colleges (Cambridge). The land is now part of the CRT’s Lark Rise Farm. What has happened in those ten years is truly remarkable – wildlife has flourished and the landscape has been transformed.
Planting on the ‘98 land includes 1.5 miles of new hedgerow; a wood, new hay meadows, and two osier beds.
As a result of our efforts, farmland birds which are decreasing elsewhere have increased dramatically : Yellowhammers 50%; Linnets 50%; Whitethroats 50%; Reed Buntings 50%; Skylarks 33%; Meadow Pipits 100%; Grey Partridges 300%; Pheasants 500%!

Lark Rise before the transformation

The population of scarce corn buntings has been maintained at two territories and barn owls have returned after an absence of 40 years.
Mammals include: Brown Hares (another Government Red Data List animal) back to the levels of the 1950’s; Harvest Mice; Otters and Badgers.
Over 250 plant species have been recorded including some rare arable weeds which make the area of “national importance”.
There has been a dramatic increase of both butterfly species and butterfly numbers . The number of species has increased from 14 to 22 and because of the permanent grass the numbers of grassland butterflies, particularly the meadow brown, has been quite astonishing. The rare white-letter hairstreak has been found along an old hedge of remnant elms and some years the uncommon brown argus has also been seen.

* This is not an exact scientific analysis of the work of the CRT’s excellent monitoring team, as wildlife populations vary year to year for a variety of reasons. This is a simple assessment of what the CRT has achieved in ten years on its National Heritage Memorial Fund Land for the benefit of the layman.

Lark Rise after the transformation