Two wild winning opportunities for Argyll farmers
published this on 9:34 pm, Tuesday, 17th March, 2009Farming| News | Comments (rss) | Respond | Ping |
Farmers in Argyll and Bute will have the chance to celebrate their wildlife credentials this week with two great opportunities from RSPB Scotland.
Nature of Farming Awards 2009
The first opportunity is to enter the annual Nature of Farming Awards 2009. This is a competition offering a cash prize to the Scottish farmer doing the most on their land for biodiversity. Winners will automatically go forward for selection to the UK finals, with the overall winner receiving £1000.
Farmers have until 31st March to enter the Nature of Farming Awards, which aims to celebrate farms safeguarding birds, bees, plants and butterflies through sympathetic land-management.
Mark O’Brien, Advisory Manager with RSPB Scotland said: ‘The Nature of Farming Award is a chance for farmers to get recognition for doing their bit for rural biodiversity. We want to hear from the thousands of farmers who do a fantastic job of caring for the Scottish countryside and the wildlife that relies on it’.
The Nature of Farming Awards is run with the backing of BBC Countryfile Magazine, Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife. The closing date is the end of March and a Scottish winner will be selected in April. This winner will then go forward for the UK-wide award, which will be chosen by public vote in May.
Farmers can enter the competition by emailing nature-farming@rspb.org.uk or phoning Lisa Webb on 0141 331 0993.
Volunteer and Farmer Alliance Surveys
This week also sees the chance to apply for a free farmland bird survey through the Volunteer and Farmer Alliance (V&FA) project. These surveys aim to list all the birds found in a particular area of farmland, and could prove invaluable when planning an agri-environment funding scheme application.
The V&FA surveys are carried out by RSPB volunteers, who make four early morning visits between April and July to record the birds that they see and hear. The results of the surveys are then plotted on a unique farm ‘bird map’, showing exactly where birds of conservation concern have been recorded and are potentially breeding. Farmers also receive a full report, and are offered advice on ways to manage land to benefit all the wild creatures that share it.
Helen Shepherd, who farms Mains of Callander Farm in Perthshire, participated in the Volunteer & Farmer Alliance project in 2007. She says: ‘The Volunteer & Farmer Alliance survey found 42 different bird species using the farm and 21 of these were of conservation concern. This information helped support a successful Rural Priorities application, which will allow us to continue with management options to benefit farmland birds and provides an additional income for the farm’.
In Scotland, many farmland birds such as lapwing, corn bunting and corncrake have declined in recent years, as suitable nesting habitat and insect rich grassland have declined. More recently many farmers have been taking simple steps that, collectively, have had a substantial impact on populations of corn buntings and corncrake – both of which are showing some signs of recovery following years of decline.
To register for a free farmland bird survey contact RSPB Scotland‘s Dan Brown on 0141 331 0993 or email daniel.brown@rspb.org.uk.
The photographs above are, top, of a field planted to encourage biodiversity, by the copyright holder Luc Viatour; and of a Corn Bunting, by the copyright holder Raúl Baena Casado. Both are reproduced ehre under the Creative Commons licence.
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May 22nd, 2009 at 3:33 pm
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