We’re wild about habitat conservation, eager to help children learn, plus keen to keep bees buzzing.
From water voles to otters and bats to barn owls, The Co-operative is committed to protecting some of the UK’s most iconic species.
We’re thinking of the future and that’s why The Co-operative Farms has launched Habitat Heroes. It’s a national wildlife initiative that’s running on six of our farms with the aim of identifying where and how we can improve the habitats, feeding and breeding opportunities of key species.
As Britain’s largest farmer, we feel we have a responsibility to lead the way environmentally
‘As Britain’s largest farmer, we feel we have a responsibility to lead the way environmentally,’ says Christine Tacon, Managing Director of The Co-operative Farms. ‘This project gives us the chance to go that bit further and look at ways we can make our land work for local wildlife.’
The Co-operative Group is funding the project with the support of our farm managers, local environmental groups and volunteers who are carrying out the vital work.
‘The beauty of this scheme is that we can keep on re-visiting it,’ says Christine. ‘We’ll conduct regular surveys to find out what’s working and where we’re seeing results.’
The species we’re supporting
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Barn Owls - Down Ampney, Gloucestershire
We’ve installed three unique 4ft Barn Owl boxes on 6ft stilts. They’re much bigger than traditional boxes, which often attract other birds, and have a camera system to film nesting activity. |
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Bats - Tillington, Herefordshire
By planting bat-friendly windbreakers in our orchards and installing 50 bat boxes we’re creating habitats and roosting sites. We survey the area, too, to check which species we have. |
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Cross pollinators - Stoughton, Leicestershire
We’ve restored natural habitats such as hedges and rough grassland and we’re planting wildflower mixes on the strips of land between the fields to encourage pollinators. We’ll be monitoring sightings of rare and endangered breeds of butterflies, hoverflies and moths |
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Otters - Coldham, Cambridgeshire
We’ve built an artificial holt with an otter-cam into the riverbank of the Old River Nene to provide a resting site for otters on the farm. The otter-cam recently filmed otters there – a great sign as it suggests they may set up a permanent home. |
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Red squirrels - Blairgowrie, Perthshire
We’ve introduced feeders to supplement the diet of red squirrels when their natural food source is scarce – and we can now check if red squirrels rather than greys are feeding.’ |
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Water voles - Goole, Yorkshire
By surveying the ditches and drains on the farm we’re able to pinpoint where the voles are and so change the way we manage our ditches. We are installing motion-detecting cameras to capture evidence of the water voles. |