Farming for the future: how Harry Bowler is making space for nature
13th December 2024
Growing up on a farm and spending time in the countryside inspired an interest in nature and wildlife for Harry Bowler. Since then, he has been interested in how productive farming and nature recovery can go hand in hand.
Freshwater Habitats Trust Conservation Officer Paola Perez met with Harry to talk about his Oxfordshire farm and experience of working with Freshwater Habitats Trust, from a chance invite to a lockdown webinar to creating new habitats where nature can thrive.
Can you tell us about your farm?
I grew up on a small farm, and in 2017 my family had the opportunity to buy a bigger farm. Since then, I’ve been trying to get an understanding of how best to manage a very wet farm affected by flooding. During the wettest times of the year, the farm will become flooded with anything between 10 to 30 acres of pasture under water for a few days until the water levels drop down. This makes my life as a livestock farmer interesting during these wetter periods. Luckily, we have a measuring station within 20 metres of our farm, which we make use of regularly. Getting real time measurements means we can move livestock to drier areas prior to any flooding.
Our farm is around 65 acres of permanent pasture, it’s had many different types of farming use in the past. At one point it was broken up into multiple small enclosures and farmed by many of the local community. More recently it was a small dairy farm, then a commercial sheep farm, and finally a horse livery prior to my family purchasing it.
The land which makes up the farm is bordered by the River Ock, which runs the entire length of the farm from Charney Bassett to Lyford. This stretch of the Ock was sadly messed around with and straightened during the 1970’s, removing its natural curves and meanders, which from what I have heard from the locals made up a beautiful stretch of the river.
Some areas that I have really enjoyed improving have been the pastures and wildflower meadows, as they had suffered from significant overgrazing for decades, mainly from commercial sheep grazing and horses, which has allowed buttercups to spread. We reduced our sheep levels to a sustainable number and chose a mixture of local downland breeds and lighter, hardy breeds which prefer to browse on rough grasses and scrub. We have since noticed a significant change to our pastures, wildflower meadows and the wildlife within these ecosystems.
What inspired you to take action for the environment?
It stems from childhood as I’ve always had an interest in wildlife. Growing up in the countryside, I’ve seen things change for the worse, especially in the rivers and waterways. Where we used to go fishing and catch gudgeon, large chub and trout, we struggle to catch anything of a significant size today. Water levels have dropped, brooks have become shallower and narrower with a build-up of silt, and worst of all the gravel river beds themselves have become covered in a layer of algae, so thick that it’s preventing fish from spawning, which I find heartbreaking. I think every farmer wants to improve the land and the area that they’re farming. I have two young boys and a third child on the way, and I want them and their generation to be able to experience the natural beauty of our countryside as I once did as a child.
How did you end up working with Freshwater Habitats Trust?
It came out of attending a Freshwater Habitats Trust webinar led by Hannah Worker (Programme Manager for Oxon-Bucks) during lockdown in 2020 which one of my neighbours invited me to.
I had some ideas for things to do at the farm and the webinar was talking about similar things which inspired me to talk to someone from Freshwater Habitats Trust before getting started. Working with Freshwater Habitats Trust has helped me to put my ideas into practice which I may not have had the time to do otherwise, and I’ve been really grateful to have had the experience and support from the team in the projects which have been implemented on the farm.
Can you tell us about the work that you’ve carried out with Freshwater Habitats Trust on your farm?
It all started back in 2023 with four shallow scrapes spread out over two pastures/meadows after a discussion with Adam Bows (Senior Project Officer at Freshwater Habitats Trust) during a meeting of the Ock Catchment Farmer Cluster. One of the pastures/meadows would be too wet and waterlogged for grazing from October until May or June, then it would be shut up for hay from May to July or August depending on the weather. So, in an average year we would get maybe three months grazing, which got me thinking whether we could put in some scrapes which would hold the water in areas which are good for wildlife but also allow the other areas within that pasture/meadow to be drier and allow a longer grazing period.
Since then, we have included another pasture/meadow within an area of land which we keep long and never top or cut. This extension has created three more shallow scrapes and helped restore the floodplain meadow using green hay from a local SSSI site. Its combined area is around 4.8 hectares, plus the two scrapes in an adjacent pasture/meadow. We think of this area as a space for field mice, voles and insects, because being near the middle of the farm it hopefully provides wildlife with a safe place during hay cuts in other areas of the farm. From the number of owls and kestrels which use it through the day and night, it’s working.
This has given us four beautiful freshwater areas within the farm, and through the seasons over the past 12 months we have witnessed how incredibly important these areas are. I have a large list of waterfowl which we observe regularly using the scrapes, and after extending the site and habitat this year we hope to see even more.
Are there any other outcomes you’re hoping to see on the farm?
What we really hope is that the Curlew which we have been observing using the site for food will now also use it for nesting. Every year we have sadly witnessed Curlew nesting in neighbouring farmland, only to then hear silage being cut before any potential young have time to fledge. We have a plan in place to cut the wildflower meadow in mid to late August. This will allow any ground nesting birds or other wildlife the time needed to fledge or grow strong enough to vacate the meadow prior to being cut. So, if you drive past a wildflower meadow, and see a farmer walking around in circles banging a drum, that might well be me attempting to scare out any wildlife prior to cutting the hay. Last year I didn’t have a drum, so I had to use a saucepan and a wooden spoon, but luckily I’ve had an upgrade!
Do you have any further work planned?
Since we had the extension to the wetland and wildflower habitat this year, we have discussed some other ideas about how we could restore and further increase the diversity of habitats on the farm. This could involve creating a backwater using part of the old river that was cut off in the 1970s, but it’s still very early days and subject to approval. I would really like to link up all our habitats with a network of native trees, shrubs and hedgerows and add a pond which to create a permanent freshwater habitat.
What advice would you give to farmers who are considering getting involved in similar environmental projects?
I would recommend joining a Farmer Cluster to see what’s going on locally. Chances are you’ll find that some of your neighbouring farmers are already involved and looking for more farmers and landowners to get on board. From there, who knows, it’s all down to you and how much you want to put in and what is important to you – it’s all in your hands.
Working with Freshwater Habitats Trust has allowed us to concentrate on the farming and taken the stress out of creating these habitats. Our experience has been positive, and we’ve been able to create the fantastic habitats that we wanted whilst also getting more grazing time.
It’s also benefitted us from a business perspective as we generally sell directly to customers, and they like to know what’s happening on the farm and that their money is going towards something positive and is helping their community and the environment around them.
This work is part of the Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire Freshwater Network project.
We are proud that this work is part of the Nature Returns programme led by Natural England in close partnership with the Environment Agency, Forestry Commission and RBG Kew, Wakehurst. Nature Returns is bringing together scientists, communities and investors to demonstrate how nature recovery leads to tangible returns in the form of carbon sequestration and increased biodiversity. Nature Returns is a Shared Outcomes Fund Programme sponsored by Defra and DESNZ.