Bird Feeding Bonanza – Surrey Celebrates Decade of Donations!
Monday 7th August 2017
Goldfinch by Derek Moore
Surrey Wildlife Trust and Vine House Farm bird foods are celebrating 10 years of working together to protect wildlife – with nearly £45,000 donated over this time to help care for nature in the county.
The partnership between The Wildlife Trusts and the wild bird food company began back in 2007 – the idea was to work together to protect and restore areas for wildlife and to inspire people to experience nature first-hand.
Vine House Farm donates up to 5% from its sales to The Wildlife Trusts across the UK – totalling more than £1.25million to date. Surrey Wildlife Trust will benefit from a donation of around £4,000 this year alone.
“We are so very grateful to Vine House Farm and to all the individuals, businesses and schools in Surrey who have bought wild bird food from them over the years,” said Dawn Fielding, Surrey Wildlife Trust’s Wildlife Gardening Officer.
“The partnership has not only given wild birds a helping hand in the county, but the £44,190 we’ve received in donations has helped our education team to inspire thousands of school children in Surrey to discover the joy of wildlife on their doorstep and to make nature a part of their lives.”
Vine House Farm’s bird food business, which is based in Lincolnshire, is owned by founder Nicholas Watts MBE, who is driven by a philosophy of nature conservation and wildlife-friendly farming.
“Farming this way is a way of life for us and it brings about great pleasure to see wildlife thriving,” he said. “I have always enjoyed feeding birds and now I am feeding more than I could ever have imagined with the help of our customers!”
The Wildlife Trusts recognise that farmers hold a key to the well-being of our countryside and, in turn, the health of our wildlife. Gardeners manage a vast area of the UK too; gardens are estimated to cover about 270,000 hectares - more than the area of all the National Nature Reserves in the UK. Surrey is thought to have around 22,000 hectares of gardens – nearly 15% of the county!
“Feeding and providing habitats for garden birds and other wild visitors to your garden is a great way of connecting with and caring for nature,” added Dawn. “In doing so you can help to create wildlife corridors, which are vital to ensure that our wildlife can live, thrive and move across Surrey’s landscape.”
For some great tips on feeding and caring for wildlife in your garden and to buy bird food, feeders and bird boxes direct from Vine House Farm’s conservation award-winning farm, visit their website at www.vinehousefarm.co.uk. To find out how to make your garden more wildlife friendly go to our wildlife gardening pages here >> for lots of useful information and advice.
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