Sunflowers power £2 million for nature’s recovery

Sunflowers power £2 million for nature’s recovery - The Wildlife Trusts

Bee on sunflower Vine House Farm (© Matthew Roberts)

Wildlife friendly farm, which grows wild bird seed, and 100 acres of sunflowers, celebrates raising £2 million for wildlife conservation.

Vine House Farm announced the amazing £2 million milestone as sunflowers bloomed on the family farm in Lincolnshire. The black sunflower seeds are part of 400 acres of bird seed crops, which will go into wild bird food mixes, along with red millet, canary seed, oil seed rape and naked oats, all home grown on the farm.

Thanks to hedges, ponds, and wildflower margins at field edges, all created by farmer and award-winning conservationist, Nicholas Watts, the farm is also a haven for flocks of wild birds including, rare and declining tree sparrows, red-listed linnets and lapwing. The money, raised over 14 years, supports the nature conservation work of The Wildlife Trusts.

Lucy Taylor, manager at Vine House Farm, and Nicholas’ daughter said: “Our partnership with The Wildlife Trusts have long been very important to us. Along with the practical measures we take on the farm to, for example, to reverse the trend of declining songbird numbers; a percentage of each purchase of Vine House Farm bird seed goes to support Wildlife Trusts, enabling a greater conservation impact across the country. The Wildlife Trusts has always been the obvious choice for us to champion, and it’s been a proud time for me, my father and all our family to be able to reach the two million pound milestone. Now we look forward to the future and being able to eventually reach five million and more.”