Open Day Photos

Some of the environmentally friendly features at the new Visitors Centre at Loddington

Solar panels, rainwater harvesting, wool and straw insulation

                                 Grasscrete car park- no tarmac and easy draining

Recycled fencing made from plastic silage wrap

Caroline Drummond (LEAF), Sylvester Cheung (Visitor centre architect), James Keith (Chair of Allerton Steering Committee) and Alastair Leake (Head of Allerton Project).

Jim Paice' Secretary of State for Agriculture' in conversation with Alastair Leake (Allerton Project)

BBC East Midlands Report and 20 year Allerton Publication 'Fields for the Future'

The GWCT and LEAF celebrated over 20 years of successfully influencing Government agricultural and environmental policy and spreading best farming and conservation practice yesterday at the Allerton Project where the new report Fields for the Future was launched.

Click here to view the report on our website:  http://www.gwct.org.uk/documents/allerton_20thanniversary_report.pdf

BBC East Midlands TV was there to report on the launch of the report with Jim Paice MP and Alastair Leake, Head of The Allerton Project:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-18607810

 

Visitors Centre Official Opening

Today saw the grand opening of the new visitors centre at GWCT, Allerton Project. A combined celebration of 20 years of the Project and LEAF's 21st birthday was acknowledged by Jim Paice, the Secretary of State for Agriculture. Farmers, advisors and rural stakeholders were introduced to the ' eco-friendly' building and then toured the farm. Speakers informed the visitors on subjects such as waste recycling, soil and water, farmland biodiversity and community engagement. Thank-you to all those who helped the make event such a success. More news and photos to follow!!

Diamond Jubilee at Loddington Visitors Centre

                                            On Monday June 4th the village of Loddington celebrated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee at the Allerton Project's new visitors centre. Alastair Leake welcomed  the village and Phil Jarvis decribed it as a 'Test Event for the busy weeks ahead'.  The warm sunshine attracted over 50 people to the afternoon's celebrations. Despite the fact that the exterior groundworks are still to be completed, the event was a great success.The solar panels, rain water harvesting and woodchip boiler were given a thorough workout over the weekend. The next two events are on June 12th - GWCT Shoot Walk. June 26th - GWCT Allerton Project & LEAF open day.

GWCT: Pheasant Release

This year’s first Best Practice Day is to be held on Tuesday, 22nd May at the Trust’s demonstration farm at Loddington, Leicestershire and will focus on stock husbandry and associated management practices during the release period. The proportion of the shoot budget that many of us spend on buying poults is considerable. Not only do we want as many of our investments to survive through to the start of the shooting season, we also want those birds to be fit and healthy and fly strong over the line. The 22nd May event will help you understand how best to achieve this, with reference to that crucial early phase, starting with ordering your birds. Maintaining good health, dietary requirements, feeding regimes and wing clipping are amongst the topics covered as well as the importance of continuity. We will also look at the choice of release site and pen construction and discuss pen habitat and release densities. You might also be interested to learn what proportion of birds are lost from the date that they go to wood through to the start of the shooting season – what was their fate before a shot was fired and how can we minimise losses? The day runs from 10:45am to 3:45pm and costs £60.00, including a ploughman’s lunch. Dr. Mike Swan will lead the event, together with input from Alex Butler and James Watchorn (Loddington’s new ‘keeper). We start indoors but will get out to look at our rearing field and release pens. The course is limited to 20 people, so please contact Lynda Ferguson on (01425) 651013 or via lferguson@gwct.org.uk to secure a place. I hope that you will be able to join us. Yours sincerely, Alexander Butler Regional Advisor – Central England

Visitor Centre Update

Although the weather has proved somewhat changeable over the last two weeks, the builders have started to render the straw wall insulation on the new visitors centre. With solar panels, 'sheep's wool' roof insulation and rain water harvesting tank already installed, the building is progressing well. The next few weeks should see the installation of the woodchip boiler heating system and the completion of the grasscrete car park with recycled fencing. The internal fixtures and fittings are also taking shape and completion should take place in early summer.

Woodland Kings

The majority of our woodland and hedgerow work has been completed. We have selected scores of mature trees to be felled over the course of this winter and spring. The thinned woodland aims to create a more structured understorey, allowing more biodiversity and habitat. 2011 woodland clear fell areas have been 'beaten up' replanting those trees that failed to establish, We have planted over 1000 metres of new hedgerow, with a mix of hawthorn, holly, privet and hazel. Our work has been supported by EWGS and HLS grants. James Watchorn and Richard Barnes(Kings) have had their first farm visit, devising a number of new mixes, drives and habitats to meet our conservation and shoot requirements. We have relocated a release pen to a more central part of the farm to form a new shoot drive.