Pond building, hedge rolling farm walk, plus a talk with Farmland Bird Aid Network
Tue 08 Apr
|Swerford Village
An evening's walk to see pond building (mid-construction) and hedge rolling at Cradle Farm, followed by an inspiring talk by Farmland Bird Aid Network in Swerford Village Hall.
Time & Location
08 Apr 2025, 17:00 – 19:30
Swerford Village, Swerford Village Hall, Swerford, Chipping Norton OX7 4BB, UK
About the Event
Cradle Farm has a mix of fascinating projects underway, including simple pond building, swales and bunds to improve water quality and flood storage, plus more complex river floodplain re-connection design works. This walk will look at the simple techniques that have been deployed to create 3 ponds in two weeks, with a light touch approach to design and a dynamic digger contractor.
The pond project was originally planned with CS Capital Grants, however the pause on agreements meant we had to change source. The Cradle Farm floodplain reconnection project has been supported by the EA's WEIF (Water Environment Improvement Fund) grant and, we were able to deploy some of those funds into the ponds and hedgerows, to deliver some positive work in 2024/25.
We have also been trialing a new method of 'conservation hedgelaying', for low-cost rapid improvements to overgrown, hollow hedgerows.