Report from our open day (kindly provided by Keith Dickerson of Kelsale & District Wildlife Action Group(KADWAG)
On Sunday 7 June, Nonsuch Farm held its second Open Day, hosted by Julian and Fiona Cusack with help from Farm Manager Sam Hanks. Despite taking place at the same time as the Crafty Picnic on the Recreation Ground, attendance was record-breaking (see first photo). The timing may even have helped, as many people moved between the two events and visited both on the same day. The weather was fine, with warm, sunny spells—a welcome contrast to the very wet Open Day at Fromus Reserve the previous day.
This time, we saw only two Dexter calves, as the rest of the herd were grazing at Maple Farm. We also saw Nonsuch Farm’s flock of EasyCare and Shropshire sheep. One Shropshire ewe was giving birth on the path a few yards ahead of us, so we gave the mother and lamb a wide berth to avoid startling them as our large group passed by. A second twin lamb was born four hours later and is currently being bottle-fed.
Other highlights included rows of agroforestry trees, mainly East of England heritage apples, pears and gages, planted among fields of heritage wheat varieties intended for flour and field beans, all surrounded by ox-eye daisies (see third photo). It was also encouraging to see the natural regenerative hedges, which KADWAG helped plant a few years ago from locally collected seeds and berries, developing into biodiverse, species-rich hedgerows.
A final highlight was the ghost pond (see second photo). This pond was recently re-excavated on the site of an ancient pond that had been filled in during the 1950s. It is wonderful to report that biodiversity survived in the soil beneath the former pond, and it is now by far the richest of the new ponds on the farm. If you would like to excavate a ghost pond on your land, please contact us and we will be happy to advise you on the best approach.
Overall, it was a very interesting and informative day.
Keith Dickerson, Kelsale & District Wildlife Action (KADWAG)
Julian and Fiona Cusack, Nonsuch Farm
