My field of dreams

THIS spring, as I walked around the field behind our home on the Dorset/Somerset border, I was excited—very excited. I have toads in places where they have never been before and barn owls in my nesting box.

As a retired gamekeeper, I have mixed views about the current trend for ‘rewilding’. Instead, I think it’s far better to ‘farm Nature’, by putting in place the many requirements that flora and fauna need to thrive. After 40 years of looking after land and manipulating habitats—essentially to increase numbers of wild game birds—I am well aware of the immense benefits that this management brings to wildlife. However, there are gaps in this approach and a lack of continuity