Moat Farm
Our conservation adventure started over 30 years ago and with each new season, we attract more rare, diverse and endangered native species.
Photo credit ©Richard Pettett
Wilding and Conservation.
We’ve gradually ‘improved’ Moat Farm's 300 acres of wood and grassland - focusing only on conservation and habitat creation - for over three decades. We have consciously allowed our farm to become wild and natural, a haven for the wildlife and nature England enjoyed 50 or 100 years ago. Modern farming techniques and environmental collapse have contributed to the breadth of species we have here - many creatures simply have nowhere else to go. Moat Farm was highly commended in the Taste of Kent Countryside Awards in 2019.
Learn more about our rare species ⟶
Photo Credit ©Forest Aston
Ethos & approach.
We believe that our wildlife is as important as that of the African Savannah and our woodlands as beautiful as the rainforest of Brazil. We manage them with this love and passion foremost in our minds. We never spray chemicals on our farm and we work at nature’s rhythm. Our fields are traditional meadows filled with wildflowers, grazed our pedigree Longhorn cattle only once the flowers are ready to spread their seed. Our native deciduous woods are coppiced periodically to allow light back to the forest floor leading to a dramatic increase in butterfly life and nightingale numbers. We also have over 25 natural ponds, many of which we have restored, bringing another vital habitat back to life.
Photo Credit ©Forest Aston
Why it matters.
The natural world is changing at an unprecedented rate. Species-rich natural grassland meadows have declined by 97% since 1930 and these areas now remain in small isolated pockets interspersed by large tracts of commercially-managed farmland and forestry. Whilst commercial food production is essential, it is also vital to recreate a living landscape with centres of biodiversity joined together by enhanced hedgerows, woodlands and watercourses so that species can move about and repopulate other areas. Without bees we would have no agriculture (and thus no bread, vegetables, olive oil, cereals etc) and while many creatures are less vital than the bee there is an inter-dependency that must be defended if we are to grow enough food to survive.
“The natural diversity here is unparalleled - I felt connected to Moat Farm as soon as I arrived for our nature safari.”
— Stephen T