A Week on the Estate: Environment Day, Platinum Jubilee & Summer Arrives

Sunday is World Environment Day. At South Ormsby Estate we’re doing our part to celebrate, restore and protect our planet right here in the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve achieved and what we’re planning:

• South Ormsby Estate is in-conversion to organic status for animal and arable produce throughout 2022 with a view to being fully organic by 2023.
• We’re accredited by the Pasture for Life Association and we apply the principles of regenerative agriculture. Our Lincoln Red herd eats only grass grown at South Ormsby Estate.
• Post-war agriculture took its toll on hedgerows. According to Estate records, we had 170 fields in 1888 and 96 by 2018. Our team is working hard towards 2022’s target of 1.1km of new hedgerow, adding to more than 5km planted since 2019.
• We embrace the farm-to-fork guarantee and actively minimise food miles. Much of our produce is sold via click-and-collect a matter of walking distance from where it is reared and processed. We also insulate our meat in transit with biodegradable sheep’s wool.
• We’ve switched South Ormsby Hall from a fuel-oil boiler to a biomass heating system. We’ve also invested heavily in the Estate’s rental properties to drastically reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and increase their energy efficiency.
• We grow our own fresh produce in the Hall’s Walled Garden, and we’ve helped establish community vegetable plots with the help of local volunteers. We’re planning to recruit a self-employed market gardener to boost this this aspect of our work.
• We’re maintaining and improving drainage across the Estate to make mitigate the effects of unusually wet weather.
• The Saturday Club did their part for our farmland birds, assembling and installing 150 nesting boxes across our parkland in time for spring.
• Our established hedgerows are maintained by plashing, a time-honoured way of forming strong, long-lived and biodiverse boundaries that are a boon to wildlife and impenetrable to livestock.
• Our wild field margins and hedgerows are good news for biodiversity, creating a haven for all manner of birds, bugs and mammals. In timely fashion, Richard Doan of Lincolnshire Birding tweeted the results of his latest survey on our land: ‘31 yellowhammer, 13 whitethroat, 7 red kite, 7 blackcap, 44 skylark, 1 cuckoo, 10 buzzard, 13 pairs of linnet, 2 willow warbler, 4 reed bunting, 5 pairs of lapwing and a sitting oystercatcher!’

On the careers front, South Ormsby Estate currently has two exciting posts to fill. First, we’re looking for a green-fingered and hard-working entrepreneur to become our Self-Employed Market Gardener. We’ll give the successful candidate the land and equipment they’ll need to set up and run a market garden. We’re also offering free accommodation. Once the business is fully established, there’ll be an option to rent an Estate property nearby. To find out more or apply, click HERE.

We’re also looking for a Graduate Trainee for a one-year, fixed-term contract with a salary of £19,260 p.a. For recent graduates willing to put their all into a diverse range of estate work, this is a great opportunity. We don’t require any particular degree subject, but the successful candidate will be keen and willing to try all of the roles that go into running a large rural estate. For details and to apply, click HERE.

Finally, if you’re a local musician or you know one,  South Ormsby Estate needs you! We’re hosting some exciting outdoor events at the Hall this summer and we need musicians to help things go with a swing. Our first event will feature a short, light set of up to one hour on the afternoon of Friday 8th July.  We’d ideally like to hear from a singer who also plays an acoustic guitar, but we’re open-minded. Please email Finn with expressions of interest or queries:  Finn.Bracey@southormsbyestate.co.uk.

If you’d like to share your opinion on anything you’ve read here, we’d love to hear from you. Just head to our Facebook page HERE and comment beneath the post that linked you to this blog. As ever, thanks for your support.