Country diary: It's amazing what one family farm can do for wildlife | Andrea Meanwell

Ennerdale, Cumbria: The range of changes made here is inspirational - and it's working, with rising numbers of ring ouzel, marsh fritillary and green woodpeckersWe were looking out across one of the most beautiful panoramic views in the Lake District, above Ennerdale Water, with the dramatic horseshoe of fells all around us. Richard and Alison Maxwell of Howside Farm were teaching nature-friendly farming to a group of farmers and those aspiring to be farmers, all working in the Lake District.Howside started out as a small 100-acre National Trust farm back in 1998, but it has greatly expanded since then, as they changed mindset from being focused on food production to considering nature as "essential", as Richard puts it. Continue reading...