My Mammy and Daddy are dairy farmers. They tell me and my brother and sister that it is very important that we all do our bit to help biodiversity, which I think is just a fancy word for nature.

Here are some of the things we have done on our farm. Maybe if you live on a farm, you could ask your parents to do them too and we can all help nature and wildlife thrive on our farms.

  • Let the hedgerows grow tall and beautiful.
  • Do not use weedkiller to keep things ‘tidy’.
  • Plant more mixed-species hedgerows.
  • Install bat boxes in the farmyard.
  • Plant a big pollinator plot for the bees.
  • Grow some nettle patches for the butterflies.
  • Put up some bird boxes for the sparrows and the starlings.
  • Plant a little native woodland.
  • Plant lines of native trees along the cow roadways – we have planted sessile oaks and our cows love their shade.
  • Make the margins by streams and rivers wider and let nature take over.
  • One of my favourite things to do is learn the names of all the wildflowers that grow on our farm. We made elderflower cordial during the summer and I am looking forward to blackberry picking and making lots of jam with Mammy.

    We use a phone app called 'chirpomatic' to get to know the birdsong and I was very excited to hear a skylark for the very first time when checking the calves with Daddy a few weekends ago.

    I love farming with nature.