Charity worker Amy Martin has been presented with a £100 loyalty card by local farmer Beth McMurray at Three Trees Farm shop on the McMurrays farm in Chiseldon.
She is the lucky winner of a prize draw from respondents to a questionnaire sent out by local farmers who wanted to find out how much the local community knew about their work in the Marlborough Downs Nature Improvement Area (MDNIA).
Amy works for Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity which encourages people to get active and helps them change their travel habits, cut car use and increase walking and cycling.
“I’m originally from rural North Wales, and my parents have their own business, so I’m very aware of the importance of buying local produce and supporting independent farmers and businesses where possible,” she told Marlborough News Online.
A total of 42 farms in the Marlborough Downs have joined forces to conserve the landscape and wildlife by combining their efforts across the 225,625 acres of chalk downland that lies between Swindon, Marlborough and Avebury.
It is a ground-breaking venture that, if successful, might be rolled out across the rest of the UK. The project is supported by Government through Defra, the Environment Agency, Forestry Commission and Natural England.
Local partners include the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Wiltshire Council and the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) partnership.
Three Trees Farm is one positive example of what farmers are doing for wildlife on the Downs. The McMurrays have created a new wildlife pond, put up nest boxes and sown a plot of nectar mix to attract bees, butterflies and birds on their farm.
