Wasing and World Earth Day

In celebration of World Earth Day, we are taking a look at a few of the ways that we try to protect and restore.

In recent years, we have been planting thousands of bulbs across the estate to encourage pollination, bees and other insects. This spring we have had the pleasure of watching the gardeners hard work come to fruition, the bees have certainly been enjoying the spring flowers around the estate.

This year we have been busy with the Castle Barn landscaping project. Extensive planting has been planned including some Cornus in the main venue carpark alongside a beautiful beech hedge. All of this will no doubt provide shelter for all manner of birds and insects over the coming years.

The farm land at Wasing has now been farmed organically for over two and a half years, with no artificial chemicals and fertilisers being used to grow our crops and sympathetic livestock grazing being used to manage our permanent pastures.

On our arable land we use well balanced crop rotations with diverse fertility building leys to build our soils fertility for the future, improving our soils organic matter, microbiology and capturing carbon at the same time. In-between our fertility building we aim to grow a diverse array of crops including Barley, Spelt, Rye, Quinoa and Hemp with an aim to keep supply chains and food miles to the minimum possible.

The cattle and sheep born and raised on the estate are crucial to fertility cycling in our organic farming system, and we are proud to be producing sustainable, grass fed beef and lamb to the highest welfare standards. Our aim over the coming years is to produce as much sustainable, nutritious and delicious food as we can in house for all of the amazing events and weddings held at Wasing, whilst continuing to improve the farms biodiversity and soil health for future generations.

This change to organic is really helping to fuel the regeneration of the environment across the estate at Wasing, with positive, noticeable changes in our biodiversity already being seen across our fields. We also dedicate over 200 acres (or 106 football pitches) of land to specially grown flower and seed crops to feed our pollinators throughout the year and our bird life over winter. The hard work involved in providing habitats for a wide array of farm bird populations is paying off, with winter counts showing increasing numbers of birds being supported on the farm over winter, with red list species such as Skylark, Yellowhammer, Linnet and Lapwing populations all improving year on year.

We are also involved in the management of a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) at Wasing where we have been creating habitats to encourage Odonata, better known as dragonflies and damselflies. We have over 20 species of Odonata at Wasing, including the Small Red Damselfly and the Emerald Dragonfly. We are committed to maintaining this special habitat and improving it going into the future.

Management of trees and hedgerows is very important on the estate, where we are now aiming to let our hedges grow bigger which provides more food for our birds and wonderful blossom in the spring. We also carry out coppicing, most noticeably along the river Enborne where we coppice Alder trees which have been growing on the riverbanks for decades. The coppicing provides us with good quality, sustainable firewood whilst also allowing light back into the rivers, benefiting aquatic life. We have also recently planted over 140 new native trees into our parkland, these oaks and beech will help to restore the parkland into the wood pasture it once was, providing ample shelter for our cattle and capturing carbon at the same time

All our heating and hot water for the boutique hotel and the wedding and events venue is provided by a biomass boiler. The biomass boiler is powered by wood chip sourced from the Wasing woodland as part of our woodland management plan.

It may not be obvious at first glance, but just like organic farming, yoga and spiritual practices have a long tradition of working in relationship with the seasons and cycles of the year and with the balance of the elements.  Many Eastern practices view the human body as being made up of these elements in fact.  When we recognise on a personal level how much nourishment we receive from Mother Earth, and how much our own sense of wellbeing is enriched by fresh air, clean water, rich soil, the more drawn we are to bringing care and responsibility to ourselves, and our communities. 

Wasing are holding an in-house retreat for Women May 14th-16th based on the theme of Wild Elements, which will literally take folks into deeper connection with their own bodies and hearts through practices connected with the earth, with water, fire and air.  Being directly immersed in nature is definitely one of the best ways to come into deep respect with the Earth.

In August we are also proud to host Medicine Festival in our woodlands, a gathering focused on people and planet, designed to inspire genuine and authentic connection to nature.  It fuses ancient indigenous wisdom with western technology, bringing together wisdom keepers, thought leaders, artists and musicians to inspire new narratives and understanding to help us restore our home, this sacred earth.

At Wasing sustainability is at the heart of our planning.