Wildlife, both big and small, play a hugely important role in ensuring the overall health of the countryside.
With the food chain so closely interlinked, small areas of neglect can quickly have significant implications. One of Preston Hall's key responsibilities as a conserver of the land is to ensure that everything is done to protect and enhance wildlife.
As farming practices have changed over the years greater importance has been placed on woodlands, hedgerows, water courses and ponds to help provide the perfect habitat for wildlife.
As part of the estates conservation strategy a number of environmental enhancement projects have been implemented with more planned for the near future.
Hedge Planting
Hedges provide key wildlife corridors and shelter for mammals and provide important food and nesting areas for the wild birds. Over the past 20 years the estate has repaired long sections of hedges and planted over 900m of new hedge.
Wildflower Meadows
20 acres of wildflower meadow has been resown to provide a pollen rich mix of flowers and grasses. This patchwork of wild flowers attracts a high number of bees and insects that rely on the pollen, as well as looking beautiful.
Field Margins
A few meters of wild grass margins are left around the fields to provide the perfect habitat for nesting birds in the spring and a perfect foraging ground for rodents such as the field mouse in the summer.