Conservation inspiration: Eat local

Peak District park’s pub raises a glass to sustainability

Professor David Bellamy presents his conservation award to (left) park owner Alan Palmer and team members

ONE OF THE KEY sustainability ideas promoted by the David Bellamy Conservation Award Scheme is the need to Eat Local. In general, the shorter the distance between field and plate the better it is for the environment.

One park that has taken this to home as possible (so cutting down on transport pollution and costs) Callow Top, which enjoys an idyllic position overlooking the Dove Valley, has put in place a raft of other green initiatives.

The park boasts four carefully managed spring-fed fishing ponds which act as a magnet for many different birds, as well as dragonflies and other aquatic life.

A bird hide allows visitor numbers.

The owners Alan and Jill Palmer, aided by their grown-up children, have also planted hundreds of native trees and shrubs which provide valuable nesting and breeding habitats as well as food resources.

The park’s David Bellamy assessor has highlighted the abundance of nectar-bearing wild flowers on the park which attract many different types of butterfly as well as honey bees and other pollinators with the best views of the Peak District’s star-studded night skies.

According to come and learn more about the natural world.”

Seeking inspiration for new ways in which your park can help protect the natural world? In these articles, Rufus Bellamy, head of the David Bellamy Conservation Award Scheme, highlights some of the latest initiatives being taken. For more ideas, visit https://stayuknews.co.uk/conservation/