Your organisation's purpose:
Castle Farm is a family farm near Sevenoaks in Kent – nestled in the pretty North Downs. The Alexander family has been farming here for five generations and are most known for their Lavender which is grown for essential oils to be used in aromatherapy, perfume and toiletries. Alongside Lavender, the family grow arable crops such as wheat and barley, hops for interior decoration, pumpkins and apples.
The farm has a herd of beef cattle which you can see grazing on the water meadows by the River Darent, and is also home to the Castle Farm Shop which is open all year and stocked to the brim with local farm foods, treats, gifts and decorations.
Visitors can enjoy events in the Lavender Fields when the rows bloom their spectacular purple from late June to late July.
What is your impact initiative?
At Castle Farm we are committed to maintaining responsible food production and enjoyable, educational visitor experiences whilst enhancing the environment in which we operate.
The impact your initiative has had:
Castle Farm has a long-term policy of a farming approach that is sensitive to the environment, including conserving and enhancing habitats. The farm devotes 10% of its area to be managed with wildlife and the environment having priority over food production.
Woodland management, hedge & tree planting and chalk grassland management for orchids, are all practical examples of ongoing conservation works we undertake.
Castle Farm has been part of environmental stewardship schemes for over 25 years.
We actively encourage greater species diversity across all our farmland and believe that it is important to create wildlife habitats that improve insect numbers as well as birds and small mammals
Grass field edge margins are maintained to provide extra habitat for flowers and mammals, pollen and nectar areas support bees and insects, summer fallow fields are sown to favour ground-nesting birds, and we operate a programme of old hedge restoration work.
Working closely with the Kent Wildlife Trust, we have spearheaded the formation of the Darenth Valley Farmer Cluster Scheme which is comprised of farmers and landowners who are committed to sustainably farming and managing our precious landscape, situated in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This cluster group has recently secured a Landscape Recovery Award from DEFRA.
We maintain permissive footpaths across our farmland, including the Darenth Valley Path, so people can enjoy the countryside. This year we are putting up educational signs along this route, to encourage visitors to learn and appreciate the environment they are visiting.
Our family will continue to diversify our operations and utilise our existing assets and skill sets to maintain a viable business and farming production model which can be enjoyed by future generations.
Have you observed any direct benefits to your business or organisation as a result of the initiative?
Many of the visitors who take part in our Guided Lavender tours, or read our conservation signs on the farm, leave with a deeper understanding of the landscape, what we grow and how conservation efforts work across the farm. This in turn, encourages increased customer loyalty.
Have you observed any benefits to your visitors as a result of the initiative?
Our conservation efforts across Castle Farm ensure visitors can access and enjoy beautiful footpaths and views, plus appreciate the wildlife, insects and birdlife which is actively welcomed across our farmland and conservation areas.
Our Castle Farm Shop provides a range of foods which have direct provenance to the farm (low food miles), support seasonal harvests or are from local small businesses.
What category/categories does your initiative fall under?
- Encouraging public transport use
- Reducing energy use
- Food for Good – reducing food miles, local seasonal produce, plant-based & organic
- Reducing waste
- Nature positive initiatives – conserving, preserving or restoring landscapes, habitats & wildlife
- Reducing overcrowding & promoting off-season tourism
- Minimising water use & water pollution
- Ending deforestation
- Local job creation
- Wellbeing
- Equality and diversity
- Preserving and protecting cultural heritage
Address:
Castle Farm, Shoreham, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 7UB
Website:
Contact email address:
