Farming with the Natural world
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world”
Nature is woven onto every part of the farm. From organically managed fields and species-rich hedgerows to pollinator habitats and wildlife corridors, we believe farming can play a vital role in restoring biodiversity while strengthening community connections with the natural world.
Located in the Vale of Glamorgan the farm provides a living landscape where food production, conservation, education, and wellbeing come together. Through our projects, we are helping protect rare arable plants, support declining pollinators and farmland birds, and create opportunities for people to experience nature first-hand.
❋ Collaborative EnergyAt Slade Farm Organics, our current project, Cae Byw (Living Field), is restoring rare arable plant habitats, strengthening hedgerow corridors, and reconnecting landscapes across the Vale of Glamorgan. Through nature-friendly farming, wildlife monitoring, school visits, volunteer activities, and community events, we are bringing people and nature together while protecting biodiversity for future generations. If you would like to be part of this exciting project and help support nature recovery, we would love to hear from you!
Cysylltu Pobl â Natur
Connecting People to Nature
Our previous Nature Networks Fund project, Cysylltu Pobl â Natur (Connecting People to Nature), focused on restoring rare arable plant habitats while widening public engagement with nature-friendly farming.
The project strengthened ecological connectivity between important protected sites, including Clemenstone Meadows SSSI and Southerndown Coast SSSI. Through practical habitat management, education, citizen science, and public access initiatives, we demonstrated how sustainable farming can support biodiversity, landscape resilience, and community wellbeing.
The project delivered significant ecological and engagement outcomes, including:
Establishing unsown cultivated margins and unsprayed cereal habitats across more than 68 hectares of farmland
Planting new hedgerows to strengthen wildlife corridors between protected landscapes
Recording rare and declining arable species including Field Woundwort, Sharp- and Round-leaved Fluellen, Corn Spurrey, and Stinking Chamomile
Supporting long-term seed conservation through collaboration with the National Botanic Garden of Wales
Engaging more than 740 schoolchildren in outdoor learning and nature-based activities
Delivering volunteer opportunities through surveys, planting, and public events
This project would not have been possible without the generous support of the Welsh Government’s Nature Networks Fund and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Cae Byw
Building on the success of NN3, our current project, Cae Byw (Living Field): Restoring Glamorgan Arable Plant Heritage and Connecting Landscapes, continues this work.
Arable wild plants have experienced some of the steepest declines in the UK since the 1950s, yet only one of Wales’ 1,234 Sites of Special Scientific Interest is designated specifically for arable plant interest. Our project seeks to address this gap by conserving and reintroducing threatened arable flora while preserving traditional farming knowledge and Wales’ agricultural heritage.
The Project Includes Three Interconnected parts
1. Rare Arable Plant Reintroduction Programme
This workstream focuses on conserving and restoring rare arable flora. This work also provides important habitat for pollinators, beneficial insects, and declining farmland birds.
2. SSSI Connectivity Through Green Corridors
This strand strengthens ecological links between Clemenstone Meadows SSSI and Southerndown Coast SSSI through targeted hedgerow enhancement and traditional land management techniques..
3. Public Engagement and Nature Connection
Connecting people with nature remains central to the project. Public engagement activities include farm walks, talks, school visits, and outreach activities. As well as Volunteer opportunities linked to monitoring and conservation. Through these activities, we aim to build long-term community support for nature recovery while helping more people experience the benefits of nature-friendly farming.
““Just a reminder, that you don’t just need nature, you ARE nature… and you’re only ever really truly ‘home’, when you’re right amongst it.”
Doeth Natur
Doeth Natur (Naturewise) is a partnership project with Fieldwork CIC. Connecting people from diverse communities with the Welsh landscape through hands-on biodiversity monitoring. Building on a successful pilot at Slade Farm, the project is running from March 2026 to February 2028 and engages volunteers in regular nature surveys across hedgerows, arable field margins, grassland, and woodland habitats. Participants will record plants, insects, birds, fungi, and lichens, contributing valuable data to the SewBrec biodiversity recording system while gaining practical skills, confidence, and wellbeing benefits through time spent outdoors.
The programme delivers structured, inclusive volunteering about two mornings per month. The project strengthens ecological connectivity across the Vale of Glamorgan, supports biodiversity recovery, and improves wellbeing by helping people build meaningful, lasting connections with nature, place, and community.
“I have loved doing this, it’s opened my eyes to how much biodiversity is right on our doorstep”
