Silvo-arable agroforestry, the practice of planting trees among crops, has reportedly boosted Wakelyns Farm’s resilience to pests, built up soil fertility, and provided wildlife habitats for various species. The farm emphasises self-sufficiency by deriving energy from solar panels and woodchip boilers and minimising reliance on chemical inputs.

Nature-based Intervention:
Silvo-arable agroforestry is the practice of growing trees amongst crops on a farm. Wakelyns Farm in particular, has planted fruit, nut, willow coppice, and timber trees in 56 rows with arable or horticulture crops in the 10 to 15 meters between them. The trees provide wind shelter for the crops down below, roots and leaf litter to build up soil fertility, and habitats for pollinators, pest predators, and wildlife. Furthermore, the efforts to increase tree cover combined with the improved management of older trees through pollarding, a process by which the top and branches of a tree are pruned to encourage new growth, aim to increase the carbon sequestration potential of the farm’s area. Leguminous ground cover crops such as clover also help build up soil fertility. The farm emphasises resilience through the use of local and on-site resources as opposed to external inputs. In the case of Wakelyn’s farm, this means deriving energy from solar panels and a woodchip boiler.

Overview of context and outcomes:
In an otherwise primarily monocropped agricultural landscape, the owners of the 22.5 hectare Wakelyns Farm have embraced silvo-arable agroforestry to boost agrobiodiversity and resilience to pests, diseases and other stresses. The farm’s agroforestry practices have provided a mix of habitats for a wide range of wildlife including 43 bird species. For two decades, the farm has been the focus of research into organic production and agroforestry.