Honeygar FAQs

Somerset Wildlife Trust has owned and managed land on the Somerset Levels and Moors, primarily in the Avalon Marshes area for over 50 years, since it bought its first land at Westhay Moor. The Trust has continued to look for opportunities to acquire more land in this landscape to create, strengthen and protect one of the UK’s most significant wetland habitats for wildlife, and ensure connectivity within and to the wider Somerset landscape.  We also know that the rich peatlands that this area is best known for, can be precious wildlife habitats, and vital carbon stores that, when well-managed, can contribute to reducing the impacts of climate change.  The best option for nature and the environment for all our sakes, is to keep peat in the ground and keep it wet.

Honeygar is strategically located in the centre of the Avalon Marshes.  Wilded, it can connect existing nature-rich areas to help nature spread across the landscape and the wider county beyond. Restoring the land for nature and allowing natural processes to function will provide significant opportunities for populations of rare and precious species to spread and flourish.

Honeygar still has metres of peat soils across the site. Lowland peat takes a very long time to build up and today it’s rare to find a site like this as so much peat has been dug up in Somerset and elsewhere. In fact, it is continuing to be dug today for horticultural use, which is something we are campaigning to stop. It’s vital that we preserve remaining peatlands.

Our budget includes much more than buying the land at Honeygar. For example, it includes: making changes to the existing hidden infrastructure so we can begin to rewet the peat by raising water levels; establishing regular monitoring of carbon, water quality, habitats and species, across Honeygar so we and others can learn of the impact of the changes we will be making; improving the track and access, including signage to ensure there is more access to Honeygar while ensuring nature and the vital peat is protected; exploring options to develop the existing buildings in a sustainable way and also paying for the ongoing running cost of owning Honeygar; funding staff needed for Honeygar, lead on the wilding and monitoring on site and to support us running our biggest fundraising campaign ever.

We have had fantastic support from a range of grant givers and philanthropists since announcing Honeygar last year. We hope to secure the balance of the funding needed from a range of sources, including philanthropists, grants and local businesses. Every £1 donated now will also demonstrate to them the wide support there is for our vision for Honeygar and really help us close the funding gap.

At Honeygar we are looking to turn lowland peatlands that have been dried over decades, and hence are now emitting carbon and do not support the range of species they could, into a wet peatland, supporting nature-rich habitats and storing carbon. Currently most of the site is part of a drainage scheme, designed to remove water and maintain a low water table to deliver agricultural practices. We will be raising the water levels over time to enable the peat soils to recover and, in discussion with our direct neighbours, adjusting grazing and cutting regimes. We have already met with many of the local farmers and neighbours, and will be staying in touch with them as we implement our plans so they are aware of what we are doing and what we are learning as a result of this.

Honeygar will no longer be a dairy farm but our approach will we believe demonstrate a way for others to generate an income in the future through payments for nature-based solutions, like storing carbon and improving water quality and biodiversity, something the government is encouraging all farmers to do through their new Environmental Land Management Schemes.

Honeygar is less than a mile from our Catcott nature reserve (SSSI, SPA). The starting point for Catcott was similar to Honeygar, agricultural land with drained peat soils. Our expectation is that similar habitats will emerge. Once the peat soils are wetter, we hope then to see a range of species emerge. We are just going to have to wait and see!

We plan to develop sustainably at Honeygar and are currently assessing the condition of the existing buildings and starting to explore options to support our vision for wilding Honeygar and to share what we learn. Honeygar is a long-term project and developing the buildings will be a second phase of work over the coming decade which will require a second fundraising campaign. 

There is a public footpath that runs from the Burtle Road up the drive to the farm and passes around the site of the old farm buildings to join Honeygar Lane. We will over time be adding more footpaths and running events at Honeygar and, as part of our second phase of work, will be creating sustainable buildings to support those who are working and visiting Honeygar. For now, you must keep to the public footpath and keep your dog on a lead as there may be livestock on site and ground-nesting birds.

Honeygar is a long-term project. Our focus for now is getting Honeygar set up so the rewetting and wilding of the site can begin while we also explore options to build in a second phase of the project over the next decade, for which we will need a further phase of fundraising. We will share what we learn with our supporters, neighbours and other conservation organisations and hope by doing this over time others will follow our lead and manage land on the Levels in more nature and climate friendly ways.

Honeygar in folk medicine is a mix of honey and apple cider vinegar and has been purported to have health benefits since ancient times. However, our Honeygar seems to have a different derivation.

Historic maps show Honeygar Farm being known as Honeygore or Honey Gore Farm, but more recent ones refer to it as Honeygar Farm. Honeygore as the site’s original place name makes sense as gore refer to islands or dry land surrounded by water, and this has most probably been prefixed by a personal name for the Anglo-Saxon owner.  The site’s name, like many, has evolved over time but we will be keeping with Honeygar for the next chapter in the site’s fascinating history.

Land at Honeygar will not be taken out of circulation for food production under the Trust’s ownership. To date the land has been grazed by dairy cows. Currently there are no supply issues with regards to milk production in the UK ^[1], so our plan to change the kind of cattle we might use for new grazing regimes on the site will not have any significant impact on supply.  Any animals we use for grazing will also be entering the food supply chain, as beef or lamb for example, so the land will remain in food production - but just not to the same intensive level, or as a main source of income. Less intensive grazing, fewer animals per hectare allowed to roam larger areas will help us mimic a more natural approach to this landscape.

In the context of food production, if the land was not grazed, there is no other viable alternative.There are other forms of land management that would bring in alternative income, but it is acknowledged in the farming community that the Levels does not lend itself to arable farming. This is due to the fact that is low lying land and, in particular, because peat soils are delicate and degrade far faster than other soil types when ploughed and, as they dry out, they increase run off and thus flood risk further. Food grown on peat soils in particular, will have a far high carbon footprint than the same food produced on non peat soils given the amount of carbon that is released when they are intensively farmed.

^[1] Reference for this: United Kingdom Food Security Report 2021: Theme 2: UK Food Supply Sources - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)