Land & Farming
Brigton Farm is a 50-acre smallholding on the edge of the Galloway Forest Park. We believe in working with the land, adopting regenerative farming principles, avoiding livestock and undertaking nature-recovery projects. Nature is at the heart of everything we do,
Brigton Wood is an area of woodland on the farm, not far from RSPB Wood of Cree, one of the UK’s best examples of temperate rainforest. With ancient oaks, wild mushrooms, bluebells and an abundance of mosses and lichens, we’ve removed livestock that previously grazed the woodland, allowing natural regeneration and an understory to form.
Ancient Temperate Rainforest
The main crop at Brigton is silage, which is an important step for managing grasslands. We only do one cut each year in the autumn, allowing wild flowers to grow and seed throughout the summer, supporting insect and bird populations. The silage is then collected and used by the neighbouring farm, minimising travel.
Silage
With large parts of the land at Brigton Farm acting as a floodplain for the rivers Cree and Minnoch, we’ve taken steps to help these habitats support a wide range of wetland animals. We’ve created and cleared scrapes and ponds in the landscape, important nesting habitats for lapwings and other birds, and supporting insects and amphibians.
Wetlands
Supported by funding from the South of Scotland Tree Planting Scheme and Reforesting Scotland, we’ve planted over a 1,000 native trees in riparian zones, supplying shelter and food for aquatic animals, as well as acting as an important natural biofilter.
We’re also growing native oaks from acorns in the ancient woodland on the farm and the Galloway crab apple from pure specimens on the farm, helping to preserve the local species.