An Introduction

Low Newton Pond, in Northumberland, is managed by The National Trust (NT). The pond supports many breeding and migratory birds that can be seen from a bird hide on the western boundary. Water Reed (Phragmites australis) has been encroaching on the pond over time and now the NT have decided to find a sustainable way of managing the vegetation. We (Richard & John) at Holistic Land Management are experienced managers of the land and have Highland Cattle to sustainable graze problematic areas of vegetation. The prediction is that the cows will graze on the reeds and as they wander, breakup the rhizomes that will inhibit the growth in the future. There are also three Exmoor ponies on site, but they prefer the grass. The cows are fitted with collars; it’s a small unit suspended by a small chain around their neck. These collars detect a virtual boundary, it plays a jingle if they get too close to it, if they continue it gives the cows a buzz. This allows us to graze particular areas by moving the virtual boundary in a managed rotation around the site as the sward height is achieved.  A neighbouring field has a smaller scrape that has a small colony of breeding Avocets, this attracts many bird watchers, its not as big as the pond and not as deep. Its looking fine at the moment but if the dry spring continues it’ll sharp disappear

We met Michael from the NT at the pond on 25^th April 2025 and a start date in June was decided.