Wilder grazing: Northern lights
Information page
Meet the leader - the horns of doom to any nettle that stands in his way.
This dynamic duo arrived at Nashenden Down in 2021
They didn’t take long to settle in and were soon off exploring their new home, once the sheep had shown them the way.
The pair were brought on-site with the plan of naturally creating and maintaining an area of disturbed ground for the species that enjoy and require those conditions, as well as for “weed” control. Pigs have an amazing ability to lift turf and snuffle plant roots. If you’ve ever tried pulling up grass with your hands you know how difficult it is; these lovely ladies use their faces!
What makes these pigs so special?
Their dark skin helps to protect them from the sun and they particularly enjoy a good wallow in the muddy margins of ponds on sunny days. Their noses can sniff out a meal anywhere, almost as well as they can sniff out mischief; climbing in trailers, using vehicles to scratch difficult-to-reach itches, tasting everything they can reach, nose printing anything clean, and breaking into their feed bin before promptly spending the rest of the day in a food coma (not much rootling occurs on these days).
Donate to our Amazing Grazing appeal to support Hazel & Beech
We need to raise £120,000 by the end of April to scale up our Wilder Grazing programme and bring more land back to life!
Find out more about our conservation grazers
The time team
Information page
Goats chomping through the chestnut on an iron age hill fort.
Hide and seek pros
Information page
Our longhorn cattle are a beautiful British breed with unique markings and horns.
The ginger glam squad
Information page
Meet the Highland cows that are part of our crucial Wilder Grazing programme
Voldemort's herd
Information page
Head of the herd is Voldemort, a dark lord of horses...
The retirees
Information page
Living their best life surrounded by lots of grass.