Lead Organisation:
Project Description:
At Folly Farm, 97 hectares of precious countryside are being brought back to life. This landscape—home to rare wildflower meadows and ancient woodland designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)—sits at the heart of a much bigger ambition: the B-Line, a living ecological corridor stretching from the Cotswolds to the Mendip Hills.
Our mission is to strengthen the vital natural bridge between Folly Farm and Browne's Folly, two flagship Avon Wildlife Trust reserves. By restoring species-rich grasslands, pushing back invasive scrub, and reintroducing conservation grazing with cattle and Exmoor ponies, we’re setting the conditions for long-term, sustainable regeneration rooted in natural processes.
New hedgerows will be woven through the landscape, creating shelter, food, and safe passage for pollinators and wildlife. Together, these actions will forge a resilient, interconnected ecosystem—one that allows nature to move, adapt, and thrive at a truly landscape scale.
Project Location:
Folly Farm lies within the Mendip Hills at grid reference ST 60603 60360 and forms part of the wider Big Chalk Programme area, linking nationally important chalk and limestone landscapes.
Fit with the Big Chalk Programme:
This project embodies the Big Chalk vision in action. By reconnecting fragmented wildflower grasslands and ancient woodlands, it delivers landscape-scale nature recovery that strengthens ecological resilience and supports priority species across the chalk landscape.
Crucially, this reconnection is about more than habitats alone. By restoring continuity in the land, we’re also restoring people’s relationship with it—creating spaces where communities can experience, understand, and value the deep connections between nature, place, and wellbeing.
Wider Social and Environmental Considerations:
Environmentally, this work delivers powerful nature-based solutions. Restored grasslands and woodlands help slow water, reduce erosion, store carbon, and buffer the landscape against climate extremes—while supporting the pollinators and wildlife that underpin healthy, productive ecosystems.
Beyond Folly Farm, this project is designed to lead by example. By demonstrating what interconnected, large-scale, wildlife-friendly land management can achieve, it offers a blueprint for others to follow—helping to inspire landowners, partners, and communities to play their part in building a resilient future for nature across the Big Chalk landscape.
The Big Chalk programme and Nature Recovery Fund is funded through the Protected Landscapes Partnership, supported by Defra.
Ox Eye Daisy
Do you have a project that could strengthen the future of southern England’s iconic chalk and limestone landscapes?
The Big Chalk programme brings together a dynamic suite of partner-led projects, each unique in its focus, area, and partnerships but sharing a commitment to our collective vision.
If your project contributes to the Big Chalk mission, we invite you to register it as a Big Chalk Project. Registered projects gain access to networking, shared learning, and best practice—alongside the Big Chalk brand, boosting your profile and connecting you to a powerful, growing network of partners.
Together, these projects form a united effort to secure the future of southern England’s chalk and limestone landscapes, making a lasting impact for nature and communities.