Our Vision is Nature Recovery
by restoring natural processes
with the help of large herbivores
In the absence of wild megafauna, cattle and ponies must stand in for their missing ancestors.
Our animals contribute to a balanced ecosystem with their natural grazing behaviour, and movement. Because we respect them, their social relationships, and their individ- ual bonds, the young grow up protected by their elders and are able to learn from them. They are out on the land, allowing them a lifestyle that gives them the means to stay healthy.
By outwintering and herding where possible, we will be able to reduce fossil fuels, to operate within the Planetary boundaries, cycling our resources, and producing the food the land is able to grow without tipping the balance. The aim is to work in synergy with the environment, not pushing for animal performance, but adapting the herd to the habitat with beef as a byproduct. Longterm visions include working with cattle across the whole spectrum from living feral to sharing some of their milk with us.
Who we are
We are a veterinarian with an MSc in bovine ethology (natural weaning in cattle), and a geologist with mature cowgirl skills. We have over 25 years of experience in running large herds in rugged terrain with minimal equipment, at times on horseback. Our speciality is working at scale. We established natural husbandry methods, reducing management as much as possible.
Our animals are White Park and Aberdeen Angus cattle, and a couple of Exmoor ponies. They have been raised in family groups within socially stable herds that have developed naturally over the last two decades, during which time they have been selected for physical and emotional soundness: good calving ease, temperament, feet, udders and epigenetics have let them become tough and tame, sound and sociable, calm, confident, and easy to handle.
This is necessary and extremely helpful when living in wild land- scapes. It also gives them an ad- vantage in the way they utilise their habitat, as youngsters learn from their elders how to behave naturally. They have all grown up on the ranges, grazing year-round without supplemen- tary feed, and have never been inside a building.
Our Offer
We are dedicated to large-scale habitat restoration, wildland regeneration and soil recovery.
We will contribute
- Our animals (pedigree White Park and Aberdeen Angus cattle of high health status and bred over 20 years for physical and psychological soundness)
- Our expertise (MRCVS, MSc in cattle behaviour, 25 years of managing 2000 cattle on 4000 hectares SSSI with little infrastructure)
What we are looking for
We are in search of a team of likeminded people, who value trust, creative freedom and respect for one another, their forward-looking nature recovery project, and who are ready to introduce large herbivores into the landscape, at scale.
We want to partner with this team as they are striving towards ecological regeneration.
While the other team members are contributing as ecologists and economists, we will contribute by taking the responsibility for the large herbivores, integrating our animals into the habitat.
Our aim is to stay within the boundaries of the ecosystem and harvest only surplus animals, not pushing their performance at the cost of land and soil. To focus on the grazing operation, we will need the support of the estate.
Please get in touch if you like to find out more:
Imber Nowlin BSc (hons)
Dorit Albertsen MRCVS MSc d.albertsen@outlook.com