whilst exploring the estate, shaded woodland and edible gardens with estate gardeners and Jane Prescott, The Manx Herbalist.  Jane demonstrated how to make herbal tea infusion from the garden for everyone to experience.

Volunteers formed the Biodiversity Group in 2000 to monitor the local flora and fauna occurring on the estate. Birds, bats, spiders, flies, butterflies, dragonflies, moths and wildflowers are regularly monitored and their populations recorded. The monitoring has been invaluable in identifying species to be aware of and shown a notable  increase in population of fauna benefiting from the change of land use, from agricultural land to less intensely managed meadows and hedgerows.

10 May, 2024

Jane Prescott, the Manx Herbalist, delivered insights and instruction on how to grow and nurture your own healing herbs with a tour of the Potager and Forest gardens.

September 2023

Jane Prescott delivered a wonderful walk around identifying useful herbs and how to best utilise local beneficial plants. Participants then crafted their own herbal remedy using herbs gathered from the Potager Garden.

Summer 2023

Guided Bird tour with Chris Sharp the find some of the resident and visiting bird species enjoying the relatively undisturbed landscape, which provides them with numerous opportunities to feed, nest and rest. The provision of a safe habitat is key to the conservation of many species with dwindling numbers.

30 July, 2022

A fun afternoon with Jo Barker walking through the Potager, Nautilus and Forest garden learning about permaculture, edible plants and sustainable plant production.

THE MANX HERBALIST

24 September, 2021

The Shuttleworth Botanic Garden hosted Jane Prescott, the Manx Herbalist, who delivered wonderful insights and instruction on making herbal teas and syrups.

Summer 2021

Guided Bird tour with Chris Sharp the find some of the resident and visiting bird species enjoying the relatively undisturbed landscape. The provision of a safe habitat is key to the conservation of many species with declining population numbers.

MALLARDS TOUR

4 September, 2021

Local interest groups including the Isle of Man Art Society, Manx Plants and Garden Conservation Society and the Manx Retirement Association were invited for a tour of the landscape project and progress. The tour included developing landscapes, their themes and educational narratives which will become highlights of the mature landscapes.

2019 & 2021

A visit from the Isle of Man Beekeepers Federation to see the resident hives and developing landscape that they forage on. The importance of pollinators is well known and the organic principles used to maintain the landscape ensure the health of the colonies.

18 June, 2018

A tour of the site and work to date for local interest groups, with an emphasis on creating microclimates which will shelter future planting.

26 January, 2018

At the beginning of May, a group from the Children’s Centre Community Farm Inclusion Program came up for an afternoon volunteering with us. They planted pollinator-friendly perennials such as nepeta, hyssop, salvia and centaurea in the Butterfly and Moth meadow. There is more planting to be done in the meadow, as well as other jobs such as developing the footpaths to make it more accessible, so we look forward to having them back in again soon!

October 4, 2017

On September 26th, 45 members of the Cardiganshire Horticultural Society visited for a tour of the estate. They visited a number of gardens, both on the Isle of Man and in the UK on their way up to the boat in Liverpool, and they were excited to be able to see a garden in the early stages of development, compared to the other more established ones they saw on their trip.

Since 2015

Kewaigue school have been visiting Mallards since 2015 using the landscapes for education about biodiversity, food production and wildlife.

We hope to include more local schools in the near future.

November 26, 2015

Artists visit Ballachrink farm on a glorious sunny day to enjoy the landscape.