Research with our Trust
Farm and Estate Prospectus for Tertiary Education
The John Lewis Partnership/Waitrose operate an arable farm in North Hampshire at Leckford near Stockbridge. The Trustees of the John Spedan Lewis Trust for the Advancement of the Natural Sciences wish to make access to the farm available to undergraduate and postgraduate students for study, research and survey to improve farmland biodiversity and to improve the science behind the conservation of the wider flora and fauna of lowland habitats in the UK countryside.
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See a list of some of the projects or workshops we do here.
Roe Deer
Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus)
Background
The John Lewis Partnership/Waitrose owns and manages about 1000 hectares of lowland farmland adjacent to the River Test in North Hampshire. To commemorate the retirement of the Partnership’s Chairman in the mid-1950s, the Partnership set up The John Spedan Lewis Trust for the Advancement of the Natural Sciences at the Leckford Estate and provided a small endowment for study. Since his death, an independent Chairman and a Board of Trustees have run this research and education charity, with the more specific remit to manage the non-productive parts of the Estate and to honour the Chairman’s life-long interest in Natural History.
Habitats on the Estate
The Leckford Estate covers about 1000 hectares, primarily on grade 2 soils overlying chalk. Arable crops include cereals, including spring-sown varieties, break crops including oilseed rape as well as grass. Other cropped habitats include an orchard and a vineyard. Within the Estate boundary there are eight Nature Reserves, including SSSIs and local nature reserves designated both nationally and within the county. The river Test ( a famous chalk stream) and its tributaries run through the Estate.
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Much of the farm is covered by Agri-environment agreements whereby the Estate receives subsidy in return for environmental and wildlife -friendly management measures undertaken on the farm. See our reserves page for more information.
Student Access
As well as the Leckford Estate itself, there is also a large block of farmland available for study adjacent to the farm. This block was recently sold but is still farmed by The Leckford Estate and its staff.
The Estate is also a member of a local Farmer Cluster (Winchester Test) consisting of 32 like-minded farmers who are working together to improve the farmland environment and its wildlife at a landscape scale. Access to these farms can be negotiated. All this provides a unique research platform for studies on farmland wildlife.
A Research Study Area
Early research in the 1990s on the prototype Agri-environment measures was part of the Leckford remit and Trustees wish to see this heritage continue. Student projects at undergraduate, Masters and PhD levels can be hosted and possibly part-funded subject to Trustee approval using the study areas described above.
On-Site Facilities
In the village of Leckford, there is a small building that can be used as a centre/base/temporary laboratory. It has power, water and sanitation and has sets of binocular microscopes and other field equipment. These facilities could also be used for day trips, and site visits for teaching purposes.
There are also historic databases that can be made available on various taxa of flora and fauna on groups such as moths, butterflies, birds and arable plants. Access and use of these databases are available subject to a set of Terms and Conditions that must be agreed in advance (see appropriate section on website).