Hollam is home to people, plants, and wildlife.  Most importantly it continues to be part of our local community.  We keep the shoot and estate closely associated with Dulverton. We always use local businesses and the great team at Hollam includes four families that live and work here, as well as others who live locally. On shoot days an additional 25 people are employed to pick up and beat.  The majority comes from Dulverton.

A wildlife corridor has been created to allow easier movement between the Little Exe and Barle River Valleys.  This corridor is 30m wide and has been planted with 4 acres of wildlife mixes, as well as trees and shrubs.  A now defunct game plot also has 3.5 acres of perennial wildlife mix and these areas are amazingly colourful and teem with butterflies and other insects.  They are also are home to increasing numbers of Skylarks and hares.

The cover crops for the shoot consist entirely of perennial crops and wildlife mixes and extend to 60 acres.  These crops are a haven for farmland birds. The old hedge banks are allowed to grow out providing outstanding habitat.  The cover crops which do not have traditional hedge banks have had new mixed native hedges planted around them.  We have planted 1260m of new hedging of this type. In order to reduce the soil disturbance, we use direct drill for planting in these areas in two out of three years.

We are committed to improving habitat for wildlife at Hollam as well as protecting our soil, grassland, and trees. On the farm we use no pesticides or herbicides and the land on which our cattle and sheep graze is all characterised as low-input pasture and meadow.  The house valley is an important place for insects and plants and has many rare and unusual species. The wildflowers here include primroses, greater birds foot trefoil, eyebright, and common lousewort.  Among numerous insects are the Common blue butterfly (rarely seen on Exmoor) and the Nationally Scarce rove beetle Quedius microps. The grazing regime here is managed carefully to maximize biodiversity and improve habitat.  Another 50 acres of fields are managed as wild flower meadows with stock removed in April and then cut for hay when the flowers have gone to seed.  They produce wonderful flowers and insect life.  The hedges on the Exmoor banks are laid traditionally every 10 to 12 years and then allowed to grow up. As we lay the hedges the stock fences are moved away from the bank to allow more room for wildlife.

At Hollam we have many fields with in-field trees.  We add to these trees every year which helps to replace the losses that we have due to the age of the existing ones.  Dead trees are left standing and veterans are protected to provide additional habitat.

Our woodlands are important and home to rare lichens, dormice, bats, and ground flora such as bluebells and bilberry.  In the glades there are Fritillary butterflies. We recently entered a management scheme that has allowed us to do restorative work.  We have cleared acres of invasive rhododendron and holly.  Some thinning of trees continues as well as coppicing of hazel.  Ponds and water courses in the woods have been improved to minimize the run off into the rivers.  We have also planted 7.5 acres of new native woodland over the last 20 years, some of which has been underplanted with wildlife mixes. Grey squirrels are damaging to woodland and bird populations and we have a programme to control the population and ultimately reintroduce red squirrels. We also leave many areas of small woodland and scrub unmanaged which are a vital habitat for many species.

Everyone who lives and works here – whatever their role – plays a key part in improving the natural environment at Hollam.