Ever since the start of Vine House Farm Bird Foods back in 1998, we’ve financially supported charitable organisations which share our values around wildlife conservation and the wider environment. Indeed, all of the proceeds from the very first bird food we sold went to the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. Since those humble beginnings, we’ve gone on to donate nearly £2.5m to The Wildlife Trusts.

From October 2023 onwards, our main focus of support shifted to the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology), though we will continue to support individual Wildlife Trusts across the UK. We also support smaller organisations including the Turtle Dove Trust and the Countryside Regeneration Trust.

The principle reason we financially support these charitable organisations, is a philosophy which is based around a strong belief that a successful business shouldn’t only be about maximum financial gain for the owners. Indeed, our entire farm in the Lincolnshire Fens is managed with wildlife and the wider environment in mind, and in so doing we make multiple compromises on farming land use which means, for example, we’re not growing the optimum level of crops on all the land available – by dedicating acrearge to . Of course, and like any business, we need to make a good profit, but actually for us the benefit of doing so is partly that we can share more of it with organisations which can then put it to good use for the benefit of birds and other wildlife.     

The cost of our giving entirely come from our own funds, and in no way is passed onto our customers – all of which are guaranteed excellent value for money from our high quality products and with free delivery.  That said, our customers do of course enjoy the added benefit of knowing that, by buying from Vine House Farm, they are in turn supporting the same charities as we are.

Our new relationship with the BTO

From October 2023 onwards, the principle organisation we will be supporting is the BTO. This change comes after unbroken and major support for The Wildlife Trusts since 2007 (though we will continue to support some individual Wildlife Trusts), and reflects what we see as a more relevant and focused relationship given that a) we’re essentially a bird food business, and b) the majority of the conservation work we implement on our farm is aimed at birds and specifically reversing their population declines.

The BTO will receive funds from us in two main ways. The first will be an annual donation, and the second £10 per BTO member or supporter who makes a purchase. We will also support the BTO in more practical ways, by encouraging our customers to become BTO members or supporters.

It is estimated that more than half of all households in the UK engage in feeding birds in their gardens. BTO has long been at the forefront of monitoring and researching the effects of food provision on wild birds. This work has yielded fascinating insights into how the UK public’s bird feeding habits have impacted wild bird populations and helped to produce best practice guidance for feeding birds safely. The new partnership between BTO and Vine House Farm will provide an opportunity to engage many more people in the enjoyable habit of feeding garden birds and to help them learn how to do this in the best ways for their birds.

Nicholas Watts has been associated with BTO since 1960, contributing to many BTO surveys and monitoring schemes.

Professor Juliet Vickery, BTO Chief Executive Officer, said “BTO is delighted to be joining Vine House Farm in a partnership that recognises the joy that feeding birds in gardens brings to thousands of people and the need to ensure that this food is high quality and sustainably sourced. Their support of BTO will help us to engage more people in discovering birds and help to conserve and understand them on our doorstep and further afield.”

Lucy Taylor, General Manager, said “The BTO  is a natural partner for Vine House Farm and this partnership will help our customers, understand more about the birds they feed and enable us to contribute even more to bird conservation..”

BTO is the UK's leading bird research charity. A growing membership and up to 60,000 volunteer birdwatchers contribute to BTO's surveys, collecting information that underpins conservation action in the UK. BTO maintains a staff of 120 at its offices in Thetford, Stirling, Bangor (Wales) and Belfast (Northern Ireland), who analyse and publicise the results of surveys and projects. BTO's work is funded by BTO supporters, government, trusts, industry and conservation organisations. www.bto.org

Our continued relationship with individual Wildlife Trusts

Although our relationship with the central office of The Wildlife Trusts in Newark has come to an end, we are continuing relationships with some individual Wildlife Trusts. These relationships will work in a similar way to that of the BTO outlined above, adding more to the total of nearly £2.5m already donated.

Following a review in early 2023, The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, based in Newark, decided they would no longer pursue a national bird food partnership and our agreement ended on October 1st 2023.

We’ve donated nearly £2.5million to The Wildlife Trusts during our time together, of which we are immensely proud and thank our customers for their support. Craig Bennett, CEO of RSWT, seen here receiving the £2million cheque from Lucy & Nicholas in 2021.

It’s well known that many associations between brands and charities are  there for the financial gain of both parties. At Vine House Farm though, the reasons run much deeper and our relationship with The Wildlife Trusts reflected not just the ethos we have about wildlife farming, but the concern we have for the wider health of the environment we all live in.

A measure of our commitment to the relationship was the fact that we gave 4% of our sales to The Wildlife Trusts for customer purchases whether they were a Wildlife Trust member or not, and £10 for every new Wildlife Trust member becoming a Vine House Farm customer.

So our commitment to The Wildlife Trusts was long term and still is - Nicholas is the chairman of our local Wildlife Trust - South Holland branch of Lincolnshire, having been a continuous member since 1964. We are continuing to to work with some individual Wildlife Trusts, including Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Berks, Bucks and Oxfordshire,  Surrey, North Wales, Gwent, Cornwall and the Scottish Wildlife Trust. We hope to support more in the coming months.

Countryside Regeneration Trust

For this organisation Nicholas is President, and with a broad objective around encouraging sustainable farming with the environment and wildlife always in mind, its values are very much aligned with ours. thecrt.co.uk

Turtle Dove Trust

Our very own Nicholas Watts MBE is the Chairman of the Turtle Dove Trust, and along with other measures to help the species breed on our land, we have a release pen as part of the organisation’s captive breeding programme. With Turtle dove numbers have declined by a staggering 94% since 1995, it is a species we put a high priority on within our wider habitat and land management policies. turtledovetrust.org.uk

Charities we support through our Farm Shop & Café

Our new Farm Shop & Café has allowed us to expand on the number and type of charities we support and the way we do so. Our team nominated  specific Charities which mean a lot to them, and St Barnabas Hospice, Lincolnshire, was the chosen charity for 2023. stbarnabashospice.co.uk