Conservation and sustainability have always been a way of life at Summerdown.

The farm has been a member of the RSPB’s Fair to Nature scheme since 2004, when the scheme was known as Conservation Grade. The 2,500 acre farm grew cereals for Jordans breakfast cereals and bars, so it was a natural progression to add Summerdown Peppermint Tea to the list of Fair to Nature certified products. 

Summerdown Farms Marketing Manager, Hannah Morris tells us why… 

‘The Summerdown team believes in farming for the future, so we are always thinking about our impact in the environment and how we can maintain a thriving, sustainable ecosystem. Biodiversity is crucial to everything we do at Summerdown and it is championed by the peppermint. The team shares a holistic approach to the farm – we view every area of the farm as connected. The health of the peppermint, for example, is dependent on hedgerows and the wildlife found within them.’

Summerdown’s Master of Mint and Farm Manager, Ian, has turned the farm into a peppermint playground for wildlife, insects and flowers. There are beehives in the mint fields, Barn Owls in farm buildings and every year they plant special feed crops for birds and sow wildflower seeds, encouraging new creatures to make themselves at home around the edges of the fields and woodlands. Because of all the sustainable practises, the farm is carbon neutral. Keeping Summerdown’s soil as healthy as possible is a real priority for the team.

‘We need to make sure it remains as nutrient-rich as it was the day we started farming – after all, that’s the soil our peppermint originally fell for. And you can only grow the finestpeppermint in the purest, most carefully nurtured soil’, says Hannah.

The team is very proud to share their farm with many species of flora and fauna who live in the flourishing field borders, extensive woodland and 75km of hedgerows. Hares are regularly spotted in the farm and at least 3 pairs of Barn Owls have been spotted so far in 2023. The farm is full of hedgerow birds, including Fieldfare, Sparrows, various Finches, Green and Spotted Woodpeckers, pigeons, Blackbirds and Thrushes, and where there are hedgerow birds, there are always Red Kites and Buzzards circling. 

The underlying aim of the business is to be regenerative, so when wildlife flourishes on the farm, the team know that their practices are actively restoring the environment, and this gives them great pleasure. The Summerdown team would advise any landowners and land managers who are already doing environmental work through stewardship, to join Fair to Nature for the support the scheme can offer, particularly on the bird and wildlife side. Being recognised by the RSPB for their conservation efforts brings benefits to the business.

Jo Colman, Head of Sales and Marketing at Summerdown (pictured above) said, “As a farm, we were part of the original cohort of farms who helped to build the Fair to Nature farm standard and so it was an easy decision to join this initiative as a licensee. Growing Black Mitcham peppermint in a way which enhances the natural environment is not always easy, but it is a fundamental part of how we operate as a business. We share Fair to Nature’s belief that tomorrow is grown from our actions today.”