As part of the Environmental Stewardship scheme (ES), the Government provides funding for schools to visit farms to learn about the countryside. These visits are free of charge to the groups.
The Tracey estate totals 400 acres of woodland and farmland including 30 acres of recerntly restored gardens and parkland. In addition, Tracey Estate houses traditional orchards, a walled kitchen garden, access to the river Otter and some species-rich pasture. There is also a rare woodland landscape designed by Lucombe and Pince, which includes specimen trees and a sunken garden.
The estate farm keeps a small amount of livestock, with a flock of Suffolk sheep, Saddleback pigs, Belgian Blue cattle and a number of Friesian cattle grazing in the fields. The farm is predominately permanent pasture. In addition, we have some small arable areas of forage crops, such as stubble turnips, to feed the sheep and pigs over winter as well as some wild bird seed plots for the pheasant shoot.
The woodland is managed through a logging enterprise and a small pheasant shoot, where we cut rides and glades to encourage biodiversity as well as support the business.
We have restored a barn and turned it into a small classroom with a disabled toilet.
This year we have built a new car park and resored the original paths through the gardens and parkland.
Our aspiration is to be able to share Tracey with local communities and young people. We believe we will be able to offer an excellent environment for pupil interaction and give many opportunities for diverse curriculum learning, as well as being a unique site with an unusual history.
