Castle Howard nature restoration project brings in rare White Park cattle

Descendants of Britain’s original wild white cattle that were enclosed in parks by the nobility during the middle ages have been introduced at the North’s leading stately home.

Castle Howard has announced “a major milestone” in its 30-year Bog Hall Habitat Bank nature restoration and rewilding project, by introducing a herd of rare White Park Cattle to its newly-sown meadows areas.

The project, designed and delivered in collaboration with Environment Bank, is transforming 440 acres of low-yielding agricultural land into a thriving space for nature.

The site, along with Castle Howard, sits within the Howardian Hills National Landscape, and includes a small area designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.

The site has been carefully selected for its immense potential to enhance biodiversity due to its boggy terrain.

The all-female White Park cattle herd has taken up residence inside the project area.

The animals will live outside year-round and are well suited to outdoor conservation grazing, including in wetter grassland habitats.

The ancient breed is priority-listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, which describes White Park cattle as ‘likely the most ancient native cattle in the British Isles’.

Their grazing will help create a more varied habitat structure, supporting the project’s wider conservation aims.

The Bog Hall Habitat Bank project was announced two years ago and since, the Castle Howard natural environment team, with the support of a team of conservation volunteers, has restored meadows now rich in yellow rattle, created scrub banks to protect young saplings, and installed ponds and leaky dams to begin holding more water across the site.

The team has also erected 5km of fencing ahead of the release of beavers this autumn, incorporating badger tunnels and otter passes to maintain safe routes for wildlife through the project area.

Guy Thallon, Castle Howard’s Head of Natural Environment, said: “Welcoming the White Park herd is a wonderful moment for the Bog Hall project - it was really exciting for us to see them happily exploring their new home.

“We’re now working towards releasing beavers into the project area this autumn, which will be a truly amazing moment.

"The conservation volunteers have been preparing the site by creating ponds and planting willow.

"We can’t wait to see the positive impact of nature’s engineers in the coming years.

“Reintroducing animals to this area has been inspiring for the whole Castle Howard team and beyond, with local schools also getting involved.”

Once complete, the Castle Howard project is expected to generate a near-200 per cent biodiversity uplift, sequestering over 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions over 30 years.

Additionally, bat populations will increase by as much as 250 per cent, while plant diversity and numbers of pollinators could leap by 60 per cent and 140 per cent respectively.