Plans to build a new castle in England are underway, but this isn’t a stereotypical building full of royal folks in startling hats; it’s going to be a wildlife sanctuary and permaculture training facility, with buildings that can house thousands of animals, including endangered English Shire horses. From a gravity-driven aqueduct that can provide animals with fresh water year-round to organic farmland that can provide food to local food banks, this is an endeavor that’s focused on helping those in need.
The goal is to create a wheelchair-friendly permaculture organic farm and wildlife habitat. Built within a fruit tree orchard, not only will there be man-made houses for animals such as local songbirds and hedgehogs, but wildlife can also create their own nests and burrows in these safe havens, hopefully with the goal of repopulating the area. Songbirds have declined by over 90 percent across the UK, so this endeavor may very well assist in replenishing populations all over the country.
“A travesty is taking place all around us with the sad statistics of wild birds to hedgehogs being driven to almost extinction. Wildlife need safe and secure living environments, and mostly during cold weather, when water lakes/ponds freeze over, the aqueduct will be designed and built to withstand extremes of weather, to provide the valuable lifeline birds and creatures need to survive, with an added design of the farm to provide year round feeding areas for wildlife, without the desire to maximise on profits.”
Plans include:
- 350 Homes for wild birds
- 35,000 Bug homes (100 per bird box)
- 350 Bat boxes.
- 350 Vole/field mouse homes.
- 350 Hedgehog homes.
- 350 Solitary bee boxes.
- 350 Butterfly homes.
- 350 – 400 fruit trees in the orchard, which will be open to the general public
![English Hedgehog]()
In addition to being an animal sanctuary, there are plans to turn the grounds into an organic permaculture food farm, which will donate to local food banks and outreach programs. One of the castle’s primary goals is to be accessible and friendly to those with special needs. The “castle” will be built primarily from reclaimed and recycled materials, and will be used as a teaching opportunity: teaching locals how to use a variety of tools for different building techniques in order to empower themselves with knowledge and hands-on experience. A crowdfunding campaign has been created on GoFundMe to finance this project.
+ England Castle
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