It’s said that even the most hardened of hunters has put down his gun on becoming a parent; after all, it is only natural to resign from killing when you have new life to nurture.  I had, for some time, been conscious of my environmental footprint, but in becoming a mother in 2018, I found myself evermore avidly fuelled by eco-awareness and a concern for life. So when I moved to the countryside at lockdown, I was presented with the opportunity I didn’t know I had been looking for -​ ​to extend my work in the garden beyond its walls, and to widen my passion for rare plants into the broader landscape. I discovered that could be much more direct in my approach to sustainability - to make my own immediate impact on the land around me: I could eliminat​e​ household waste by keeping animals for whom it was fodder, I could encourage insects by managing the land with sustainable grazing, ​I​ could manage pernicious weeds using goats, ​ limit​ the resident tick population using peacocks, I could encourage new plant life by fertilising through animal waste - all this and so very much more - and, for the first time, I found myself involved day-to-day with animals.

The ​​question​ though,​ was how and which animals to use to create a land-benefitting, waste-productive cycle.  I realised then that I had never thought much about the ​sheep that punctuate so much of our British landscape. Those that sprung to mind were the pen sprawled woolly friends of Henry Moore​, but b​eyond his sheep, I’d never met one of distinct character. I soon discovered that they aren’t all white and fluffy - there is a wonderful array of breeds that cover the full spectrum of appearance: from the short soft-haired Castlemilk Moorit that looks and acts like a deer, to the largest longwool Wensleydales who remind me of rhinoceroses. I set about growing a flock of rare breed ‘at risk’ and ‘endangered’ sheep to graze 135 acres. I selected various coloured breeds with different fleece qualities and characters - as well as distinctly different personalities - after all, these sheep were to live with me for life. My first criteria was to chose sheep for rarity for the purpose of breed preservation; my next priority was for quality fibre. I selected the largest Teeswaters weighing in at some 90kg as ewes and 140kg rams, to the smallest Portlands and Black Welsh Mountains, at 45kg a ewe. ​Soon, my flock had grown to 60 - and what friendship groups they have formed!

The s​hortwool sheep breeds in my flock include the Castlemilk Moorit, Black Welsh Mountain, White Faced Woodland, Hill Radnor, Portland, Shetland. The Longwool sheep breeds include: Teeswater, Wensleydale, Lincoln Longwool. Slow to mature, these distinct and varied breeds have been abandoned by farmers in search of breeding for those hybrids who can mature fast for the meat market and produce multiple lambs. It’s interesting ​to see that our young take a good couple of years to reach their adult size, even three years.

Next, I introduced the browsers: a herd of goats to tackle the pernicious weeds that had sprung up across the newly un-topped grass land. There are not many goat breeds that produce fibre, so I chose the Angora (mohair), but they proved laid back and unmotivated, and since goats are a friendly bunch and there was much browsing to be done, I added the two critically endangered British breeds: the Bagot (the oldest breed dating back to 1389), and the Golden Guernsey. Finally my daughter insisted that we top up the herd with a couple of Anglo Nubians, which aren’t at risk but which resemble long-legged rabbits with their great big floppy ears, and since they are so tall, I agreed, for they can reach higher than any other.

Today my smallholding consists of sheep who provide the ethical bi-product of truly free-range wool, and goats for clearance and weed management. The two alpacas Marley and Bigtooth protect the flock, while the two critically endangered Large Black pigs Georgie and Georgina Georgeous are busy turning over the soil, fertilising and devouring household food waste that no one else will eat. The ducks, chickens, turkeys, quails all provide wonderful fertiliser (and eggs!), while the guinea fowl and peacocks manage ticks and act as the look-out fox alerts for wandering chickens, as well as acting as my personal burglar alarm.

I have strict rules. My animals should be able to live as natural a life as possible: bonds between them must be encouraged not shattered (mothers are never removed from young), they must be free to navigate the land as they choose, they must not be used for human purpose other than as a bi-product. No animal is ever slaughtered. My shepherdess promise is to ensure that I always to my best for every single one of ​the animals whether the smallest of poultry or the largest sheep.  I never pen sheep or goats into a paddock unless they’re breeding or injured because when you watch sheep roam a large and varied area it is soon clear that they enjoy different vegetation - and though grazers, they too browse.

And so, in my farm I have found myself an extension of my practice in the garden, a new tool to not simply manage the land but to rehabilitate it. These animals tie me to the land in a more profound and grounded manner. Above all, I have been surprised and touched by the feeling animals have for one another when they are free to form friendship groups and bonds. And ​for ​I myself? Well, I have found new friends.

Shortwool sheep breeds include: Castlemilk, Black Welsh Mountain, White Faced Woodland, Hill Radnor, Portland, Shetland, Herdwick

Longwool sheep breeds include: Teeswater, Wensleydale, Lincoln Longwool

Goat breeds include: Bagot, Golden Guernsey, Angora, Anglo Nubian

Photographs by Astrid Harrisson www.astridharrisson.com