In non beery news…
Wildlife is very important to Rachel and myself. It plays a special part in our life, not least because we have spent the last 16 years creating our own little pocket of conservation in North Norfolk known as the Wedding Wood near the brewery.
Now don’t get ideas of grandeur – we are of very modest means and this haven for wildlife is about the size of a football pitch – an unproductive corner of a famer’s field – which we purchased for £3,000 as a gift to ourselves for our wedding a few years back. After all back then when we were two 40 somethings who already had enough toasters and kettles so what would we possibly want as wedding gifts? –Well, bare rooted native saplings and some wildflower seed mix of course!
And that’s just what we got – 750 or so saplings; mainly hawthorn, wild service, wild cherry, pear, crab apple, dogwood, small leaf lime, blackthorn and so on.
We have been thrilled to watch this patch of land slowly transform – with little interruption from ourselves, other than some light touch management – from a baron clay wasteland to a pollen rich oasis for wildlife which literally buzzes with butterflies, insects and hosts myriad of species.
In natures terms it is still young and maturing and its character will no doubt change, but it shows what can be done for wildlife in a smallish space – and for us is a brilliant reminder of our wedding day and will be the gift that literally keeps on giving.
Which brings us to the point. We recently chose to gift the wood to Norfolk Wildlife Trust in our wills so we can be sure future generations of wildlife can call it home – and we can rest easy that in our own small way we have helped Norfolk’s wildlife survive.
Gifting in your will is easy, and it doesn’t have to be a Wedding Wood. A few pounds all helps and the charity get all legacies free of tax which is reassuring.
It’s always worth checking with the charity first – as we did – we wanted to be sure that they understood what the wood means to us and our wishes for it. Obviously, we appreciate that things will change, but we have faith that the Trust will always have Norfolk’s wildlife front of mind – which is all the reassurance that we need.
That said we intend to stick around for quite a few years yet, but since we knew in our minds who we wanted to gift the wood to, then there seemed little point delaying. Also getting it written in your will early means that your wishes are honoured in case anything unforeseen happens.
By the way, wildlife plays an important role in our day job too, as we are known as Mr and Mrs Moon Gazer, and our microbrewery uses the image of the iconic Norfolk hare on every pint of Moon Gazer ale that we brew.
So, considering Norfolk Wildlife Trust – or nay charity close to your heart – in your will – well we will drink to that!
All the best
Rachel and David aka Mr and Mrs Moon Gazer
Find out more about Norfolk Wildlife Trust