Why it’s time to go wild
TV farmer Jimmy Doherty is on a mission to persuade the UK to embrace its green heritage and give wildlife a fighting chance this winter and beyond
Not everyone can say they start their day by having half-chewed fruit lobbed at their head. But in Jimmy Doherty’s Suffolk wildlife park, one resident in particular seems to have it in for him.
“I have a monkey that sits in a tree and enjoys watching the Ipswich to London train. I’m sure he’s a trainspotter. He likes to throw things at me too,” says Jimmy, 47.
He opened Jimmy’s Farm and Wildlife Park in 2002, and it now houses almost 90 species including crocodiles, camels and rare cattle.
In 2021, the park was awarded the first ever Approved Associate accreditation from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust for its work with Britain’s endangered native livestock and equine breeds.
“We’ve got meerkats, too, who are always up to mischief. And the donkeys seem to be a favourite – they recognise the regulars who come and see them,” says Jimmy. “People always say, ‘Aw, poor old donkeys’, because they have sad eyes – but there’s nothing wrong with them at all.”
Jimmy also runs a working farm near Ipswich, where he also lives, growing vegetables and rearing cows, sheep and pigs.
“We deliver 10,000 turkeys for Christmas, too. So we’re about to be very busy,” he says.
Jimmy, who grew up in rural Essex with a bricklayer dad and hairdresser mum, has loved animals since childhood.
“We moved out of London to a little cottage and I surrounded myself with animals – the meadow we had was full of grass snakes, shrews and mice, butterflies and crickets,” he remembers. “I had pets as well – terrapins, birds, ferrets. My bedroom was full of tanks with snakes, lizards and fish. It’s always been in me.”
The four daughters he shares with wife Michaela, who he met 20 years ago while working on childhood friend Jamie Oliver’s TV show, are following in their dad’s footsteps.
“Our kids absolutely love it, particularly lambing time. The guinea pigs, too,” says Jimmy of Molly, Cora, Neve and Bo. “Cora likes to get in with the lemurs – there’s one that likes a cuddle. And Molly loves snakes. They have quite an unusual childhood – they’re obsessed with animals. I think they think everyone has a camel at home.”
Jimmy is currently filming the latest series of Channel 4’s Food Unwrapped. No stranger to our screens, last year saw series eight of Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast air. He has also invited cameras into his farm several times, including for 2020’s series Autumn at Jimmy’s Farm.
“You can’t move for farming shows now – and this can only be a good thing,” says Jimmy.
“When I first started, farming had a bit of a negative air around it because of things like foot and mouth. But now there’s a massive interest. This is thanks in part to farmer’s markets, but also to Covid.
“People enjoyed watching these shows during lockdown, and engaging with green spaces too. That time was precious. We appreciated time in nature like never before. We mustn’t let this interest dissipate.” Jimmy is on a mission to get the public to go green and rewild their spaces in the name of biodiversity. “Biodiversity is the driver of having healthy soils. And Britain is one of the poorest in biodiversity in comparison to other European countries,” says Jimmy. “The answer to this is our farmers. They are often wrongly said to be a destroyer of biodiversity, but actually that’s where most of our biodiversity now lives, apart from a few nature reserves. British farmers need government support, and they need it now.”
He continues: “On my farm we try to link environments. If we have a pond, we make sure it backs on to a woodland. We knit our hedgerows together and ensure they have a number of different species in them. We have nectar areas that butterflies and other pollinating insects can feed from. But we need it on a bigger scale.”
And this, he says, is where everyone can muck in.
“There are habitats that have almost disappeared completely, such as our wildflower meadows, of which 98 per cent have been lost since the Second World War. We need a patchwork quilt of habitats,” Jimmy explains.
This can be done on a small scale – in your back garden, or on your windowsill, growing a few flowers in a pot to attract insects.
“Everyone can make a difference. If you have a small back garden, let it go wild,” says Jimmy.
“We’re obsessed today with having things pristine and paved over. But, actually, gaps in fences are really useful for hedgehogs, who like to hunt slugs and snails in back gardens. They can’t access gardens if the fence hits the ground. So don’t replace your fence, paint it instead. Lift a panel up or cut in a square hole.”
When it comes to planting, don’t be shy, he advises.
“Let a corner of your garden go wild. Add a log pile and just let it grow. Don’t cut your ivy and instead let that grow too because its flowers are a godsend for pollinating insects.
“And if you have an old shed with a cracked door or window, leave it.
“It can be a home for a hibernating peacock butterfly during the winter months. Little spaces can really make a big difference.”
As autumn makes way for winter, it’s a busy time of year for Jimmy and the farm.
“Winter is always difficult,” he says. “You have frozen pipes, livestock to feed as the grass stops growing, and pastures to preserve ready for spring. Days are shorter so you have less time to cram it all in.”
And Tales From Jimmy’s Farm, a book charting 20 years of what started out as a rare breeds pig farm, has just been released.
“We are in the midst of setting up a conservation charity, too,” says Jimmy.
And then there’s the small matter of those 10,000 turkeys to prepare for Christmas.
“We certainly have a lot of mouths to feed,” laughs Jimmy.
We’ve got meerkats, and the donkeys seem to be a favourite with the regulars
We try to link environments, If we have a pond, we make sure it backs on to woodland