The Environment
It has long been realised by Alvis Bros that to maintain a vibrant flora and fauna we only need to apply resources that will be taken up by the growing crop. To that end, whether organic or conventional, all potential inputs are carefully assessed as to whether they really are needed and if so how much. This approach allied to maximum use of natural resources, ensures all Alvis farm activities are in harmony with the natural surroundings and production is sustainable.

Conservation activity has included the planting of over 12,000 trees and numerous hedgerows over the last fifteen years; the creation and renovation of ponds and waterways; the creation of wildlife corridors around arable fields and over 30ha’s of wild flower meadows. This is partly as a consequence of a Countryside Stewardship Scheme on one farm, working within an Organic Entry Level Stewardship regime on the others and our own particular interests in maintaining some of the most beautiful areas in the country.

Education
Education plays a big part in Alvis Bros' farming activities. Following informal visiting arrangements with local schools and youth groups in the 1980’s and 1990’s Alvis Bros joined forces with a number of other local farmers and associated bodies and formed FarmLink with the sole intention of communicating farming, food, countryside and environmental issues to school children. This innovative collaboration was recognised in 2002 by BBC Radio 4 with Alvis Bros being awarded best Farm Communicator of the year.

Over the last five years pupil contacts have risen to 6,500 for the 2005/2006 academic year and are on target for 10,000 in this current school year. To cope with the increased numbers and to be able to continue offering a completely free service to any school which asks, FarmLink has recently been formed into a separate company with charitable status. Following this, FarmLink has been asked to spearhead the Year of Farming and Food in the South West in the hope the programme of curriculum based education and farm visits will be made available to many more children through 2007/2008 and into the future.

Partner organisations include Bath and North East Somerset Council; Envolve; The National Trust; Mendip Hills AONB and FACE.