TOM Meikle's dedicated involvement in nature conservation throughout his farming career has earned him well-deserved recognition.

He won the national Farming and Wildlife Award, sponsored by English Nature, and presented to him at a special dinner in London to celebrate the NFU Farming Excellence Awards.

I visited Tom at his Lower Freelands Farm, Cropthorne, on a rather wet late April day and was fascinated as he explained so many facets of his nature-friendly farming.

Tom and his wife Isobel farm the 70 acres at Lower Freelands and also the 250-ace Wick Grange Farm, at Wick, Pershore, in partnership with his parents.

"My interest in wildlife and conservation began as a child," he said.

"My father had started planting trees around the farm 50 years ago. I have got more and more involved as I keep learning and trying to farm sympathetically with wildlife."

On the predominantly arable farms, Tom grows 80 acres of sugar beet and 100 acres of cereals, as well as 20 to 40 acres of salad onions, as well as stick beans and dwarf beans.

Since his regular farm workers retired he looks after the sugar beet crops himself and relies more on contractors and specialist growers for the work in the horticultural crops.

Six-metre wide field margins have been planted around the arable fields.

"We sowed two metres by the hedge with tussocky grasses and four metres alongside with a meadow mixture of less vigorous grasses and wild flowers," he explained as we walked.

"We collected some wild flower seeds ourselves to supplement the expensive purchase seeds.

"We have to keep mowing the first year to help establishment, before getting a good show of flowers the second year."

I was glad to observe oxeye daisies, salad burnet, cowslips and many other species now so much less common than they used to be.

"We have seen more skylarks and other ground nesting birds such as lapwings," he said.

"The RSPB came and counted five male corn buntings here in one day. They counted only 40 in the whole county.

"The large arable fields are subdivided by beetle banks, encouraging invertebrates in the soil.

"Since we have had the field margins, we have had less trouble from wild oats and cleavers in the hedgerow.

"This has proved a benefit, by reducing the number of wild oats to be hand rogued in cereal crops we are growing for seed," he explained.

"So far this year, lapwings have been more elusive. Perhaps they are disturbed by dogs, for some 14 dogs run with local residents on their daily walks.

"We do not discourage the walkers, indeed we laid out a footpath on a circular route around Wick Grange Farm."

The river meadows are mown for hay and grazed at low stocking rates. An area next to the River Avon with scrub around it is very popular with dragonflies, including the club-tailed dragonfly.

"Grey partridges have declined despite a favourable season last year. We see more magpies, buzzards, kestrels and owls. We have put up five owl boxes, three kestrel boxes, as well as 30 nesting boxes for small birds and three bat boxes," said Tom.

A small brook winds its way through "The Rough", a steep-sided, wooded area, and an otter holt has been constructed in a secluded place in the hope that it will be used.

Some bramble and blackthorn tickets in The Rough have been cleared to encourage wild flowers; others have been left as wildlife havens.

There are many willow trees that require regular pollarding.

Tom hit on the idea of building woodpiles from the willows, using three to five feet lengths of wood.

"We noticed that blackbirds and thrushes like nesting in the flat laid piles, while wrens and tits favour a pile stacked like a tepee and this has proved attractive to butterflies and moths," he said.

He pointed out how the rotting wood has been colonised by many different fungi and could provide a habitat for stag beetles.

In a deep dell was a pond with kingcups flowering.

"Since we cleared and extended it we have seen many crested newts. We have made three hibermacula for the benefit of hibermating crested newts."

Tom showed me a hibernacula - a little pit containing bricks, protected with a sheet of tin with brush piled on it.

It provides a cellar-like haven for over-wintering newts and toads.

An old pear orchard has around a dozen varieties of pear.

Grafts have been taken from them and put on standard rootstocks to replace the dying trees. Such old orchards are a characteristic habitat in Worcestershire and a great many have been grubbed out and cleared, with the loss of the old varieties, some of which may be unique.

Tom and Isobel have three children - Duncan aged 13, Jessica, 11, and William, nine.

Their keen interest in the environment and conservation no doubt helped them to plan the design of their house. Clad in timber, the walls have exceptionally thick and effective insulation and the many windows facing south are triple glazed.

"We have no central heating system," said Tom, "just a wood burning stove using wood from the farm.

"Our solar heating has proved so effective that very often there is no need to light the stove".