We have placed about 35% of the farm’s tillable acreage in wetlands and buffers which provide great benefits to diverse wildlife species and water quality. A Smithsonian study of wetlands we restored on the farm found that up to 45 % of N and P are removed from farm runoff during dry years .A wet spot in a farm field at Barnstable Hill Farm prior to the area being restored to a functional wetlandA bumblebee on a buttonbush flower in one of Barnstable’s restored wetlands. Buttonbush is one of a few native shrubs that will grow in standing water and provides habitat for native pollinators, amphibians, waterfowl, etc.
