It is the earliest harvest Henry Astor can remember. But walking through the scorched(烧焦的，晒焦的) wheatfields of his Cotswolds farm, signs of life are everywhere – swarms of insects, kaleidoscopic(千变万化的，五彩斑斓的) wildflower meadows, bushy hedgerows(树篱，灌木篱墙) several metres wide. A yellowhammer(黄鹀（一种鸟类）) perches on a nearby tree.
这是亨利·阿斯特记忆中最早的一次收获。但漫步在他科茨沃尔德农场被晒焦的麦田里，生命的迹象无处不在——成群的昆虫、五彩斑斓的野花草地、几米宽的茂密树篱。一只黄鹀栖息在附近的树上。
There are 18 other red-listed(列入红色名录的（濒危）) birds on the farm, says Astor, who this year ringed(给……戴脚环) 23 barn owls, three kestrels, two little owls as well as goshawk chicks. “Last winter we had clouds of(大群，云集) goldfinch, chaffinch and greenfinch,” he says. Britain has lost 73 million birds since 1970; but at Bruern Farms, a small but welcome reversal(逆转，反转) is taking shape(成形，逐渐形成).
阿斯特说，农场里还有其他18种被列入红色名录的鸟类。今年，他给23只仓鸮、3只红隼、2只小猫头鹰以及苍鹰雏鸟戴上了脚环。“去年冬天，我们看到了成群的黄雀、苍头燕雀和绿金翅雀，”他说。自1970年以来，英国已失去了7300万只鸟；但在布鲁恩农场，一个虽小却令人欣喜的逆转正在发生。
Between 30,000 and 40,000 trees have been planted over the past decade, many as part of a flood-mitigation(防洪减灾) scheme, some in a 17-hectare (42-acre) agroforestry(农林复合经营) section interspersing(使交错，散布) wheat with heritage fruits such as Cox’s pippin and Blenheim orange apples(英国传统苹果品种). Wildflower meadows are rebuilding soil fertility(肥力，肥沃).
在过去十年中，种植了3万至4万棵树，其中许多是防洪计划的一部分，还有一些种植在一个17公顷（42英亩）的农林复合区，该区域将小麦与传统水果（如考克斯橘苹和布伦海姆橙苹果）间作。野花草地正在重建土壤肥力。