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Welcome to The Nude Ewe! Our philosophy is 'waste equals food'.
Nude Ewe wool is spun from the fleeces of Bedfordshire's conservation grazing flocks. Grasslands are a key feature of the English countryside. For centuries these habitats have been maintained by grazing sheep and other livestock. Without these animals our fields would turn to scrub, and we would lose the unique plants and animals that rely on our grassland habitats. The best sheep for conservation grazing are heritage breeds. These ancient breeds are very hardy and can handle adverse weather conditions. They will eat rough grasses, twigs and bramble that modern breeds won't touch. This keeps the scrub from taking over. Unlike modern breeds however, heritage breeds tend to be small and slow growing. Many produce excellent meat and fleece but because they grow slowly are not used commercially. Many of these breeds are now disappearing and some are close to extinction. Sheep must be sheared every year. This costs farmers money, and the fleeces themselves are worth only pennies. It also costs money to repair fences, maintain shelters and deliver medical treatment. We're working to help conservation graziers recover these costs. To do this we're turning waste fleeces into a commercial product: yarn! Proceeds from the sale of the yarn will be returned to the grazier. In this way we hope to encourage more people to use heritage sheep breeds to graze Bedfordshire's grasslands for nature conservation. Who are we? The Nude Ewe is a partnership between BedsLife - Bedfordshire & Luton Biodiversity Partnership, Bedfordshire County Council and GrazeBeds, a project of the Wildlife Trust. For more information on The Nude Ewe contact Laura Downton, Grazing Sites Officer on 01234 362776 or laura.downton@wildlifebcnp.org, or Heather Webb, Biodiversity Partnership Co-ordinator on 01234 228063 or heather.webb@bedscc.gov.uk. Exciting news! The Nude Ewe has been featured in the June 2008 issue of Yarn Forward magazine, a fresh and funky publication based in Hertfordshire. Check it out at your local news agent! We'll be out and about this summer. Come visit us at the Woodworks! festival at Millennium Country Park on Sept 6-7. Do pay us a visit! If you can't make it to Woodworks!, we'll also be at Apple Day at Bromham Mill on Sunday Oct 19. Coming soon: Nude Ewe 'Speck' - white light Aran wool from the flock of Beulah Speckled-face sheep at Aston Rowant Nature Reserve in Oxfordshire. Yes, we know it's out of our area but we just couldn't resist! With a little luck Speck should be ready for Christmas.
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The Nude Ewe is now on Facebook!
Nude Ewe in the News! (August 2008)
(Summer 2008)
(June 2008)
(Issue 42)
(June 08)
(April 08)
(Spring 2008)
(Mar 14/08)
(Mar 14/08)
(Mar 27/08)
The Nude Ewe is a partnership of:
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