That beautifully intricate song of the songbird is a uncommon presence in the UK these days, yet not at this rural location. Back in 2020, a lone bird could be noticed at this hidden location in rural Surrey; this summer, they were everywhere. “We were hearing them chirping all night, from five different territories,” notes one ecologist, lead ecologist for the youth rewilding group. A band of volunteers were camping out at the site, but the birds were so noisy, “we were unable to rest all night,” says an engagement lead. “We were all knackered the next day, but it was so amazing.” An professional from the local conservation group came to help them net and ring one of the nightingales the next morning, she states: “He’d never touched a songbird in his hands before. He was crying.”
Rewilding Speeds Up at Maple Farm
Ecological restoration is by nature a slow process, but in this place at the farm, after just four years, the outcomes are already evident, and noticeable. The land used to be a retirement home for horses. Today it’s a example for the Youngwilders’ purpose: to speed up ecological restoration, in one of the biodiversity-poor regions in the world, and to engage the younger generation (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often shut out of, and a environmental emergency they are often powerless to stop. Climate change continues, tree clearing destroys wildlife homes, and one more climate conference draws to a disappointing conclusion in abroad – so what person could criticize the younger generation for choosing to take matters into their own hands?
The organisation was founded on the idea that there were landowners prepared to allow a collection of young enthusiasts on to their estate
“The youth is the best educated environmentally that there’s ever been,” explains the Youngwilders’ founder, a key figure. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the problems, and have added the least to their causing, and, then, are also going to be affected the greatest as a consequence.”
Transformation of the Site
Now, the initiative is growing across the Britain – and Maple Farm planted the seed, in all respects. “It’s our origin point, and the place we created our network,” says another co-director, as she gives a tour of the 12-hectare property. “This used to be six different fields,” she says, as we move through long grass featuring bushes, surrounded by mature woodland. “The primary visible difference is that we’ve eliminated all the barriers, a significant length of it, to create the impression like a unified environment.” In the summer, they used hazmat suits and removed significant quantities of giant hogweed, an invasive species that can burn the skin. “We’ve established numerous of bush lines,” notes she. “But the main thing is we’ve just allowed it to rest for a brief period. We’ve eliminated a lot of animal feeding and seen what’s emerged.”
Underbrush and hedgerows are a perfect nightingale habitat, she says, but now they’re managing some of the thorny plants to establish a greater diversity of environments and to link up separate areas of the land. Fresh plantings will take a while to grow, but saplings from the surrounding oaks are already establishing themselves in the meadows; the team have been setting up guards to shield them from animals.
Nature Returns in Droves
In addition to the songbirds – fauna is returning in large numbers. This year they’ve observed serpents, legless lizards, flyers and insects, says another co-director, as he uncovers one of their reptile mats (such as a mat over a indentation in the soil). “You find snakes and animals hiding under there, but it’s probably a bit cool for them now.” Wild nests, made from hollowed-out pieces of wood and humming with pollinators, are strapped to some of the woodland. The absence of livestock has given insects room to flourish in the long grass. When they visited this time, states the director, “I’d not ever encountered so countless insects. There were just swarms of them. We were saying, ‘What is going on?’”
Beginnings of the Initiative
The first participants – Bennett, Durant, Molly and two others – came together as learners, pursuing or having an interest in ecology. In the recent past, the climate experts was predicting that the acceptable threshold of one and a half degrees of warming was looking unachievable, a prominent figure was leading the youth protests for environmental action, and advocate Clover Hogan was discussing youth suffering from “eco-worry”. It was also the era of the author's publication, Wilding, on how the authors transformed the Knepp Estate from a struggling dairy farm into a successful ecosystem. “We were deeply influenced by the example, but what could be the function for young people?” says Easton. “So we made a online presence and contacted many of wildlife trusts and were asking, ‘Do you ever get your estate holders seeking to do something and you don’t have time?’”
Jack adds the account: “Our entire project was basically based on the belief that there were landowners who were prepared to permit a group of young idiots on to their property without strict rules, to decide on fairly massive actions that would impact land value
