The manically melodic melody of the songbird is a uncommon presence in England nowadays, however it's different at the Surrey site. Four years ago, a lone bird could be detected at this hidden spot in the countryside of Surrey; lately, they were all around. “We were listening to them singing all night, from multiple areas,” says a lead scientist, top biologist for the Youngwilders. A team of volunteers were staying overnight at the site, however the nightingales were so boisterous, “we couldn’t sleep all night,” says an engagement lead. “We were all knackered the next day, but it was so incredible.” An professional from the regional nature organization came to help them capture and tag one of the birds the next morning, she recalls: “He’d never touched a songbird in his possession before. He was emotional.”
Rewilding Progresses at the Surrey Site
Rewilding is by its very essence a lengthy business, but here at Maple Farm, after just four years, the results are already evident, and hearable. The property was once a retirement home for horses. Now it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ mission: to hasten ecological restoration, in one of the most nature-depleted nations in the planet, and to connect youth (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often shut out of, and a climate crisis they are often powerless to prevent. Global heating continues, deforestation damages natural habitats, and yet another international meeting draws to a disappointing end in Brazil – so what person could fault young people for wanting to take matters into their own hands?
The project was founded on the notion that there were people ready to permit a collection of young idiots on to their land
“The younger generation is the most knowledgeable ecologically that there’s ever been,” explains the group's co-director, one organizer. They are also “the highly invested in the problems, and have played the least to their causing, and, then, are also going to be affected most as a outcome.”
Transformation of the Landscape
Today, the initiative is expanding across the UK – and the original site planted the seed, in all respects. “It’s our origin point, and where we built our connections,” explains another co-director, as she offers a overview of the 30-acre site. “This once consisted of six different fields,” she says, as we walk through overgrown meadows dotted with bushes, bordered by mature woodland. “The main visible change is that we’ve eliminated all the enclosures, a significant length of it, to create the impression like one area.” In the summer, they used protective gear and cleared masses of giant hogweed, an non-native plant that can burn the skin. “We’ve introduced many of hedgerows,” explains the director. “But the main thing is we’ve just allowed it to rest for a little bit. We’ve reduced a lot of livestock impact and noticed what’s sprung up.”
Underbrush and hedgerows are a ideal songbird habitat, she comments, although today they’re trimming some of the brambles to create a greater variety of environments and to join two parts of the land. New trees will take considerably longer to grow, but saplings from the nearby oaks are already establishing themselves in the fields; the crew have been setting up guards to protect them from wildlife.
Wildlife Reappears in Large Numbers
In addition to the nightingales – wildlife is reappearing in large numbers. This year they’ve spotted reptiles, legless lizards, bats and invertebrates, explains another co-director, as he lifts up one of their reptile mats (similar to a doormat over a small hollow in the earth). “You get snakes and wildlife sheltering under there, but it’s possibly a bit cool for them now.” Wild homes, constructed from hollowed-out sections of tree trunk and buzzing with insects, are attached to some of the trees. The absence of grazing horses has allowed small creatures room to flourish in the long grass. When they came to this summer, says Bennett, “I’d not once encountered so numerous butterflies. There were just swarms of them. We were wondering, ‘What is occurring?’”
Beginnings of the Initiative
The initial participants – Noah, Durant, Molly and two others – formed as students, studying or sharing an passion in nature. In that year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was indicating that the acceptable threshold of 1.5C of climate change was appearing out of reach, Greta Thunberg was leading the youth protests for climate movement, and advocate another voice was talking about the generation experiencing “climate anxiety”. It was also the time of Isabella Tree’s publication, on rewilding, on how they revitalized the Knepp Estate from a failing agricultural business into a flourishing ecosystem. “We were highly motivated by the Knepp story, but what could be the function for the next generation?” says Molly. “So we developed a website and contacted many of wildlife trusts and were asking, ‘Do you sometimes get your landowners wishing to do something and you are short on time?’”
Durant explains the story: “Our entire project was basically founded on the notion that there were landowners who were prepared to permit a bunch of young enthusiasts on to their land without strict rules, to make major decisions that would change land value
