The beautifully intricate melody of the nightingale is a rare occurrence in the UK today, however not at the Surrey site. Previously, a solitary nightingale could be heard at this secluded location in rural Surrey; recently, they were everywhere. “We were listening to them calling all night, from several zones,” explains one ecologist, lead ecologist for the eco-activist organization. A team of Youngwilders were residing temporarily at the property, yet the birds were so boisterous, “we couldn’t sleep all night,” comments a project coordinator. “We were all worn out the next day, but it was so amazing.” An specialist from the regional nature organization came to help them net and ring one of the birds the next morning, the ecologist remembers: “He’d never held a songbird in his possession before. He was crying.”
Ecological Restoration Accelerates at the Surrey Site
Rewilding is by its very essence a slow business, but in this place at this property, after just four years, the results are already evident, and hearable. The farm was once a sanctuary for animals. Currently it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ mission: to accelerate ecological restoration, in one of the most nature-depleted regions in the world, and to connect youth (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often denied access to, and a climate crisis they are often powerless to halt. Rising temperatures persists, deforestation eliminates ecosystems, and another climate conference comes to a frustrating conclusion in the host country – so who could blame youth for choosing to take matters into their own hands?
Our organisation was based on the notion that there were individuals willing to let a bunch of young enthusiasts on to their estate
“The newer cohort is the most knowledgeable environmentally that there’s previously,” explains the Youngwilders’ leader, Jack Durant. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the problems, and have added the least to their causing, and, then, are also going to suffer the greatest as a result.”
Transformation of the Landscape
Now, the organisation is expanding across the Britain – and this location planted the seed, in every sense. “It’s the initial project, and where we created our connections,” notes Molly Easton, as she provides a overview of the 30-acre land. “This was previously divided plots,” she states, as we walk through tall vegetation dotted with shrubs, bordered by forest. “The main noticeable transformation is that we’ve removed all the fencing, 1.2km of it, to create the impression like a single area.” In the warmer months, they used hazmat suits and eradicated significant quantities of harmful weeds, an aggressive flora that can burn the skin. “We’ve introduced many of hedgerows,” notes Easton. “But the key action is we’ve just given it space for a little bit. We’ve removed a large part of animal feeding and seen what’s emerged.”
Underbrush and hedgerows are a perfect songbird environment, she explains, however today they’re cutting back some of the thorny plants to establish a more range of habitats and to connect separate areas of the land. New trees will take considerably longer to grow, but young trees from the nearby oaks are already growing in the open areas; the team have been placing guards to protect them from animals.
Nature Comes Back in Abundance
In addition to the nightingales – animals is coming back in abundance. Lately they’ve observed grass snakes, legless lizards, flyers and invertebrates, says Noah Bennett, as he uncovers one of their reptile mats (like a cover over a small hollow in the earth). “You get creatures and wildlife residing under there, but it’s possibly a slightly cold for them now.” Natural beehives, built using empty parts of timber and humming with wild bees, are attached to some of the woodland. The absence of grazing horses has allowed insects room to flourish in the meadows. When they came to this time, says the director, “I’d not once encountered so countless insects. There were just masses of them. We were saying, ‘What is occurring?’”
Origins of the Project
The initial Youngwilders – Noah, Jack, Molly and more individuals – united as youth, pursuing or having an passion in ecology. In that year, the IPCC was forecasting that the acceptable threshold of one and a half degrees of warming was looking unachievable, a prominent figure was spearheading the demonstrations for eco-awareness, and advocate Clover Hogan was discussing youth feeling “climate anxiety”. It was also the era of the author's book, about nature recovery, on how the authors changed the a nearby property from a struggling agricultural business into a thriving wildlife haven. “We were super-inspired by the Knepp story, but what was the part for the next generation?” asks Molly. “So we made a online presence and contacted loads of wildlife trusts and were like, ‘Do you sometimes get your landowners seeking to take action and you lack time?’”
Jack continues the account: “Our complete organisation was basically founded on the belief that there were individuals who were prepared to let a bunch of young amateurs on to their property without strict rules, to decide on fairly massive actions that would affect land value
