That beautifully intricate melody of the songbird is a scarce presence in Britain nowadays, but it's different at the Surrey site. Back in 2020, a lone nightingale could be heard at this remote place in rural Surrey; recently, they were in multiple locations. “We were listening to them calling all night, from multiple areas,” says Meg Cookson, chief environmental expert for the Youngwilders. A team of volunteers were camping out at the site, however the birds were so loud, “we stayed awake all night,” remarks Layla Mapemba. “We were all exhausted the next day, but it was so incredible.” An professional from the local conservation group came to help them net and ring one of the birds the next morning, Cookson remembers: “He’d never handled a songbird in his possession before. He was emotional.”
Rewilding Progresses at Maple Farm
Ecological restoration is by its very essence a lengthy endeavor, but at this site at the farm, after just a short period, the outcomes are already evident, and noticeable. The property was once a sanctuary for horses. Today it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ purpose: to accelerate nature recovery, in one of the most nature-depleted countries in the planet, and to connect youth (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often excluded from, and a climate crisis they are often unable to halt. Climate change persists, deforestation destroys ecosystems, and yet another climate conference draws to a frustrating outcome in Brazil – so what person could blame young people for choosing to act independently?
Our project was based on the idea that there were individuals prepared to allow a collection of youthful amateurs on to their land
“The youth is the most informed ecologically that there’s historically,” says the group's leader, a key figure. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the problems, and have played the least to their causing, and, then, are also going to experience consequences the greatest as a result.”
Change of the Landscape
Currently, the initiative is expanding across the Britain – and the original site planted the seed, in every sense. “It’s where we started, and where we established our connections,” notes another co-director, as she gives a tour of the 12-hectare property. “This was previously multiple separate areas,” she states, as we walk through tall vegetation featuring bushes, bordered by mature woodland. “The primary noticeable difference is that we’ve taken out all the fencing, over a kilometer of it, to give the sense like one area.” In the summer, they donned protective gear and eradicated large amounts of giant hogweed, an invasive species that can burn the flesh. “We’ve introduced loads of natural barriers,” explains Easton. “But the primary focus is we’ve just let it breathe for a short time. We’ve removed a lot of grazing pressure and noticed what’s come up.”
Low scrub and hedgerows are a perfect songbird home, she explains, however now they’re trimming some of the brambles to create a more diversity of ecosystems and to join different sections of the property. Fresh plantings will take much more time to grow, but new growth from the surrounding oaks are already establishing themselves in the fields; the crew have been setting up guards to safeguard them from wildlife.
Wildlife Reappears in Droves
There's more than the songbirds – wildlife is reappearing in large numbers. Lately they’ve spotted grass snakes, creatures, flyers and insects, says another co-director, as he raises one of their survey equipment (like a cover over a small hollow in the earth). “You find creatures and wildlife sheltering under there, but it’s likely a bit cool for them now.” Natural nests, built using empty sections of tree trunk and buzzing with insects, are attached to some of the plants. The lack of grazing horses has provided small creatures opportunity to flourish in the long grass. When they came to this summer, states Bennett, “I’d never encountered so numerous butterflies. There were just swarms of them. We were like, ‘What is happening?’”
Origins of the Initiative
The first Youngwilders – Bennett, Jack, Easton and additional members – came together as students, focusing on or expressing an concern in nature. In the recent past, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was forecasting that the safe limit of one and a half degrees of climate change was seeming unachievable, a prominent figure was spearheading the demonstrations for environmental action, and campaigner another voice was discussing young people suffering from “eco-worry”. It was also the era of Isabella Tree’s work, on rewilding, on how the authors revitalized the Knepp Estate from a struggling agricultural business into a flourishing wildlife haven. “We were super-inspired by the Knepp story, but what could be the part for the next generation?” questions Easton. “So we created a online presence and rang up numerous of wildlife trusts and were asking, ‘Do you sometimes get your landowners seeking to take action and you lack resources?’”
Jack adds the story: “Our entire project was basically founded on the notion that there were landowners who were prepared to permit a collection of young amateurs on to their land without strict rules, to decide on significant choices that would affect land value
