The beautifully intricate call of the nightingale is a scarce occurrence in the UK these days, however not at this rural location. Four years ago, a solitary bird could be detected at this remote location in rural Surrey; this summer, they were in multiple locations. “We were hearing them chirping all night, from several zones,” explains one ecologist, lead ecologist for the Youngwilders. A group of volunteers were residing temporarily at the property, yet the nightingales were so loud, “we stayed awake all night,” says a project coordinator. “We were all worn out the next day, but it was so cool.” An professional from the local conservation group came to help them trap and mark one of the birds the next morning, Cookson states: “He’d never touched a nightingale in his possession before. He was crying.”
Habitat Revival Accelerates at This Location
Rewilding is by nature a gradual business, but at this site at Maple Farm, after just a short period, the results are already evident, and audible. The farm was once a haven for animals. Today it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ mission: to speed up nature recovery, in one of the most nature-depleted countries in the planet, and to link youth (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often excluded from, and a climate crisis they are often ineffectual to halt. Rising temperatures persists, habitat loss eliminates wildlife homes, and another Cop summit comes to a disappointing outcome in Brazil – so who could blame young people for wishing to initiate change themselves?
The project was based on the belief that there were people prepared to allow a group of youthful idiots on to their land
“The youth is the most knowledgeable in terms of nature that there’s ever been,” says the Youngwilders’ founder, a key figure. They are also “the highly invested in the challenges, and have added the least to their origin, and, then, are also going to suffer the worst as a result.”
Change of the Landscape
Currently, the group is expanding across the UK – and the original site was the beginning, in every sense. “It’s where we started, and where we built our network,” explains Molly Easton, as she offers a walkthrough of the expansive property. “This was previously six different fields,” she states, as we move through overgrown meadows dotted with low scrub, bordered by mature woodland. “The primary noticeable transformation is that we’ve removed all the enclosures, over a kilometer of it, to give the sense like one environment.” In the recent season, they used protective gear and removed large amounts of invasive plants, an invasive species that can harm the skin. “We’ve introduced loads of bush lines,” explains the director. “But the key action is we’ve just allowed it to rest for a short time. We’ve eliminated a significant amount of animal feeding and seen what’s come up.”
Bushes and natural fences are a perfect songbird home, she says, although currently they’re trimming some of the thorny plants to develop a greater diversity of environments and to link up different sections of the property. New trees will take a while to grow, but new growth from the nearby woodland are already taking root in the meadows; the crew have been setting up barriers to shield them from grazing deer.
Animals Reappears in Abundance
In addition to the nightingales – wildlife is returning in droves. Recently they’ve spotted reptiles, legless lizards, nocturnal mammals and invertebrates, says another co-director, as he lifts up one of their monitoring tools (similar to a mat over a depression in the ground). “You find reptiles and animals sheltering under there, but it’s possibly a slightly cold for them now.” Organic homes, constructed from hollowed-out parts of timber and active with wild bees, are fixed to some of the trees. The absence of livestock has given insects room to thrive in the overgrown areas. When they came to this season, comments Bennett, “I’d not once encountered so numerous butterflies. There were just clouds of them. We were saying, ‘What is going on?’”
Origins of the Initiative
The first participants – Bennett, Jack, Molly and additional members – united as students, studying or sharing an passion in nature. In 2019, the IPCC was indicating that the acceptable threshold of one and a half degrees of warming was looking impossible, a prominent figure was guiding the demonstrations for environmental action, and campaigner Clover Hogan was discussing young people suffering from “eco-worry”. It was also the era of Isabella Tree’s book, on rewilding, on how she and her husband transformed the a Sussex location from a unsuccessful agricultural business into a thriving ecosystem. “We were highly motivated by the example, but what could be the function for young people?” asks Easton. “So we created a platform and called many of wildlife trusts and were saying, ‘Do you sometimes get your estate holders wanting to do something and you lack resources?’”
Durant continues the narrative: “Our whole project was essentially premised on the belief that there were individuals who were prepared to let a group of youthful enthusiasts on to their land indiscriminately, to decide on major decisions that would affect land value
