That beautifully intricate melody of the songbird is a uncommon presence in England nowadays, but it's different at this rural location. Four years ago, a single nightingale could be heard at this hidden spot in rural Surrey; this summer, they were everywhere. “We were hearing them chirping all night, from multiple areas,” says Meg Cookson, lead ecologist for the youth rewilding group. A team of participants were residing temporarily at the location, but the birds were so boisterous, “we were unable to rest all night,” remarks an engagement lead. “We were all worn out the next day, but it was so amazing.” An specialist from the local conservation group came to help them net and ring one of the nightingales the next morning, Cookson remembers: “He’d never touched a nightingale in his hands before. He was crying.”
Habitat Revival Progresses at the Surrey Site
Rewilding is by nature a gradual business, but in this place at this property, after only a short period, the outcomes are already visible, and noticeable. The land previously served as a retirement home for animals. Today it’s a showpiece for the youth-led goal: to hasten habitat revival, in one of the most nature-depleted countries in the globe, 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 prevent. Rising temperatures persists, tree clearing destroys ecosystems, and yet another international meeting ends with a frustrating conclusion in Brazil – so who could blame youth for choosing to initiate change themselves?
Our project was based on the notion that there were individuals ready to permit a collection of young idiots on to their property
“The youth is the most knowledgeable environmentally that there’s ever been,” explains the Youngwilders’ founder, one organizer. They are also “the highly invested in the challenges, and have added the smallest part to their origin, and, then, are also going to be affected most as a outcome.”
Revitalization of the Property
Currently, the organisation is growing across the UK – and Maple Farm planted the seed, in multiple ways. “It’s where we started, and the place we established our connections,” notes a founding member, as she provides a walkthrough of the 30-acre site. “This was previously divided plots,” she comments, as we walk through tall vegetation filled with bushes, surrounded by mature woodland. “The key visual difference is that we’ve taken out all the barriers, 1.2km of it, to create the impression like a unified environment.” In the summer, they donned protective gear and removed masses of giant hogweed, an non-native plant that can burn the flesh. “We’ve planted many of hedgerows,” notes Easton. “But the key action is we’ve just let it breathe for a brief period. We’ve eliminated a large part of grazing pressure and noticed what’s come up.”
Underbrush and natural fences are a ideal songbird environment, she comments, although now they’re managing some of the thorny plants to create a increased diversity of ecosystems and to connect different sections of the site. Young saplings will take a while to take root, but new growth from the surrounding oaks are already growing in the open areas; the team have been placing protectors to shield them from animals.
Nature Comes Back in Droves
There's more than the nightingales – wildlife is coming back in droves. Lately they’ve spotted reptiles, slowworms, flyers and invertebrates, says another co-director, as he raises one of their survey equipment (like a cover over a indentation in the ground). “You discover snakes and animals hiding under there, but it’s possibly a slightly chilly for them now.” Organic beehives, built using hollowed-out pieces of timber and humming with pollinators, are strapped to some of the plants. The absence of grazing horses has given invertebrates room to thrive in the long grass. When they came to this time, comments the director, “I’d never encountered so many insects. There were just masses of them. We were wondering, ‘What is occurring?’”
Inception of the Movement
The original participants – Bennett, Durant, Easton and more individuals – formed as learners, pursuing or expressing an interest in ecology. In the recent past, the IPCC was forecasting that the acceptable threshold of 1.5C of warming was seeming out of reach, Greta Thunberg was guiding the youth protests for eco-awareness, and advocate a speaker was addressing youth experiencing “eco-worry”. It was also the era of Isabella Tree’s publication, on rewilding, on how they changed the a nearby property from a failing dairy farm into a successful ecosystem. “We were highly motivated by the Knepp story, but what was the function for the next generation?” asks Molly. “So we created a online presence and contacted numerous of conservation groups and were saying, ‘Do you occasionally get your landowners wishing to make changes and you are short on resources?’”
Jack continues the story: “Our whole initiative was essentially founded on the idea that there were landowners who were prepared to let a group of youthful enthusiasts on to their property freely, to take fairly massive decisions that would affect land value
