That beautifully intricate melody of the nightingale is a scarce sound in England nowadays, but not at the Surrey site. Back in 2020, a single nightingale could be noticed at this hidden place in rural Surrey; recently, they were everywhere. “We were hearing them calling all night, from five different territories,” notes a lead scientist, lead ecologist for the youth rewilding group. A team of participants were camping out at the location, yet the birds were so noisy, “we were unable to rest all night,” comments a project coordinator. “We were all exhausted the next day, but it was so cool.” An specialist from the regional nature organization came to help them capture and tag one of the birds the next morning, the ecologist remembers: “He’d never handled a songbird in his possession before. He was emotional.”
Habitat Revival Progresses at Maple Farm
Rewilding is by definition a gradual process, but in this place at this property, after only several seasons, the changes are already evident, and audible. The land previously served as a retirement home for horses. Today it’s a model for the Youngwilders’ purpose: to accelerate habitat revival, in one of the ecologically impoverished countries in the world, and to link youth (18-30-year-olds) with a environment they are often denied access to, and a environmental emergency they are often powerless to stop. Rising temperatures continues, deforestation damages natural habitats, and yet another Cop summit ends with a frustrating conclusion in Brazil – so what person could fault young people for wanting to take matters into their own hands?
Our project was premised on the idea that there were people prepared to allow a bunch of young enthusiasts on to their land
“The younger generation is the most knowledgeable in terms of nature that there’s historically,” says the Youngwilders’ leader, a key figure. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the problems, and have added the least to their origin, and, then, are also going to suffer most as a outcome.”
Revitalization of the Property
Today, the organisation is taking root across the UK – and the original site started it all, in all respects. “It’s our origin point, and the place we created our community,” says a founding member, as she offers a tour of the 12-hectare land. “This was previously multiple separate areas,” she states, as we walk through long grass dotted with shrubs, surrounded by established trees. “The main visual difference is that we’ve eliminated all the fencing, a significant length of it, to make it feel like one landscape.” In the recent season, they used protective gear and eradicated large amounts of invasive plants, an invasive species that can irritate the skin. “We’ve introduced loads of natural barriers,” explains the director. “But the main thing is we’ve just let it breathe for a little bit. We’ve eliminated a large part of animal feeding and observed what’s emerged.”
Low scrub and shrub lines are a perfect nightingale environment, she explains, although currently they’re managing some of the wild growth to develop a greater range of habitats and to link up two parts of the site. New trees will take considerably longer to take root, but new growth from the surrounding woodland are already growing in the fields; the group have been placing barriers to protect them from animals.
Nature Comes Back in Abundance
It’s not just the nightingales – fauna is returning in large numbers. This year they’ve spotted grass snakes, slowworms, nocturnal mammals and insects, explains another co-director, as he lifts up one of their reptile mats (similar to a cover over a small hollow in the ground). “You get creatures and things residing under there, but it’s probably a slightly chilly for them now.” Natural homes, constructed from hollowed-out sections of tree trunk and active with pollinators, are attached to some of the woodland. The absence of livestock has allowed small creatures opportunity to prosper in the meadows. When they came to this season, says the director, “I’d not ever encountered so many insects. There were just swarms of them. We were like, ‘What is going on?’”
Beginnings of the Movement
The original Youngwilders – Bennett, Jack, Molly and more individuals – united as learners, studying or having an concern in ecology. In the recent past, the climate experts was indicating that the acceptable threshold of 1.5C of warming was appearing unachievable, Greta Thunberg was leading the demonstrations for eco-awareness, and activist a speaker was addressing young people suffering from “climate anxiety”. It was also the era of the author's book, on rewilding, on how the authors changed the a Sussex location from a unsuccessful agricultural business into a flourishing natural habitat. “We were super-inspired by the Knepp story, but what could be the function for youth?” says Easton. “So we created a online presence and called loads of wildlife trusts and were like, ‘Do you sometimes get your property owners wanting to do something and you are short on time?’”
Durant adds the account: “Our entire organisation was essentially premised on the notion that there were landowners who were ready to let a group of youthful amateurs on to their property without strict rules, to decide on major choices that would impact land value
