That beautifully intricate melody of the songbird is a rare occurrence in the UK nowadays, but not at this rural location. Back in 2020, a single bird could be noticed at this secluded location in rural Surrey; recently, they were everywhere. “We were listening to them calling all night, from multiple areas,” notes one ecologist, top biologist for the eco-activist organization. A band of volunteers were residing temporarily at the property, yet the nightingales were so boisterous, “we stayed awake all night,” says an engagement lead. “We were all knackered the next day, but it was so amazing.” An specialist from the regional nature organization came to help them capture and tag one of the songbirds the next morning, she recalls: “He’d never touched a songbird in his hands before. He was crying.”
Rewilding Progresses at the Surrey Site
Ecological restoration is by nature a lengthy endeavor, but at this site at Maple Farm, after only several seasons, the changes are already apparent, and noticeable. The land previously served as a haven for equines. Now it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ goal: to accelerate habitat revival, in one of the most nature-depleted nations in the globe, and to engage youth (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often shut out of, and a environmental emergency they are often unable to halt. Climate change advances, tree clearing destroys natural habitats, and yet another climate conference ends with a unsatisfactory end in the host country – so what person could criticize youth for wishing to take matters into their own hands?
Our initiative was premised on the notion that there were individuals willing to let a collection of youthful enthusiasts on to their estate
“The youth is the best educated in terms of nature that there’s ever been,” explains the group's co-director, Jack Durant. They are also “the deeply concerned in the issues, and have played the least to their creation, and, then, are also going to experience consequences the worst as a result.”
Transformation of the Landscape
Today, the initiative is growing across the Britain – and the original site started it all, in multiple ways. “It’s the initial project, and where we established our network,” notes a founding member, as she provides a walkthrough of the 12-hectare site. “This used to be six different fields,” she comments, as we walk through overgrown meadows featuring bushes, hemmed by mature woodland. “The main visual change is that we’ve taken out all the enclosures, a significant length of it, to give the sense like a single environment.” In the summer, they wore special clothing and eradicated masses of giant hogweed, an aggressive flora that can burn the body. “We’ve introduced loads of hedgerows,” explains she. “But the primary focus is we’ve just let it breathe for a short time. We’ve eliminated a significant amount of livestock impact and seen what’s come up.”
Underbrush and natural fences are a ideal songbird habitat, she comments, however today they’re managing some of the wild growth to create a more diversity of environments and to link up different sections of the site. Young saplings will take considerably longer to grow, but saplings from the surrounding trees are already growing in the fields; the group have been placing guards to protect them from grazing deer.
Wildlife Comes Back in Droves
In addition to the nightingales – fauna is coming back in large numbers. This year they’ve spotted reptiles, slowworms, bats and bugs, notes a team member, as he lifts up one of their survey equipment (such as a doormat over a indentation in the soil). “You get snakes and wildlife residing under there, but it’s likely a bit cold for them now.” Wild beehives, constructed from empty sections of wood and humming with pollinators, are strapped to some of the trees. The removal of livestock has given small creatures room to flourish in the long grass. When they visited this season, says Bennett, “I’d not ever encountered so numerous butterflies. There were just clouds of them. We were like, ‘What is going on?’”
Inception of the Movement
The original founders – Noah, Jack, Easton and more individuals – came together as students, studying or having an concern in environmental science. In the recent past, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was forecasting that the acceptable threshold of 1.5C of climate change was looking unachievable, the activist was leading the school strikes for eco-awareness, and advocate another voice was talking about the generation experiencing “eco-worry”. It was also the era of the author's work, on rewilding, on how the authors revitalized the a nearby property from a struggling agricultural business into a successful natural habitat. “We were highly motivated by the Knepp story, but what could be the role for the next generation?” says Molly. “So we created a website and called many of conservation groups and were like, ‘Do you occasionally get your property owners wishing to take action and you are short on resources?’”
Durant continues the story: “Our entire initiative was basically based on the idea that there were individuals who were ready to permit a collection of youthful enthusiasts on to their property without strict rules, to decide on significant actions that would affect land value
