The beautifully intricate song of the songbird is a uncommon occurrence in England these days, however it's different at this rural location. Four years ago, a solitary bird could be heard at this secluded location in rural Surrey; recently, they were everywhere. “We were hearing them singing all night, from five different territories,” says Meg Cookson, chief environmental expert for the eco-activist organization. A group of Youngwilders were staying overnight at the property, but the birds were so loud, “we stayed awake all night,” says an engagement lead. “We were all exhausted the next day, but it was so cool.” An professional from the regional nature organization came to help them net and ring one of the birds the next morning, Cookson remembers: “He’d never touched a nightingale in his possession before. He was emotional.”
Habitat Revival Progresses at the Surrey Site
Rewilding is by definition a slow business, but here at the farm, after only several seasons, the changes are already visible, and hearable. The farm previously served as a sanctuary for animals. Now it’s a model for the youth-led goal: to speed up habitat revival, in one of the biodiversity-poor countries in the globe, and to engage the younger generation (18-30-year-olds) with a ecosystem they are often excluded from, and a environmental emergency they are often unable to halt. Rising temperatures continues, deforestation damages ecosystems, and one more international meeting comes to a disappointing end in the host country – so what person could fault youth for choosing to initiate change themselves?
Our project was premised on the belief that there were people ready to let a group of youthful amateurs on to their land
“The youth is the most knowledgeable in terms of nature that there’s previously,” explains the Youngwilders’ leader, Jack Durant. They are also “the highly invested in the issues, and have added the smallest part to their creation, and, then, are also going to suffer the greatest as a consequence.”
Change of the Landscape
Today, the initiative is expanding across the United Kingdom – and the original site planted the seed, in every sense. “It’s the initial project, and the place we established our network,” explains Molly Easton, as she gives a walkthrough of the 30-acre property. “This was previously multiple separate areas,” she says, as we walk through overgrown meadows filled with low scrub, hemmed by forest. “The main noticeable change is that we’ve taken out all the enclosures, a significant length of it, to create the impression like a unified landscape.” In the warmer months, they donned protective gear and cleared masses of harmful weeds, an non-native plant that can harm the skin. “We’ve introduced many of natural barriers,” says the director. “But the main thing is we’ve just allowed it to rest for a little bit. We’ve eliminated a large part of grazing pressure and noticed what’s come up.”
Bushes and natural fences are a excellent nightingale environment, she says, although today they’re cutting back some of the brambles to develop a more variety of ecosystems and to connect two parts of the land. Fresh plantings will take a while to grow, but young trees from the surrounding trees are already growing in the meadows; the team have been setting up barriers to shield them from grazing deer.
Nature Returns in Large Numbers
It’s not just the nightingales – wildlife is reappearing in droves. Lately they’ve seen reptiles, slowworms, nocturnal mammals and bugs, says a team member, as he lifts up one of their survey equipment (such as a mat over a depression in the soil). “You find creatures and wildlife hiding under there, but it’s possibly a somewhat cold for them now.” Natural nests, built using hollowed-out pieces of wood and humming with insects, are strapped to some of the plants. The absence of livestock has allowed invertebrates room to flourish in the overgrown areas. When they visited this summer, says Bennett, “I’d not ever seen so many butterflies. There were just swarms of them. We were wondering, ‘What is going on?’”
Origins of the Initiative
The first Youngwilders – Bennett, Jack, Easton and additional members – united as learners, pursuing or expressing an interest in nature. In 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was indicating that the target of 1.5C of global heating was seeming out of reach, a prominent figure was guiding the youth protests for eco-awareness, and advocate a speaker was addressing young people feeling “eco-worry”. It was also the period of a writer's book, on rewilding, on how the authors transformed the Knepp Estate from a unsuccessful agricultural business into a flourishing wildlife haven. “We were deeply influenced by the case study, but what could be the part for young people?” asks Easton. “So we developed a platform and contacted many of wildlife trusts and were saying, ‘Do you ever get your property owners wishing to make changes and you are short on time?’”
Jack adds the account: “Our complete organisation was basically premised on the idea that there were people who were ready to allow a group of young amateurs on to their property without strict rules, to decide on fairly massive choices that would change land value
