That manically melodic song of the nightingale is a rare presence in Britain nowadays, yet it's different at this rural location. Previously, a lone bird could be detected at this hidden location in the countryside of Surrey; recently, they were in multiple locations. “We were hearing them chirping all night, from several zones,” says Meg Cookson, lead ecologist for the Youngwilders. A team of Youngwilders were camping out at the property, however the nightingales were so loud, “we stayed awake all night,” says an engagement lead. “We were all knackered the next day, but it was so cool.” An professional from the Surrey Wildlife Trust came to help them net and ring one of the birds the next morning, she remembers: “He’d never held a songbird in his hands before. He was teary.”
Ecological Restoration Speeds Up at the Surrey Site
Rewilding is by nature a gradual process, but in this place at Maple Farm, after merely several seasons, the results are already visible, and noticeable. The land previously served as a haven for equines. Today it’s a model for the Youngwilders’ mission: to accelerate nature recovery, in one of the biodiversity-poor nations in the planet, and to link young people (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often shut out of, and a global warming issue they are often unable to halt. Rising temperatures persists, tree clearing destroys natural habitats, and yet another climate conference ends with a frustrating outcome in Brazil – so who could criticize youth for choosing to act independently?
Our organisation was based on the idea that there were people prepared to permit a group of young idiots on to their property
“The youth is the most knowledgeable ecologically that there’s historically,” explains the group's leader, a key figure. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the problems, and have played the minimal role to their origin, and, then, are also going to experience consequences the worst as a result.”
Transformation of the Landscape
Currently, the group is growing across the Britain – and Maple Farm was the beginning, in every sense. “It’s where we started, and the place we established our community,” notes another co-director, as she offers a walkthrough of the expansive land. “This once consisted of divided plots,” she comments, as we move through long grass filled with bushes, surrounded by forest. “The key visual difference is that we’ve taken out all the enclosures, over a kilometer of it, to give the sense like a unified landscape.” In the warmer months, they donned hazmat suits and removed large amounts of invasive plants, an aggressive flora that can burn the skin. “We’ve established numerous of bush lines,” explains she. “But the key action is we’ve just let it breathe for a brief period. We’ve eliminated a lot of livestock impact and seen what’s sprung up.”
Bushes and natural fences are a ideal songbird habitat, she comments, however currently they’re trimming some of the thorny plants to create a greater range of ecosystems and to connect different sections of the site. New trees will take a while to establish, but young trees from the adjacent oaks are already establishing themselves in the meadows; the group have been placing guards to shield them from wildlife.
Wildlife Reappears in Droves
In addition to the songbirds – wildlife is returning in large numbers. Recently they’ve observed reptiles, legless lizards, nocturnal mammals and invertebrates, explains another co-director, as he uncovers one of their survey equipment (like a doormat over a indentation in the soil). “You discover creatures and things hiding under there, but it’s likely a slightly cold for them now.” Organic beehives, constructed from hollowed-out pieces of tree trunk and active with insects, are fixed to some of the trees. The removal of livestock has allowed small creatures room to flourish in the meadows. When they explored this time, comments Bennett, “I’d not ever seen so countless butterflies. There were just clouds of them. We were saying, ‘What is occurring?’”
Beginnings of the Project
The first Youngwilders – Bennett, Durant, Easton and more individuals – came together as youth, studying or having an concern in ecology. In 2019, the IPCC was forecasting that the safe limit of one and a half degrees of global heating was seeming unachievable, Greta Thunberg was guiding the demonstrations for eco-awareness, and activist Clover Hogan was talking about the generation experiencing “climate anxiety”. It was also the period of Isabella Tree’s publication, about nature recovery, on how they changed the Knepp Estate from a failing agricultural business into a successful wildlife haven. “We were highly motivated by the Knepp story, but what was the part for young people?” questions Easton. “So we developed a website and contacted numerous of wildlife trusts and were like, ‘Do you occasionally get your landowners seeking to do something and you lack resources?’”
Durant explains the account: “Our complete initiative was fundamentally premised on the belief that there were people who were willing to permit a collection of young enthusiasts on to their property freely, to decide on major choices that would affect land value
