That richly complex call of the nightingale is a rare occurrence in England these days, however it's different at the Surrey site. Previously, a solitary nightingale could be noticed at this remote spot in rural Surrey; this summer, they were everywhere. “We were hearing them singing all night, from multiple areas,” explains a lead scientist, lead ecologist for the youth rewilding group. A band of volunteers were residing temporarily at the site, yet the nightingales were so boisterous, “we were unable to rest all night,” comments an engagement lead. “We were all exhausted the next day, but it was so incredible.” An specialist from the regional nature organization came to help them trap and mark one of the songbirds the next morning, she recalls: “He’d never touched a nightingale in his hands before. He was emotional.”
Habitat Revival Progresses at This Location
Rewilding is by its very essence a slow process, but in this place at this property, after just a short period, the outcomes are already apparent, and audible. The property was once a retirement home for equines. Today it’s a example for the Youngwilders’ purpose: to speed up nature recovery, in one of the ecologically impoverished nations in the planet, and to connect the younger generation (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often excluded from, and a environmental emergency they are often unable to stop. Climate change continues, tree clearing destroys natural habitats, and yet another Cop summit ends with a unsatisfactory conclusion in the host country – so who could fault youth for wanting to act independently?
Our initiative was based on the idea that there were individuals ready to permit a collection of youthful enthusiasts on to their land
“The youth is the best educated ecologically that there’s ever been,” says the Youngwilders’ leader, a key figure. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the issues, and have contributed the smallest part to their causing, and, then, are also going to experience consequences the greatest as a result.”
Revitalization of the Property
Now, the organisation is expanding across the UK – and this location planted the seed, in multiple ways. “It’s where we started, and where we built our network,” says a founding member, as she provides a tour of the 12-hectare property. “This was previously six different fields,” she states, as we move through tall vegetation filled with shrubs, hemmed by mature woodland. “The primary visible difference is that we’ve taken out all the barriers, a significant length of it, to give the sense like one landscape.” In the warmer months, they donned protective gear and cleared masses of giant hogweed, an non-native plant that can harm the skin. “We’ve introduced numerous of bush lines,” notes the director. “But the key action is we’ve just allowed it to rest for a little bit. We’ve reduced a large part of animal feeding and observed what’s come up.”
Low scrub and natural fences are a perfect nightingale habitat, she says, but now they’re managing some of the thorny plants to develop a more diversity of ecosystems and to connect separate areas of the property. New trees will take much more time to establish, but young trees from the surrounding oaks are already establishing themselves in the meadows; the group have been setting up guards to shield them from wildlife.
Nature Reappears in Large Numbers
In addition to the nightingales – wildlife is returning in large numbers. Recently they’ve spotted serpents, creatures, nocturnal mammals and insects, explains Noah Bennett, as he raises one of their reptile mats (similar to a mat over a depression in the earth). “You discover reptiles and animals residing under there, but it’s probably a somewhat cold for them now.” Organic nests, built using hollowed-out sections of timber and humming with wild bees, are strapped to some of the plants. The removal of animals has allowed insects space to flourish in the meadows. When they came to this time, says Bennett, “I’d not once seen so numerous butterflies. There were just masses of them. We were like, ‘What is happening?’”
Inception of the Movement
The original Youngwilders – Noah, Durant, Easton and two others – united as youth, studying or sharing an interest in ecology. In that year, the climate experts was indicating that the target of 1.5C of climate change was seeming impossible, Greta Thunberg was leading the demonstrations for climate movement, and campaigner Clover Hogan was talking about youth suffering from “climate anxiety”. It was also the era of Isabella Tree’s publication, Wilding, on how they transformed the Knepp Estate from a failing farm into a successful ecosystem. “We were deeply influenced by the Knepp story, but what was the role for the next generation?” questions Molly. “So we created a platform and contacted loads of environmental organizations and were asking, ‘Do you ever get your landowners wanting to take action and you don’t have resources?’”
Durant adds the story: “Our whole organisation was fundamentally founded on the idea that there were people who were willing to permit a collection of young idiots on to their estate indiscriminately, to decide on significant choices that would affect land value
