The beautifully intricate song of the nightingale is a scarce presence in Britain today, but it's different at Maple Farm. Previously, a single bird could be detected at this secluded location in the countryside of Surrey; lately, they were in multiple locations. “We were hearing them singing all night, from five different territories,” notes Meg Cookson, lead ecologist for the eco-activist organization. A team of participants were camping out at the site, but the birds were so noisy, “we stayed awake all night,” comments an engagement lead. “We were all exhausted 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 nightingales the next morning, Cookson states: “He’d never held a songbird in his hands before. He was crying.”
Rewilding Progresses at Maple Farm
Ecological restoration is by definition a gradual process, but here at the farm, after merely several seasons, the results are already apparent, and audible. The property previously served as a retirement home for animals. Now it’s a model for the Youngwilders’ mission: to speed up habitat revival, in one of the biodiversity-poor nations in the world, and to engage youth (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often denied access to, and a global warming issue they are often powerless to halt. Climate change advances, tree clearing damages natural habitats, and another international meeting ends with a frustrating outcome in abroad – so what person could criticize young people for wanting to take matters into their own hands?
The organisation was based on the idea that there were landowners prepared to let a group of youthful amateurs on to their property
“The youth is the most knowledgeable in terms of nature that there’s historically,” states the group's leader, a key figure. They are also “the deeply concerned in the challenges, and have added the least to their creation, and, then, are also going to experience consequences most as a consequence.”
Revitalization of the Site
Currently, the initiative is expanding across the UK – and this location planted the seed, in every sense. “It’s the initial project, and where we built our network,” explains another co-director, as she provides a tour of the expansive property. “This was previously six different fields,” she says, as we stroll through overgrown meadows dotted with bushes, hemmed by mature woodland. “The key visible difference is that we’ve removed all the fencing, a significant length of it, to create the impression like a unified environment.” In the recent season, they used hazmat suits and eradicated masses of invasive plants, an invasive species that can harm the body. “We’ve introduced loads of bush lines,” explains Easton. “But the main thing is we’ve just let it breathe for a little bit. We’ve eliminated a significant amount of grazing pressure and observed what’s sprung up.”
Underbrush and hedgerows are a perfect nightingale habitat, she explains, but currently they’re managing some of the brambles to develop a more variety of ecosystems and to join separate areas of the property. New trees will take much more time to take root, but young trees from the surrounding woodland are already taking root in the meadows; the team have been installing protectors to safeguard them from grazing deer.
Wildlife Comes Back in Large Numbers
In addition to the songbirds – wildlife is reappearing in large numbers. Lately they’ve seen reptiles, slowworms, bats and bugs, says another co-director, as he uncovers one of their survey equipment (similar to a mat over a small hollow in the earth). “You find creatures and things sheltering under there, but it’s possibly a bit chilly for them now.” Wild homes, built using hollowed-out sections of wood and humming with wild bees, are attached to some of the woodland. The absence of livestock has allowed small creatures space to thrive in the long grass. When they came to this time, comments he, “I’d not ever observed so many butterflies. There were just masses of them. We were wondering, ‘What is happening?’”
Inception of the Movement
The original founders – Bennett, Durant, Easton and more individuals – came together as youth, studying or having an concern in nature. In that year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was forecasting that the safe limit of 1.5C of warming was looking impossible, the activist was spearheading the school strikes for environmental action, and campaigner another voice was talking about the generation experiencing “climate anxiety”. It was also the period of the author's book, Wilding, on how they changed the Knepp Estate from a struggling dairy farm into a successful natural habitat. “We were super-inspired by the case study, but what was the role for young people?” says Molly. “So we made a website and called many of conservation groups and were asking, ‘Do you ever get your estate holders seeking to take action and you are short on capacity?’”
Durant continues the narrative: “Our entire organisation was essentially based on the belief that there were individuals who were willing to allow a group of youthful amateurs on to their estate without strict rules, to make major choices that would impact land value
