That richly complex call of the nightingale is a rare presence in England nowadays, yet not at this rural location. Four years ago, a solitary bird could be heard at this secluded place in the countryside of Surrey; recently, they were in multiple locations. “We were listening to them calling all night, from several zones,” explains Meg Cookson, chief environmental expert for the Youngwilders. A band of Youngwilders were residing temporarily at the site, yet the nightingales were so noisy, “we couldn’t sleep all night,” comments an engagement lead. “We were all exhausted the next day, but it was so amazing.” An expert from the Surrey Wildlife Trust came to help them net and ring one of the songbirds the next morning, the ecologist states: “He’d never held a songbird in his possession before. He was teary.”
Rewilding Progresses at the Surrey Site
Ecological restoration is by definition a slow endeavor, but here at this property, after only several seasons, the results are already visible, and noticeable. The farm used to be a sanctuary for animals. Today it’s a showpiece for the youth-led purpose: to accelerate ecological restoration, in one of the most nature-depleted regions in the world, and to link youth (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often shut out of, and a climate crisis they are often unable to prevent. Global heating persists, tree clearing eliminates ecosystems, and another international meeting comes to a unsatisfactory conclusion in abroad – so what person could criticize the younger generation for choosing to take matters into their own hands?
The initiative was based on the belief that there were landowners prepared to let a bunch of youthful enthusiasts on to their land
“The newer cohort is the most knowledgeable ecologically that there’s ever been,” states the group's founder, a key figure. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the problems, and have contributed the least to their creation, and, then, are also going to suffer the worst as a consequence.”
Revitalization of the Landscape
Now, the initiative is expanding across the UK – and the original site planted the seed, in every sense. “It’s our origin point, and the place we created our community,” says another co-director, as she gives a tour of the 30-acre site. “This used to be multiple separate areas,” she states, as we move through overgrown meadows dotted with shrubs, hemmed by forest. “The primary noticeable change is that we’ve removed all the fencing, over a kilometer of it, to create the impression like one area.” In the warmer months, they wore hazmat suits and removed significant quantities of harmful weeds, an invasive species that can irritate the skin. “We’ve established loads of natural barriers,” explains she. “But the primary focus is we’ve just given it space for a brief period. We’ve removed a significant amount of livestock impact and observed what’s sprung up.”
Underbrush and natural fences are a ideal nightingale home, she says, however today they’re managing some of the brambles to create a greater diversity of habitats and to connect separate areas of the land. Young saplings will take considerably longer to establish, but young trees from the surrounding woodland are already growing in the meadows; the group have been setting up barriers to safeguard them from wildlife.
Wildlife Reappears in Large Numbers
In addition to the songbirds – wildlife is returning in droves. This year they’ve spotted serpents, creatures, nocturnal mammals and invertebrates, says another co-director, as he lifts up one of their monitoring tools (similar to a cover over a small hollow in the soil). “You find reptiles and wildlife residing under there, but it’s probably a slightly cold for them now.” Wild homes, constructed from hollowed-out pieces of timber and active with pollinators, are strapped to some of the trees. The absence of animals has given invertebrates room to flourish in the meadows. When they visited this season, states the director, “I’d not once encountered so countless insects. There were just clouds of them. We were like, ‘What is occurring?’”
Inception of the Project
The initial Youngwilders – Bennett, Durant, Easton and two others – came together as learners, studying or having an interest in nature. In that year, the IPCC was forecasting that the acceptable threshold of one and a half degrees of warming was looking unachievable, the activist was spearheading the youth protests for environmental action, and activist a speaker was discussing youth feeling “climate anxiety”. It was also the era of the author's book, Wilding, on how they changed the a Sussex location from a unsuccessful farm into a successful natural habitat. “We were highly motivated by the Knepp story, but what could be the part for the next generation?” says Molly. “So we made a platform and rang up loads of wildlife trusts and were like, ‘Do you ever get your estate holders wanting to make changes and you lack time?’”
Durant continues the account: “Our complete initiative was essentially premised on the idea that there were people who were ready to allow a group of young enthusiasts on to their estate indiscriminately, to take major actions that would affect land value
