The beautifully intricate call of the nightingale is a rare sound in England today, however it's different at the Surrey site. Previously, a solitary nightingale could be heard at this hidden location in the countryside of Surrey; recently, they were in multiple locations. “We were hearing them chirping all night, from multiple areas,” notes Meg Cookson, top biologist for the eco-activist organization. A band of participants were residing temporarily at the property, but the birds were so boisterous, “we stayed awake all night,” remarks Layla Mapemba. “We were all knackered the next day, but it was so cool.” An specialist from the regional nature organization came to help them capture and tag one of the songbirds the next morning, she remembers: “He’d never handled a nightingale in his hands before. He was emotional.”
Rewilding Speeds Up at This Location
Nature recovery is by definition a gradual process, but here at Maple Farm, after only four years, the results are already apparent, and audible. The farm was once a sanctuary for equines. Currently it’s a model for the Youngwilders’ mission: to accelerate nature recovery, in one of the most nature-depleted nations in the planet, and to connect young people (18-30-year-olds) with a environment they are often denied access to, and a climate crisis they are often unable to stop. Climate change persists, habitat loss destroys natural habitats, and yet another international meeting draws to a unsatisfactory outcome in Brazil – so who could blame young people for choosing to act independently?
The project was based on the idea that there were individuals prepared to let a group of young enthusiasts on to their land
“The younger generation is the most knowledgeable environmentally that there’s previously,” states the Youngwilders’ founder, a key figure. They are also “the highly invested in the challenges, and have added the smallest part to their origin, and, then, are also going to experience consequences the worst as a outcome.”
Transformation of the Site
Now, the group is expanding across the UK – and the original site was the beginning, in every sense. “It’s where we started, and the place we created our connections,” says another co-director, as she gives a walkthrough of the 12-hectare property. “This used to be divided plots,” she comments, as we walk through long grass featuring bushes, surrounded by established trees. “The main visible difference is that we’ve removed all the enclosures, 1.2km of it, to make it feel like a unified environment.” In the summer, they used special clothing and eradicated large amounts of giant hogweed, an non-native plant that can irritate the flesh. “We’ve established loads of bush lines,” notes Easton. “But the primary focus is we’ve just let it breathe for a short time. We’ve eliminated a significant amount of grazing pressure and seen what’s sprung up.”
Low scrub and hedgerows are a excellent nightingale environment, she says, however now they’re trimming some of the thorny plants to establish a greater variety of ecosystems and to connect separate areas of the property. New trees will take much more time to establish, but young trees from the adjacent woodland are already taking root in the open areas; the crew have been setting up barriers to safeguard them from grazing deer.
Wildlife Reappears in Abundance
It’s not just the songbirds – fauna is reappearing in droves. This year they’ve observed reptiles, creatures, flyers and bugs, notes a team member, as he lifts up one of their monitoring tools (similar to a cover over a depression in the soil). “You discover reptiles and wildlife sheltering under there, but it’s likely a slightly cool for them now.” Wild homes, constructed from empty pieces of timber and humming with insects, are attached to some of the plants. The absence of livestock has given small creatures room to thrive in the overgrown areas. When they came to this summer, says the director, “I’d not ever encountered so countless insects. There were just masses of them. We were saying, ‘What is going on?’”
Inception of the Project
The first Youngwilders – Bennett, Durant, Easton and more individuals – united as students, studying or sharing an interest in nature. In 2019, the climate experts was forecasting that the acceptable threshold of one and a half degrees of climate change was seeming unachievable, a prominent figure was leading the youth protests for climate movement, and campaigner another voice was addressing young people suffering from “environmental stress”. It was also the period of the author's book, Wilding, on how the authors revitalized the a Sussex location from a failing agricultural business into a flourishing wildlife haven. “We were super-inspired by the example, but what was the part for the next generation?” asks Easton. “So we made a website and called numerous of environmental organizations and were saying, ‘Do you sometimes get your landowners wanting to do something and you don’t have capacity?’”
Durant explains the account: “Our complete organisation was basically based on the idea that there were people who were ready to permit a group of young idiots on to their property freely, to take fairly massive choices that would affect land value
