The richly complex melody of the nightingale is a rare occurrence in the UK nowadays, however not at this rural location. Previously, a lone bird could be heard at this remote location in the countryside of Surrey; recently, they were all around. “We were hearing them chirping all night, from five different territories,” explains Meg Cookson, top biologist for the youth rewilding group. A band of Youngwilders were staying overnight at the site, but the birds were so noisy, “we were unable to rest all night,” remarks an engagement lead. “We were all knackered the next day, but it was so incredible.” An professional from the Surrey Wildlife Trust came to help them trap and mark one of the nightingales the next morning, the ecologist states: “He’d never handled a nightingale in his hands before. He was crying.”
Habitat Revival Accelerates at the Surrey Site
Ecological restoration is by definition a slow endeavor, but here at this property, after only a short period, the changes are already apparent, and audible. The farm previously served as a haven for animals. Currently it’s a model for the Youngwilders’ purpose: to accelerate nature recovery, in one of the most nature-depleted regions in the globe, and to engage youth (18-30-year-olds) with a ecosystem they are often shut out of, and a global warming issue they are often powerless to prevent. Rising temperatures advances, habitat loss destroys ecosystems, and another climate conference comes to a unsatisfactory outcome in Brazil – so who could blame the younger generation for wanting to initiate change themselves?
The organisation was founded on the idea that there were landowners ready to let a bunch of young enthusiasts on to their land
“The newer cohort is the best educated ecologically that there’s ever been,” states the group's leader, Jack Durant. They are also “the deeply concerned in the challenges, and have played the smallest part to their causing, and, then, are also going to suffer the worst as a consequence.”
Change of the Site
Today, the initiative is taking root across the Britain – and Maple Farm planted the seed, in multiple ways. “It’s the initial project, and where we created our connections,” notes Molly Easton, as she offers a tour of the 30-acre land. “This used to be multiple separate areas,” she states, as we walk through long grass featuring bushes, bordered by forest. “The main visible difference is that we’ve taken out all the enclosures, a significant length of it, to create the impression like a single area.” In the summer, they donned hazmat suits and eradicated significant quantities of harmful weeds, an invasive species that can harm the skin. “We’ve introduced many of hedgerows,” notes she. “But the key action is we’ve just allowed it to rest for a little bit. We’ve removed a lot of grazing pressure and seen what’s sprung up.”
Bushes and hedgerows are a ideal nightingale environment, she says, although today they’re cutting back some of the wild growth to create a greater diversity of environments and to join different sections of the site. Young saplings will take a while to take root, but new growth from the adjacent oaks are already growing in the open areas; the crew have been placing barriers to protect them from animals.
Nature Comes Back in Droves
In addition to the songbirds – fauna is coming back in abundance. This year they’ve seen serpents, legless lizards, flyers and bugs, says a team member, as he raises one of their survey equipment (such as a cover over a small hollow in the ground). “You get reptiles and wildlife hiding under there, but it’s probably a bit cold for them now.” Organic beehives, made from empty sections of tree trunk and humming with pollinators, are strapped to some of the trees. The removal of grazing horses has allowed small creatures room to prosper in the overgrown areas. When they came to this time, comments Bennett, “I’d not once encountered so many butterflies. There were just clouds of them. We were like, ‘What is occurring?’”
Beginnings of the Project
The first Youngwilders – Noah, Jack, Molly and more individuals – formed as students, studying or expressing an interest in environmental science. In 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was forecasting that the safe limit of 1.5C of global heating was looking unachievable, a prominent figure was guiding the youth protests for climate movement, and activist Clover Hogan was addressing youth experiencing “environmental stress”. It was also the period of a writer's book, about nature recovery, on how she and her husband revitalized the a nearby property from a unsuccessful farm into a thriving wildlife haven. “We were super-inspired by the case study, but what was the function for young people?” questions Molly. “So we made a platform and rang up numerous of environmental organizations and were asking, ‘Do you sometimes get your estate holders wanting to do something and you don’t have time?’”
Durant continues the account: “Our whole initiative was essentially premised on the idea that there were people who were willing to allow a group of young enthusiasts on to their property indiscriminately, to make fairly massive actions that would change land value
