That beautifully intricate melody of the songbird is a rare occurrence in the UK these days, however it's different at the Surrey site. Back in 2020, a single bird could be detected at this secluded spot in rural Surrey; recently, they were in multiple locations. “We were hearing them chirping all night, from five different territories,” notes Meg Cookson, top biologist for the Youngwilders. A team of volunteers were residing temporarily at the location, however the nightingales were so noisy, “we couldn’t sleep all night,” remarks an engagement lead. “We were all knackered the next day, but it was so incredible.” An expert 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 held a songbird in his possession before. He was emotional.”
Rewilding Progresses at the Surrey Site
Ecological restoration is by nature a lengthy endeavor, but at this site at Maple Farm, after only four years, the changes are already visible, and hearable. The property was once a retirement home for equines. Today it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ purpose: to speed up nature recovery, in one of the ecologically impoverished countries in the world, and to link young people (18-30-year-olds) with a ecosystem they are often denied access to, and a climate crisis they are often unable to halt. Rising temperatures advances, habitat loss damages wildlife homes, and yet another Cop summit comes to a frustrating conclusion in the host country – so who could blame youth for wanting to take matters into their own hands?
The organisation was based on the idea that there were individuals willing to allow a group of young amateurs on to their land
“The younger generation is the most informed ecologically that there’s historically,” explains the group's leader, one organizer. They are also “the highly invested in the challenges, and have contributed the least to their causing, and, then, are also going to experience consequences the worst as a result.”
Transformation of the Landscape
Currently, the organisation is expanding across the UK – and Maple Farm planted the seed, in every sense. “It’s our origin point, and the place we established our network,” says Molly Easton, as she offers a walkthrough of the 12-hectare property. “This once consisted of six different fields,” she comments, as we walk through tall vegetation featuring bushes, hemmed by mature woodland. “The key noticeable transformation is that we’ve taken out all the fencing, a significant length of it, to make it feel like a single area.” In the recent season, they donned special clothing and cleared significant quantities of harmful weeds, an invasive species that can harm the skin. “We’ve planted many of bush lines,” explains Easton. “But the key action is we’ve just let it breathe for a brief period. We’ve eliminated a large part of animal feeding and seen what’s sprung up.”
Underbrush and natural fences are a ideal nightingale habitat, she explains, although today they’re trimming some of the brambles to create a more range of ecosystems and to link up different sections of the site. New trees will take a while to establish, but saplings from the nearby woodland are already taking root in the fields; the group have been placing protectors to shield them from wildlife.
Wildlife Returns in Droves
In addition to the nightingales – animals is reappearing in large numbers. Recently they’ve spotted serpents, slowworms, bats and bugs, notes a team member, as he uncovers one of their monitoring tools (like a cover over a depression in the soil). “You discover reptiles and animals residing under there, but it’s possibly a slightly cool for them now.” Organic beehives, made from carved sections of wood and humming with pollinators, are fixed to some of the woodland. The absence of grazing horses has given invertebrates opportunity to flourish in the meadows. When they visited this time, states the director, “I’d not ever seen so many butterflies. There were just masses of them. We were like, ‘What is going on?’”
Beginnings of the Project
The initial founders – Noah, Durant, Molly and more individuals – formed as learners, pursuing or expressing an passion in environmental science. In the recent past, the IPCC was indicating that the target of 1.5C of global heating was looking impossible, the activist was leading the demonstrations for eco-awareness, and activist a speaker was addressing youth feeling “environmental stress”. It was also the era of a writer's work, Wilding, on how they changed the a Sussex location from a unsuccessful farm into a successful natural habitat. “We were highly motivated by the example, but what was the function for young people?” questions Molly. “So we developed a platform and called many of environmental organizations and were saying, ‘Do you sometimes get your estate holders seeking to make changes and you are short on capacity?’”
Durant continues the account: “Our whole project was basically based on the idea that there were individuals who were willing to let a bunch of young enthusiasts on to their property freely, to take significant actions that would impact land value
