That beautifully intricate melody of the songbird is a uncommon sound in England nowadays, but it's different at the Surrey site. Back in 2020, a lone bird could be noticed at this hidden location in the countryside of Surrey; recently, they were in multiple locations. “We were listening to them calling all night, from multiple areas,” says one ecologist, chief environmental expert for the Youngwilders. A group of Youngwilders were residing temporarily at the property, but the birds were so loud, “we stayed awake all night,” says an engagement lead. “We were all exhausted the next day, but it was so cool.” An professional from the regional nature organization came to help them net and ring one of the nightingales the next morning, she recalls: “He’d never touched a songbird in his hands before. He was emotional.”
Rewilding Progresses at This Location
Nature recovery is by its very essence a gradual business, but in this place at this property, after merely several seasons, the results are already evident, and noticeable. The land was once a haven for animals. Currently it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ goal: to hasten nature recovery, in one of the ecologically impoverished regions in the world, and to connect young people (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often shut out of, and a global warming issue they are often unable to prevent. Rising temperatures continues, habitat loss damages wildlife homes, and yet another international meeting ends with a unsatisfactory outcome in the host country – so what person could criticize youth for choosing to take matters into their own hands?
Our organisation was founded on the idea that there were individuals ready to permit a bunch of youthful amateurs on to their land
“The newer cohort is the best educated ecologically that there’s historically,” states the group's founder, one organizer. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the issues, and have added the smallest part to their origin, and, then, are also going to suffer most as a consequence.”
Revitalization of the Site
Today, the initiative is growing across the Britain – and the original site planted the seed, in all respects. “It’s our origin point, and where we built our connections,” notes a founding member, as she provides a tour of the 30-acre property. “This once consisted of divided plots,” she states, as we stroll through tall vegetation featuring bushes, bordered by established trees. “The primary visible change is that we’ve eliminated all the barriers, 1.2km of it, to make it feel like one environment.” In the warmer months, they used special clothing and cleared significant quantities of harmful weeds, an non-native plant that can burn the skin. “We’ve established many of hedgerows,” notes Easton. “But the key action is we’ve just given it space for a little bit. We’ve eliminated a large part of livestock impact and seen what’s come up.”
Low scrub and hedgerows are a perfect songbird habitat, she says, although currently they’re cutting back some of the wild growth to create a greater diversity of ecosystems and to connect separate areas of the site. New trees will take a while to take root, but saplings from the surrounding woodland are already growing in the meadows; the crew have been setting up protectors to protect them from animals.
Animals Returns in Droves
It’s not just the nightingales – wildlife is returning in abundance. Lately they’ve observed reptiles, creatures, nocturnal mammals and insects, notes Noah Bennett, as he lifts up one of their reptile mats (like a doormat over a depression in the soil). “You get reptiles and animals hiding under there, but it’s likely a bit cold for them now.” Organic nests, constructed from hollowed-out pieces of timber and humming with pollinators, are attached to some of the trees. The lack of livestock has allowed small creatures space to prosper in the meadows. When they came to this summer, comments Bennett, “I’d not ever seen so many lepidoptera. There were just clouds of them. We were saying, ‘What is happening?’”
Origins of the Initiative
The initial participants – Bennett, Durant, Molly and more individuals – formed as youth, pursuing or expressing an passion in ecology. In 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was indicating that the safe limit of 1.5C of climate change was looking out of reach, Greta Thunberg was spearheading the school strikes for environmental action, and activist Clover Hogan was discussing youth feeling “eco-worry”. It was also the time of Isabella Tree’s publication, on rewilding, on how they transformed the a nearby property from a failing farm into a flourishing ecosystem. “We were deeply influenced by the Knepp story, but what was the part for young people?” says Molly. “So we created a online presence and rang up loads of conservation groups and were saying, ‘Do you occasionally get your property owners seeking to take action and you don’t have time?’”
Jack adds the narrative: “Our entire organisation was essentially founded on the belief that there were individuals who were ready to allow a collection of youthful amateurs on to their estate freely, to make significant choices that would affect land value
