That richly complex song of the songbird is a uncommon occurrence in England these days, however not at Maple Farm. Back in 2020, a lone nightingale could be noticed at this remote spot in the countryside of Surrey; this summer, they were everywhere. “We were hearing them calling all night, from several zones,” explains Meg Cookson, lead ecologist for the Youngwilders. A band of volunteers were staying overnight at the location, but the nightingales were so loud, “we couldn’t sleep all night,” says an engagement lead. “We were all exhausted the next day, but it was so cool.” An expert from the local conservation group came to help them net and ring one of the birds the next morning, Cookson recalls: “He’d never handled a nightingale in his hands before. He was crying.”
Habitat Revival Progresses at Maple Farm
Rewilding is by definition a lengthy business, but here at this property, after merely a short period, the outcomes are already apparent, and audible. The land was once a retirement home for equines. Currently it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ purpose: to accelerate ecological restoration, in one of the ecologically impoverished nations in the globe, and to link the younger generation (18-30-year-olds) with a ecosystem they are often denied access to, and a climate crisis they are often powerless to stop. Rising temperatures continues, deforestation eliminates ecosystems, and one more Cop summit draws to a frustrating conclusion in abroad – so who could fault young people for wanting to act independently?
The organisation was premised on the notion that there were individuals ready to let a group of young enthusiasts on to their property
“The younger generation is the most informed ecologically that there’s ever been,” says the group's co-director, a key figure. They are also “the deeply concerned in the issues, and have played the smallest part to their creation, and, then, are also going to experience consequences the greatest as a outcome.”
Revitalization of the Landscape
Now, the organisation is expanding across the UK – and this location was the beginning, in multiple ways. “It’s the initial project, and where we created our community,” says a founding member, as she provides a walkthrough of the 30-acre land. “This once consisted of six different fields,” she says, as we walk through overgrown meadows featuring bushes, bordered by mature woodland. “The key visual transformation is that we’ve removed all the enclosures, a significant length of it, to give the sense like a single landscape.” In the warmer months, they used hazmat suits and cleared significant quantities of harmful weeds, an non-native plant that can irritate the skin. “We’ve established loads of bush lines,” says the director. “But the main thing is we’ve just given it space for a brief period. We’ve eliminated a significant amount of animal feeding and noticed what’s sprung up.”
Underbrush and natural fences are a ideal songbird home, she says, but currently they’re trimming some of the brambles to establish a greater diversity of habitats and to link up two parts of the site. New trees will take much more time to take root, but new growth from the adjacent woodland are already taking root in the open areas; the group have been installing protectors to shield them from animals.
Wildlife Returns in Large Numbers
It’s not just the songbirds – wildlife is returning in droves. This year they’ve seen grass snakes, slowworms, bats and invertebrates, explains Noah Bennett, as he lifts up one of their monitoring tools (similar to a doormat over a depression in the ground). “You find creatures and animals residing under there, but it’s likely a bit chilly for them now.” Organic homes, constructed from hollowed-out pieces of tree trunk and active with wild bees, are strapped to some of the trees. The lack of animals has provided invertebrates opportunity to prosper in the overgrown areas. When they explored this time, states Bennett, “I’d not ever encountered so many lepidoptera. There were just masses of them. We were saying, ‘What is happening?’”
Origins of the Project
The original Youngwilders – Noah, Jack, Molly and more individuals – came together as learners, pursuing or having an interest in ecology. In 2019, the climate experts was indicating that the target of 1.5C of climate change was appearing out of reach, Greta Thunberg was leading the youth protests for climate movement, and campaigner Clover Hogan was talking about youth experiencing “eco-worry”. It was also the era of a writer's work, Wilding, on how she and her husband transformed the a Sussex location from a struggling dairy farm into a flourishing natural habitat. “We were highly motivated by the Knepp story, but what was the role for youth?” questions Easton. “So we made a online presence and rang up loads of wildlife trusts and were saying, ‘Do you ever get your landowners seeking to do something and you lack resources?’”
Durant adds the narrative: “Our whole initiative was fundamentally based on the belief that there were landowners who were prepared to allow a group of youthful enthusiasts on to their estate indiscriminately, to take fairly massive actions that would change land value
