That richly complex song of the songbird is a uncommon occurrence in Britain nowadays, but not at Maple Farm. Previously, a lone bird could be heard at this remote location in the countryside of Surrey; recently, they were in multiple locations. “We were listening to them chirping all night, from multiple areas,” says one ecologist, chief environmental expert for the youth rewilding group. A group of Youngwilders were residing temporarily at the site, but the birds were so noisy, “we stayed awake all night,” says an engagement lead. “We were all exhausted the next day, but it was so amazing.” An professional from the Surrey Wildlife Trust came to help them net and ring one of the birds the next morning, the ecologist states: “He’d never handled a nightingale in his hands before. He was crying.”
Ecological Restoration Accelerates at This Location
Ecological restoration is by definition a slow business, but in this place at this property, after only four years, the results are already evident, and audible. The land was once a haven for horses. Now it’s a model for the Youngwilders’ mission: to hasten ecological restoration, in one of the biodiversity-poor nations in the world, and to connect youth (18-30-year-olds) with a environment they are often shut out of, and a climate crisis they are often ineffectual to stop. Rising temperatures continues, habitat loss destroys wildlife homes, and yet another climate conference draws to a frustrating end in Brazil – so what person could criticize young people for wanting to initiate change themselves?
The project was premised on the notion that there were people willing to permit a group of youthful enthusiasts on to their estate
“The younger generation is the most knowledgeable ecologically that there’s previously,” says the Youngwilders’ co-director, a key figure. They are also “the deeply concerned in the issues, and have contributed the minimal role to their creation, and, then, are also going to suffer the greatest as a result.”
Change of the Landscape
Currently, the organisation is expanding across the Britain – and Maple Farm planted the seed, in every sense. “It’s our origin point, and the place we established our network,” notes another co-director, as she gives a overview of the 30-acre site. “This was previously six different fields,” she says, as we walk through overgrown meadows filled with low scrub, bordered by forest. “The primary noticeable change is that we’ve eliminated all the barriers, a significant length of it, to give the sense like one landscape.” In the summer, they wore hazmat suits and eradicated masses of invasive plants, an aggressive flora that can burn the flesh. “We’ve planted many of bush lines,” notes she. “But the key action is we’ve just allowed it to rest for a short time. We’ve eliminated a significant amount of grazing pressure and noticed what’s sprung up.”
Underbrush and natural fences are a perfect nightingale home, she says, however today they’re cutting back some of the thorny plants to develop a more variety of environments and to join two parts of the property. New trees will take a while to establish, but young trees from the nearby woodland are already establishing themselves in the fields; the group have been installing barriers to safeguard them from animals.
Nature Comes Back in Large Numbers
In addition to the nightingales – wildlife is returning in abundance. Lately they’ve spotted grass snakes, slowworms, bats and insects, notes a team member, as he raises one of their monitoring tools (such as a cover over a small hollow in the ground). “You get snakes and things sheltering under there, but it’s likely a bit cold for them now.” Organic homes, constructed from carved sections of timber and humming with pollinators, are fixed to some of the plants. The removal of animals has provided small creatures opportunity to flourish in the meadows. When they explored this time, states the director, “I’d not ever seen so many insects. There were just swarms of them. We were like, ‘What is going on?’”
Inception of the Movement
The original participants – Noah, Durant, Molly and more individuals – came together as students, pursuing or sharing an concern in ecology. In that year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was predicting that the target of 1.5C of climate change was seeming out of reach, Greta Thunberg was leading the demonstrations for eco-awareness, and advocate a speaker was addressing youth feeling “climate anxiety”. It was also the period of the author's book, about nature recovery, on how she and her husband changed the Knepp Estate from a struggling agricultural business into a flourishing ecosystem. “We were deeply influenced by the Knepp story, but what was the function for the next generation?” questions Easton. “So we developed a platform and contacted loads of wildlife trusts and were asking, ‘Do you ever get your landowners seeking to make changes and you are short on resources?’”
Jack adds the story: “Our entire initiative was basically premised on the idea that there were people who were prepared to allow a group of young enthusiasts on to their property indiscriminately, to make fairly massive decisions that would impact land value
