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The richly complex call of the nightingale is a uncommon presence in Britain these days, but not at this rural location. Four years ago, a solitary bird could be noticed at this hidden spot in rural Surrey; lately, they were all around. “We were hearing them singing all night, from five different territories,” says Meg Cookson, chief environmental expert for the eco-activist organization. A group of Youngwilders were staying overnight at the property, yet the nightingales were so noisy, “we were unable to rest all night,” remarks Layla Mapemba. “We were all exhausted the next day, but it was so incredible.” An specialist from the local conservation group came to help them capture and tag one of the birds the next morning, Cookson recalls: “He’d never handled a songbird in his possession before. He was emotional.”

Rewilding Progresses at This Location

Ecological restoration is by definition a gradual endeavor, but here at the farm, after just several seasons, the results are already apparent, and hearable. The farm was once a haven for animals. Currently it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ goal: to accelerate ecological restoration, in one of the ecologically impoverished countries in the world, and to link youth (18-30-year-olds) with a ecosystem they are often denied access to, and a global warming issue they are often unable to halt. Climate change advances, habitat loss destroys natural habitats, and one more climate conference ends with a disappointing end in Brazil – so what person could blame the younger generation for wanting to initiate change themselves?

The initiative was premised on the idea that there were people prepared to allow a group of youthful amateurs on to their land

“The younger generation is the most informed environmentally that there’s previously,” states the group's leader, Jack Durant. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the challenges, and have played the least to their causing, and, then, are also going to be affected the worst as a result.”

Revitalization of the Property

Currently, the group is taking root across the Britain – and the original site planted the seed, in every sense. “It’s where we started, and the place we created our connections,” explains another co-director, as she gives a overview of the expansive land. “This used to be divided plots,” she states, as we move through tall vegetation filled with shrubs, surrounded by forest. “The primary visual transformation is that we’ve removed all the barriers, 1.2km of it, to make it feel like a unified landscape.” In the summer, they donned protective gear and removed masses of invasive plants, an invasive species that can burn the body. “We’ve established many of bush lines,” explains Easton. “But the primary focus is we’ve just given it space for a little bit. We’ve reduced a significant amount of livestock impact and seen what’s come up.”

Low scrub and shrub lines are a perfect songbird habitat, she explains, but currently they’re trimming some of the brambles to develop a greater variety of environments and to join two parts of the property. Young saplings will take much more time to establish, but new growth from the nearby woodland are already establishing themselves in the open areas; the group have been installing barriers to safeguard them from grazing deer.

Nature Returns in Abundance

There's more than the nightingales – animals is returning in droves. Recently they’ve seen grass snakes, legless lizards, nocturnal mammals and bugs, notes a team member, as he raises one of their monitoring tools (such as a mat over a indentation in the ground). “You get snakes and things residing under there, but it’s likely a slightly chilly for them now.” Organic homes, constructed from carved parts of tree trunk and buzzing with insects, are fixed to some of the plants. The removal of livestock has provided invertebrates room to thrive in the long grass. When they explored this time, says Bennett, “I’d not once observed so numerous butterflies. There were just masses of them. We were saying, ‘What is going on?’”

Inception of the Project

The initial Youngwilders – Bennett, Durant, Easton and more individuals – came together as youth, studying or expressing an passion in ecology. In 2019, the climate experts was indicating that the target of one and a half degrees of climate change was looking unachievable, the activist was spearheading the youth protests for environmental action, and activist Clover Hogan was addressing young people feeling “eco-worry”. It was also the period of Isabella Tree’s book, Wilding, on how the authors transformed the Knepp Estate from a failing agricultural business into a thriving ecosystem. “We were highly motivated by the example, but what could be the role for youth?” questions Easton. “So we created a platform and rang up numerous of environmental organizations and were like, ‘Do you sometimes get your estate holders seeking to do something and you lack capacity?’”

Jack adds the narrative: “Our entire project was basically founded on the belief that there were landowners who were ready to permit a collection of youthful idiots on to their property freely, to decide on major decisions that would affect land value