That manically melodic call of the songbird is a uncommon presence in England these days, however not at Maple Farm. Back in 2020, a single nightingale could be heard at this hidden location in the countryside of Surrey; this summer, they were everywhere. “We were listening to them singing all night, from several zones,” notes one ecologist, chief environmental expert for the youth rewilding group. A team of volunteers were camping out at the location, however the nightingales were so loud, “we couldn’t sleep all night,” comments an engagement lead. “We were all exhausted 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 remembers: “He’d never held a nightingale in his hands before. He was crying.”
Rewilding Speeds Up at This Location
Ecological restoration is by its very essence a lengthy process, but here at the farm, after merely several seasons, the changes are already apparent, and hearable. The land was once a retirement home for horses. Now it’s a showpiece for the youth-led mission: to hasten nature recovery, in one of the most nature-depleted countries in the globe, and to engage young people (18-30-year-olds) with a ecosystem they are often denied access to, and a climate crisis they are often ineffectual to halt. Rising temperatures advances, deforestation destroys ecosystems, and yet another climate conference draws to a disappointing end in the host country – so who could fault the younger generation for wishing to take matters into their own hands?
The initiative was based on the notion that there were people willing to let a bunch of young idiots on to their land
“The youth is the most informed in terms of nature that there’s ever been,” states the Youngwilders’ leader, one organizer. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the issues, and have added the minimal role to their causing, and, then, are also going to suffer the greatest as a consequence.”
Revitalization of the Landscape
Currently, the group is taking root across the UK – and Maple Farm started it all, in every sense. “It’s where we started, and the place we established our network,” notes a founding member, as she gives a walkthrough of the 12-hectare land. “This was previously six different fields,” she comments, as we stroll through overgrown meadows featuring bushes, hemmed by mature woodland. “The primary visual difference is that we’ve eliminated all the barriers, 1.2km of it, to create the impression like a unified environment.” In the warmer months, they donned special clothing and eradicated masses of giant hogweed, an aggressive flora that can burn the flesh. “We’ve established loads of natural barriers,” notes she. “But the primary focus is we’ve just let it breathe for a short time. We’ve removed a large part of livestock impact and observed what’s sprung up.”
Low scrub and hedgerows are a ideal nightingale home, she says, although today they’re managing some of the brambles to establish a increased diversity of ecosystems and to connect separate areas of the site. New trees will take a while to take root, but young trees from the surrounding trees are already establishing themselves in the meadows; the crew have been placing protectors to safeguard them from grazing deer.
Animals Reappears in Large Numbers
There's more than the nightingales – fauna is returning in large numbers. Recently they’ve seen grass snakes, creatures, flyers and insects, says another co-director, as he uncovers one of their survey equipment (like a doormat over a depression in the ground). “You find reptiles and animals hiding under there, but it’s likely a slightly cool for them now.” Organic beehives, constructed from hollowed-out sections of wood and active with insects, are attached to some of the woodland. The absence of grazing horses has allowed invertebrates opportunity to prosper in the long grass. When they explored this summer, comments Bennett, “I’d not ever encountered so many insects. There were just swarms of them. We were wondering, ‘What is happening?’”
Origins of the Movement
The first founders – Bennett, Durant, Easton and more individuals – formed as youth, studying or expressing an passion in environmental science. In 2019, the IPCC was indicating that the safe limit of 1.5C of climate change was looking out of reach, Greta Thunberg was guiding the demonstrations for eco-awareness, and activist Clover Hogan was talking about young people feeling “environmental stress”. It was also the time of a writer's publication, about nature recovery, on how they transformed the a nearby property from a struggling agricultural business into a successful wildlife haven. “We were deeply influenced by the Knepp story, but what was the role for the next generation?” questions Easton. “So we created a website and contacted numerous of wildlife trusts and were like, ‘Do you ever get your estate holders wanting to make changes and you are short on capacity?’”
Durant continues the account: “Our entire project was essentially founded on the belief that there were people who were ready to permit a group of youthful idiots on to their estate without strict rules, to make fairly massive actions that would change land value
