That richly complex call of the songbird is a rare occurrence in the UK nowadays, but it's different at the Surrey site. Back in 2020, a solitary nightingale could be detected at this secluded spot in the countryside of Surrey; recently, they were all around. “We were hearing them chirping all night, from multiple areas,” explains Meg Cookson, chief environmental expert for the eco-activist organization. A team of Youngwilders were residing temporarily at the location, yet the nightingales were so noisy, “we stayed awake all night,” says a project coordinator. “We were all worn out the next day, but it was so incredible.” An specialist from the regional nature organization came to help them net and ring one of the songbirds the next morning, Cookson states: “He’d never touched a nightingale in his care before. He was crying.”
Habitat Revival Progresses at This Location
Nature recovery is by definition a gradual process, but here at this property, after just four years, the results are already evident, and audible. The land was once a sanctuary for horses. Currently it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ purpose: to speed up ecological restoration, in one of the biodiversity-poor regions in the world, and to connect youth (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often excluded from, and a global warming issue they are often unable to stop. Rising temperatures continues, tree clearing eliminates wildlife homes, and one more Cop summit comes to a frustrating outcome in Brazil – so who could criticize youth for wishing to act independently?
The initiative was founded on the belief that there were landowners willing to let a group of youthful idiots on to their estate
“The younger generation is the best educated in terms of nature that there’s ever been,” says the group's founder, a key figure. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the issues, and have contributed the minimal role to their origin, and, then, are also going to suffer most as a outcome.”
Revitalization of the Property
Now, the initiative is taking root across the UK – and the original site planted the seed, in multiple ways. “It’s the initial project, and where we created our network,” says another co-director, as she offers a overview of the 12-hectare land. “This was previously multiple separate areas,” she comments, as we move through tall vegetation filled with low scrub, surrounded by established trees. “The primary visual difference is that we’ve removed all the enclosures, 1.2km of it, to make it feel like a single landscape.” In the warmer months, they donned hazmat suits and removed significant quantities of giant hogweed, an invasive species that can harm the body. “We’ve planted numerous of hedgerows,” explains Easton. “But the main thing is we’ve just allowed it to rest for a brief period. We’ve eliminated a lot of livestock impact and observed what’s sprung up.”
Low scrub and natural fences are a perfect songbird home, she comments, however today they’re cutting back some of the thorny plants to establish a more variety of habitats and to join separate areas of the property. Young saplings will take much more time to take root, but saplings from the nearby trees are already growing in the open areas; the crew have been placing protectors to shield them from wildlife.
Nature Reappears in Abundance
In addition to the nightingales – wildlife is reappearing in abundance. Lately they’ve observed serpents, legless lizards, bats and bugs, notes Noah Bennett, as he uncovers one of their reptile mats (similar to a cover over a indentation in the ground). “You get creatures and things hiding under there, but it’s likely a somewhat cold for them now.” Natural nests, made from empty pieces of tree trunk and active with pollinators, are strapped to some of the plants. The absence of livestock has given invertebrates room to prosper in the overgrown areas. When they visited this time, says he, “I’d never seen so numerous butterflies. There were just swarms of them. We were like, ‘What is going on?’”
Origins of the Project
The initial Youngwilders – Bennett, Jack, Molly and additional members – formed as youth, focusing on or sharing an interest in environmental science. In that year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was predicting that the acceptable threshold of 1.5C of global heating was appearing out of reach, Greta Thunberg was spearheading the youth protests for eco-awareness, and activist a speaker was discussing the generation suffering from “environmental stress”. It was also the period of the author's publication, Wilding, on how she and her husband revitalized the a Sussex location from a failing agricultural business into a thriving natural habitat. “We were super-inspired by the example, but what could be the role for young people?” questions Molly. “So we developed a website and rang up numerous of wildlife trusts and were saying, ‘Do you ever get your landowners seeking to make changes and you are short on capacity?’”
Jack adds the narrative: “Our entire initiative was basically based on the idea that there were individuals who were willing to allow a group of youthful amateurs on to their property without strict rules, to take major actions that would impact land value
