That richly complex call of the nightingale is a scarce sound in the UK these days, yet not at Maple Farm. Back in 2020, a solitary nightingale could be heard at this secluded spot in the countryside of Surrey; lately, they were everywhere. “We were hearing them singing all night, from several zones,” says Meg Cookson, lead ecologist for the youth rewilding group. A group of volunteers were residing temporarily at the property, yet the nightingales were so loud, “we were unable to rest all night,” says Layla Mapemba. “We were all worn out 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, she states: “He’d never held a songbird in his possession before. He was crying.”
Habitat Revival Speeds Up at This Location
Nature recovery is by definition a slow process, but here at this property, after only four years, the outcomes are already visible, and noticeable. The property previously served as a sanctuary for animals. Currently it’s a model for the Youngwilders’ mission: to hasten habitat revival, in one of the ecologically impoverished countries in the world, and to link young people (18-30-year-olds) with a environment they are often denied access to, and a environmental emergency they are often ineffectual to halt. Global heating advances, habitat loss eliminates natural habitats, and one more climate conference draws to a disappointing outcome in Brazil – so what person could blame youth for wanting to act independently?
The organisation was premised on the belief that there were people willing to permit a collection of youthful enthusiasts on to their estate
“The youth is the most informed ecologically that there’s historically,” explains the Youngwilders’ co-director, Jack Durant. They are also “the highly invested in the challenges, and have contributed the minimal role to their origin, and, then, are also going to be affected the worst as a result.”
Transformation of the Landscape
Now, the group is expanding across the Britain – and Maple Farm started it all, in multiple ways. “It’s where we started, and the place we built our community,” notes a founding member, as she offers a tour of the 12-hectare property. “This once consisted of six different fields,” she comments, as we walk through overgrown meadows dotted with low scrub, bordered by established trees. “The primary visible change is that we’ve taken out all the fencing, 1.2km of it, to make it feel like one environment.” In the summer, they wore special clothing and removed significant quantities of giant hogweed, an aggressive flora that can burn the flesh. “We’ve planted numerous of bush lines,” notes Easton. “But the key action is we’ve just allowed it to rest for a little bit. We’ve eliminated a large part of grazing pressure and observed what’s sprung up.”
Low scrub and hedgerows are a ideal songbird environment, she comments, although now they’re trimming some of the brambles to develop a increased diversity of habitats and to connect separate areas of the land. New trees will take much more time to take root, but young trees from the adjacent trees are already taking root in the open areas; the group have been setting up protectors to protect them from grazing deer.
Nature Comes Back in Large Numbers
In addition to the nightingales – wildlife is coming back in large numbers. This year they’ve seen grass snakes, creatures, nocturnal mammals and bugs, notes a team member, as he uncovers one of their survey equipment (like a cover over a small hollow in the earth). “You find snakes and animals hiding under there, but it’s possibly a bit cold for them now.” Organic nests, built using hollowed-out parts of wood and active with pollinators, are attached to some of the plants. The lack of livestock has provided small creatures space to thrive in the long grass. When they explored this summer, says the director, “I’d not ever seen so many insects. There were just masses of them. We were like, ‘What is happening?’”
Origins of the Project
The initial Youngwilders – Bennett, Jack, Molly and additional members – formed as students, pursuing or having an passion in nature. In that year, the IPCC was predicting that the target of one and a half degrees of warming was seeming out of reach, the activist was guiding the school strikes for environmental action, and campaigner Clover Hogan was addressing youth feeling “climate anxiety”. It was also the time of the author's work, Wilding, on how they transformed the Knepp Estate from a unsuccessful farm into a flourishing wildlife haven. “We were highly motivated by the Knepp story, but what could be the function for young people?” says Molly. “So we created a online presence and called many of environmental organizations and were asking, ‘Do you ever get your property owners wishing to take action and you are short on capacity?’”
Durant continues the narrative: “Our entire initiative was essentially based on the idea that there were people who were willing to allow a bunch of young idiots on to their land indiscriminately, to decide on significant decisions that would change land value
