That manically melodic call of the nightingale is a uncommon presence in the UK today, but not at this rural location. Back in 2020, a single nightingale could be detected at this hidden place in rural Surrey; this summer, they were all around. “We were listening to them calling all night, from several zones,” explains a lead scientist, lead ecologist for the Youngwilders. A team of volunteers were camping out at the property, however the nightingales were so noisy, “we couldn’t sleep all night,” remarks 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 capture and tag one of the nightingales the next morning, Cookson states: “He’d never touched a nightingale in his possession before. He was teary.”
Rewilding Speeds Up at This Location
Nature recovery is by definition a lengthy business, but here at this property, after only four years, the changes are already visible, and hearable. The farm used to be a sanctuary for equines. Currently it’s a example for the youth-led mission: to accelerate ecological restoration, in one of the most nature-depleted regions in the planet, and to link young people (18-30-year-olds) with a ecosystem they are often excluded from, and a environmental emergency they are often ineffectual to prevent. Climate change persists, habitat loss eliminates wildlife homes, and one more international meeting ends with a unsatisfactory end in abroad – so what person could fault youth for wishing to act independently?
Our initiative was based on the belief that there were landowners willing to let a bunch of youthful idiots on to their property
“The youth is the best educated environmentally that there’s historically,” states the Youngwilders’ co-director, one organizer. They are also “the deeply concerned in the challenges, and have added the least to their origin, and, then, are also going to experience consequences the worst as a result.”
Change of the Site
Currently, the organisation is taking root across the UK – and Maple Farm planted the seed, in every sense. “It’s the initial project, and where we built our connections,” says a founding member, as she offers a tour of the 30-acre land. “This was previously six different fields,” she says, as we stroll through tall vegetation featuring low scrub, hemmed by mature woodland. “The primary noticeable difference is that we’ve eliminated all the enclosures, 1.2km of it, to give the sense like a unified area.” In the warmer months, they used protective gear and cleared masses of harmful weeds, an invasive species that can burn the flesh. “We’ve introduced loads of natural barriers,” explains the director. “But the primary focus is we’ve just allowed it to rest for a little bit. We’ve removed a lot of animal feeding and observed what’s sprung up.”
Low scrub and hedgerows are a ideal nightingale home, she says, but now they’re trimming some of the thorny plants to create a greater range of ecosystems and to join two parts of the site. Young saplings will take a while to grow, but saplings from the adjacent oaks are already taking root in the fields; the team have been installing barriers to safeguard them from animals.
Wildlife Comes Back in Droves
There's more than the nightingales – animals is returning in large numbers. Recently they’ve spotted serpents, slowworms, flyers and bugs, notes a team member, as he lifts up one of their survey equipment (similar to a cover over a small hollow in the earth). “You get reptiles and wildlife hiding under there, but it’s possibly a bit cool for them now.” Organic nests, made from empty pieces of wood and humming with wild bees, are attached to some of the woodland. The removal of livestock has allowed insects space to thrive in the long grass. When they visited this season, comments the director, “I’d never encountered so numerous insects. There were just clouds of them. We were saying, ‘What is occurring?’”
Origins of the Initiative
The first participants – Bennett, Jack, Molly and more individuals – formed as learners, pursuing or having an passion in nature. In that year, the IPCC was forecasting that the target of 1.5C of climate change was looking unachievable, Greta Thunberg was spearheading the youth protests for environmental action, and activist Clover Hogan was addressing youth suffering from “environmental stress”. It was also the period of a writer's publication, on rewilding, on how they revitalized the a nearby property from a failing agricultural business into a successful natural habitat. “We were highly motivated by the example, but what was the part for young people?” questions Molly. “So we developed a online presence and rang up loads of wildlife trusts and were asking, ‘Do you ever get your landowners wanting to take action and you are short on resources?’”
Jack explains the story: “Our entire project was fundamentally based on the idea that there were people who were willing to permit a collection of young enthusiasts on to their estate indiscriminately, to make significant choices that would change land value
