That richly complex song of the songbird is a uncommon occurrence in England today, however it's different at Maple Farm. Four years ago, a lone bird could be detected at this secluded place in the countryside of Surrey; this summer, they were in multiple locations. “We were hearing them calling all night, from multiple areas,” explains a lead scientist, lead ecologist for the Youngwilders. A band of participants were staying overnight at the property, however the nightingales were so loud, “we were unable to rest all night,” comments an engagement lead. “We were all knackered the next day, but it was so incredible.” An professional from the Surrey Wildlife Trust came to help them trap and mark one of the songbirds the next morning, Cookson recalls: “He’d never touched a nightingale in his care before. He was emotional.”
Ecological Restoration Progresses at Maple Farm
Ecological restoration is by definition a lengthy process, but in this place at Maple Farm, after just several seasons, the outcomes are already evident, and noticeable. The farm was once a haven for horses. Now it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ goal: to accelerate nature recovery, in one of the most nature-depleted regions in the world, and to link youth (18-30-year-olds) with a ecosystem they are often shut out of, and a climate crisis they are often unable to stop. Climate change continues, deforestation destroys ecosystems, and yet another climate conference ends with a frustrating end in abroad – so what person could blame the younger generation for choosing to act independently?
Our initiative was premised on the idea that there were individuals prepared to permit a collection of young enthusiasts on to their estate
“The newer cohort is the most informed environmentally that there’s previously,” explains the Youngwilders’ founder, Jack Durant. They are also “the most emotionally involved in the issues, and have played the least to their origin, and, then, are also going to suffer most as a result.”
Revitalization of the Landscape
Now, the initiative is taking root across the United Kingdom – and this location planted the seed, in multiple ways. “It’s the initial project, and where we created our network,” says a founding member, as she provides a walkthrough of the 12-hectare site. “This used to be multiple separate areas,” she comments, as we stroll through long grass dotted with shrubs, bordered by mature woodland. “The key visible transformation is that we’ve eliminated all the barriers, 1.2km of it, to create the impression like a single environment.” In the recent season, they wore protective gear and removed masses of giant hogweed, an invasive species that can harm the body. “We’ve planted loads of natural barriers,” says the director. “But the main thing is we’ve just given it space for a short time. We’ve reduced a lot of animal feeding and seen what’s emerged.”
Underbrush and natural fences are a perfect nightingale home, she comments, but now they’re cutting back some of the thorny plants to establish a greater diversity of habitats and to link up two parts of the property. Fresh plantings will take a while to take root, but new growth from the adjacent oaks are already growing in the open areas; the team have been installing guards to safeguard them from grazing deer.
Wildlife Returns in Large Numbers
It’s not just the songbirds – wildlife is reappearing in abundance. This year they’ve observed grass snakes, legless lizards, flyers and insects, says Noah Bennett, as he uncovers one of their survey equipment (such as a mat over a depression in the ground). “You get creatures and animals residing under there, but it’s possibly a somewhat cold for them now.” Organic homes, constructed from carved pieces of wood and humming with wild bees, are attached to some of the trees. The removal of grazing horses has provided small creatures room to flourish in the meadows. When they visited this summer, states Bennett, “I’d never encountered so countless lepidoptera. There were just masses of them. We were saying, ‘What is happening?’”
Inception of the Initiative
The initial founders – Bennett, Jack, Molly and two others – formed as youth, pursuing or having an concern in environmental science. In that year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was indicating that the acceptable threshold of one and a half degrees of global heating was looking impossible, a prominent figure was spearheading the school strikes for eco-awareness, and campaigner Clover Hogan was addressing young people suffering from “climate anxiety”. It was also the era of a writer's publication, about nature recovery, on how she and her husband changed the a Sussex location from a failing dairy farm into a thriving wildlife haven. “We were highly motivated by the Knepp story, but what was the role for the next generation?” asks Easton. “So we developed a website and called loads of wildlife trusts and were saying, ‘Do you occasionally get your estate holders seeking to take action and you are short on time?’”
Durant adds the story: “Our entire initiative was essentially based on the notion that there were people who were prepared to allow a group of young amateurs on to their land indiscriminately, to make significant decisions that would impact land value
