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The beautifully intricate call of the nightingale is a scarce presence in Britain nowadays, however not at Maple Farm. Back in 2020, a lone nightingale could be heard at this hidden spot in rural Surrey; recently, they were in multiple locations. “We were hearing them chirping all night, from several zones,” says Meg Cookson, chief environmental expert for the eco-activist organization. A band of volunteers were camping out at the property, but the birds were so boisterous, “we were unable to rest all night,” comments an engagement lead. “We were all knackered the next day, but it was so incredible.” An specialist from the regional nature organization came to help them capture and tag one of the nightingales the next morning, Cookson remembers: “He’d never held a songbird in his possession before. He was teary.”

Rewilding Progresses at This Location

Nature recovery is by definition a gradual process, but here at the farm, after merely a short period, the outcomes are already apparent, and noticeable. The farm was once a sanctuary for equines. Today it’s a model for the Youngwilders’ purpose: to hasten nature recovery, in one of the ecologically impoverished regions in the globe, and to engage young people (18-30-year-olds) with a environment they are often shut out of, and a environmental emergency they are often powerless to prevent. Rising temperatures continues, tree clearing damages natural habitats, and one more Cop summit comes to a frustrating end in Brazil – so what person could fault young people for wanting to act independently?

The project was premised on the idea that there were individuals ready to permit a group of youthful idiots on to their land

“The youth is the most informed in terms of nature that there’s historically,” states the Youngwilders’ founder, a key figure. They are also “the highly invested in the issues, and have played the least to their creation, and, then, are also going to suffer the worst as a consequence.”

Change of the Landscape

Now, the initiative is taking root across the United Kingdom – and Maple Farm planted the seed, in every sense. “It’s where we started, and where we created our connections,” notes Molly Easton, as she gives a overview of the expansive land. “This used to be multiple separate areas,” she comments, as we move through long grass dotted with low scrub, hemmed by established trees. “The main visible difference is that we’ve eliminated all the barriers, 1.2km of it, to make it feel like a unified area.” In the warmer months, they wore protective gear and removed large amounts of invasive plants, an aggressive flora that can burn the flesh. “We’ve established numerous of natural barriers,” explains Easton. “But the main thing is we’ve just let it breathe for a brief period. We’ve reduced a lot of grazing pressure and noticed what’s come up.”

Low scrub and natural fences are a ideal nightingale habitat, she comments, however currently they’re cutting back some of the thorny plants to develop a more diversity of ecosystems and to join different sections of the property. Fresh plantings will take considerably longer to establish, but new growth from the adjacent oaks are already establishing themselves in the open areas; the group have been installing protectors to shield them from wildlife.

Wildlife Returns in Abundance

It’s not just the nightingales – animals is reappearing in large numbers. This year they’ve seen reptiles, legless lizards, flyers and bugs, notes a team member, as he lifts up one of their monitoring tools (similar to a cover over a indentation in the earth). “You get reptiles and animals hiding under there, but it’s likely a somewhat cool for them now.” Natural nests, built using hollowed-out parts of timber and humming with wild bees, are strapped to some of the plants. The lack of livestock has allowed invertebrates space to thrive in the overgrown areas. When they visited this summer, states Bennett, “I’d not once encountered so numerous insects. There were just masses of them. We were like, ‘What is occurring?’”

Origins of the Initiative

The first Youngwilders – Bennett, Durant, Molly and two others – united as learners, focusing on or expressing an interest in environmental science. In that year, the IPCC was indicating that the safe limit of one and a half degrees of climate change was looking unachievable, the activist was leading the youth protests for climate movement, and advocate another voice was addressing youth feeling “climate anxiety”. It was also the time of the author's work, on rewilding, on how she and her husband revitalized the Knepp Estate from a struggling farm into a thriving natural habitat. “We were deeply influenced by the example, but what was the function for the next generation?” questions Easton. “So we developed a platform and called loads of environmental organizations and were saying, ‘Do you sometimes get your landowners wishing to make changes and you don’t have resources?’”

Durant explains the narrative: “Our entire organisation was basically premised on the belief that there were individuals who were prepared to allow a group of youthful idiots on to their property indiscriminately, to decide on fairly massive choices that would change land value