REWILDING
What is ‘ rewilding ’? Some people believe that the term ‘ rewilding ’ is simply what happens naturally if you choose to do nothing with land . Others regard it as a somewhat derogatory reference to weeds and overgrown gardens . Many assume it ’ s a new word that has been coined in the 21st century as an excuse not to use the lawnmower .
The word rewilding is thought to have been first created by a grassroots network known as Earth First ! and the idea behind the term originated during the 1980s . It ’ s a huge topic with conservation of the ecosystem at the heart of its being .
The Knepp Estate , in the grounds of Knepp Castle in West
Sussex , is the first sizeable lowland rewilding project in England , where 1,400 hectares of former farmland have been transformed . It now attracts an impressive range of wildlife and amongst the many successes is a breeding colony of white storks , historically associated with the county of Sussex .
Free-roaming grazing animals are at the heart of management because they disturb the land and transfer nutrients across the landscape . Browsing , grazing , rootling , trampling and rubbing against plants prevents scrub from turning into dense woodland , which has been shown to offer very poor habitats for most wildlife .
At Knepp , there are hardy , traditional longhorn cattle which browse and graze all year round . The breed was rescued by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in 1980 when it was about to become extinct . Exmoor ponies have different eating habits to cattle , nibbling the tops of thistles and being able to enjoy tough grasses , leaving the sweeter and softer species for the longhorns . At the end of World War II , there were fewer than 50 of these ponies left in the world , having been used as target practice on Exmoor and also eaten . Traditional Tamworth pigs rootle in the ground , mixing leaf litter and organic matter into the soil , gorge on acorns , grind up carcasses and create a diverse range of habitats . These are responsible for successes including
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