It's nearly 2 years now since I bought my own #rewilding land, and it's looking more like a #nature reserve every day. If you're thinking of doing the same thing, then this new article I've written about the legal and logistical side of land purchases should give you an idea of whether it's possible.
You might have noticed that I'm posting less about my land lately, and more about rewilding, #ecology and #naturerecovery in general. While I know that posts about the field and how it has transformed tend to get much higher engagement, I've also realised that keeping this patch private is important to protect the wildlife and beauty that make it so special.
This is a unique place that I bought to restore #biodiversity and, while I enjoy hosting visitors, in a small plot it's easy to drive off the birds and other wildlife which we've been getting on the land. Over the past few months, we've had Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Little Egret and Snipe, all of which are easily disturbed by dogs and walkers.
I wrote a 60,000 word manuscript earlier this year, with the intention of publishing a book about rewilding. But the writing invariably led back to my land, and I decided after much thought not to take this further. In the best case scenario, the book would do well and attract visitors (disturbing this sensitive ecosystem), whereas in the worst case, few people would read it, which didn't justify the effort of editing and publishing.
This is ever the problem with nature in Britain - while it's important to improve access to #greenspace, there's also an issue with encouraging more visitors into sensitive sites. Rewilding is a good solution to this, as it creates more high value nature spots outside of sensitive areas.
In fact, I've extended the public footpaths and public areas on my land beyond what was there when I first bought it. I really do *love* seeing people passing through. It's great to talk to them about what's happening and see them reading the signs about our project. But we currently have relatively low levels of visitors due to being located on a quiet, low quality footpath. At most, we'll get 20-40 walkers per day, and on a typical day, 2-10 is more likely.
My dream is to create a larger rewilding patch in my neighbourhood - somewhere big enough that it's resilient to visitation, while improving access to green space for locals. Somewhere that would inspire the future generation of rewilders. This time next year, I'll be a millionaire, Rodders, then maybe... just maybe...
https://lnkd.in/eQyGsqqH
#ecology #conservation #environment #positivemindset #hopeinaction
The awards keep rolling in for this important project. Congratulations team!