What does rewilding look like?

Witness the transformation of an ecologically degraded upland landscape in Britain.

Once home to native woodlands, wetlands and meadows, many of our upland areas have lost huge swathes of their native wildlife over centuries. We have so much to gain by rewilding degraded land — increased carbon storage, flood mitigation, richer soils, flourishing wildlife and healthier, more beautiful places for people to live, work and play.

[voiceinthenoise]

This is beautiful. My heart aches to see just how low our standards for nature have become. It isn't wild, it's green desert. This video should be shared far and wide.

[gotherefindout]

Thanks. Greatly encouraged by this renaissance. I moved out of cities 15 years ago living, retired aboard a sailboat cruising as yet wilderness coast of British Columbia. A re-wilded planet is possible.

[robertclarke]

Beautifully articulated and presented. It gives you hope

[chrismorrish]

Beautifully illustrated. Your suggested rewilding actions would mean cleaner water in the river and cleaner air.

[helentc]

What a beautiful vision for the future.. A very heart warming intention for the land. Kudos to the Illustrator as well. Great job all!

[joedisco]

This is a great film and a vision we can get behind. Agree with Bill, we should selectively thin and gradually remove the plantations rather than clear fell them.

[mehp]

Inspirational! I recently listened to a presentation by a biodiversity expert here in Denmark. He claimed that the floods which as I recall killed hundreds in Germany last year were simply due to the lack of vegetation, namely trees, to manage rainwater.

[bidders]

Would love to see an example of lowland farmland rewilding done in this style.

[billsmith]

Eliminating the Sitka spruce immediately misses the opportunity to take advantage of the habitat it could provide. Plant Scotch pine and similar natives around it, and don’t do so in a rectangular pattern. Top some spruce at 10-15 cm diameter to provide osprey or Eagle nesting opportunities. Spruce doesn’t seed so widely that a few days per year with loppers or small chainsaw can’t contain it. Kill 1/4 acre patches of spruce by girdling, and underplant the new openings. Into same drop a few spruce. Within a few years insects living in the snags will attract woodpeckers. Woodpeckers will provide habitat for cavity nesting birds. Do the same with maybe 50 scattered individual spruce/hectare. Repeat every five years. Expand a few created openings, create some new.

There’s lots of space in the model area shown to plant native trees, and breaking up the rectangles wouldn’t be difficult.

Instead of starting with a clean slate and waiting 50 or 75 years to start creating the tree then snag, then fallen snag, then rotten log, then nurse log, then long mound of organic soil cycle, with Scotch pine, use the spruce. Provide woodpecker, cavity nester, insect, millipede, and fungus habitat within a couple years, instead of starting those phases by killing some Scotch pine in year 2075, or waiting for some trees to die in year 2220.

[gorg]

This is beautiful! Would love to see a lowland version

[timmybikester]

What an inspiration, I do hope we the people can make this happen

[Labroidas]

Incredibly beautiful video! One inaccuracy: the water should be dark-coloured, like tea, because the intact peat bog produces lots and lots of humic substances, which have a multitude of benefits. One of them being that they transport iron into seawater in a saltwater-soluble form, where iron is usually in short supply even though it's an incredibly important fertilizer, thus ensuring a much richer sea life as well! Intact peat-bogs always produce dark waters.

[MrNezza]

It's the biggest lynx I've ever seen, however all joking aside, a very thought provoking piece. Wouldn't it be nice to actually see it happen.

[TheHaileris]

Brilliant, how about doing a plan for ecologically ravaged East Anglia?

[mattyrjackson]

Highly recommend watching simon reeves new series in the Lake District on BBC iPlayer. He explores all these concepts on the uplands in Cumbria

[johnadams]

bravo! beautiful artwork and presentation, we want more we want more!!!!

[michaeldriebeekvanderven]

Splendid video and it makes it feel so doable 👌🏽. I came here through the rewilding project @MappertonLive and this really adds to getting a good understanding of the whole concept. Thank you so much 🙏🏽

[BeautifulNaturalDramatic]

Very informative, helpful and inspiring video

[smooth_sundaes]

Excellent video. Sorry it took me so long to view it.
KUTGW!

[greenstair]

Thanks for the video: overgrazing by specialist feeders like sheep is definitely an issue, cows are a lot better, but the economics doesn't work well - especially with this government phasing out/removing all grants.
I would question the section on heather management: well managed and with regular "quick" burns, the heather itself and mix of young, mature and old heather provides very valuable and rare habitat. Around my area in Northumberland for example, we have the largest population of Hen Harriers who settle down in the mature heather and the income from the grouse days let supports the necessary management. The keepers and owners around here are very environmentally aware (I know there are "bad ones", happens everywhere in all walks of life, fortunately not here) and as a result, we also have peregrine falcons, walkable moors (the heather isn't waist high) and decent access with curlew, skylarks, pipits, chough, etc..
Around 20 miles from here is an unmanaged moor, let for recreation, that is effectively dead: I have struggled to the top of the moor above Harbottle and seen nothing beyond wood pigeon.