Re: Re-wilding

[Earth Hart]

I don't know how people feel about rewilding but came across this site: ethos uk :: communicating solutions for a sustainable world and found that a friend of mine was one of the founders. He had mentioned it in passing but I just hadn't taken it in.

He's got a new book out, "Beyond Conservation". His name is Peter Taylor. I would say he's a bit of a dark horse but it's my fault for not listening.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Earth Hart

I don't know how people feel about rewilding but came across this site: ethos uk :: communicating solutions for a sustainable world and found that a friend of mine was one of the founders. He had mentioned it in passing but I just hadn't taken it in.

He's got a new book out, "Beyond Conservation". His name is Peter Taylor. I would say he's a bit of a dark horse but it's my fault for not listening.

perhaps if you could explain a bit more about what rewilding is earth heart / - I used to be into wilding when I was younger but that involved getting totally out of it on booze and ... er other stuff , then doing questionable things in dodgy clubs so I'm guessing the two arent related

[Dan Salter]

blimey seems like eeyore is the dark horse?

[Earth Hart]

I'll be honest I don't know much about it myself, because of that, was why I asked. From what little I have been able to pull together, rewilding is puting the landscape & ecology back how it was before the plough and the chainsaw. I know it's simplified.

It seems that there are a growing number of people, both professional & lay, who are in discussions around the country & the movement is gathering pace. Here are two sites you might find helpful: Home page & Wildland Network Home Page

Re-wilding runs close with re-introductions, so lets see where this thread will lead. Who's going to take it up as I would like to learn more about it?

[Alan]

I’d love to see the forests re-established, and many other areas for that matter.

The only problem I have with it is the term ‘re-wilding’ in a way it’s a contradiction in terms. To have a new wild area we’d have to manage it at first to some extent, which isn’t wild! We have to start somewhere though so I'll have to overlook that one!

Another problem I have, is that a lot of people seem to have the opinion that most of the landscape needs to be managed to stop it ‘going to wrack and ruin’ as they often put it! They don’t stop to consider that the planet looked after itself very well thank you before we evolved!

Anyway, I look forward to some of the future comments on this thread, and I hope I've 'encouraged' more to comment

Alan

[Imaginos]

Originally Posted by Earth Hart

From what little I have been able to pull together, rewilding is puting the landscape & ecology back how it was before the plough and the chainsaw.

Would this actually be possible? There are quite a few insect & plant species now extinct that may have played a significant part of the pre-plough ecology for example, not to mention the changes in the soil bacteriology & mycology. Also, how far back do we want to go? I can't see us reintroducing mammoths any time soon.

[Imaginos]

Originally Posted by Alan

Another problem I have, is that a lot of people seem to have the opinion that most of the landscape needs to be managed to stop it ‘going to wrack and ruin’ as they often put it! They don’t stop to consider that the planet looked after itself very well thank you before we evolved!

Yes, but there are plenty of British species that have evolved/changed their behaviour to fit in with man's management of the landscape. Not for nothing is there a distinction 'farmland birds' including the tree sparrow, yellowhammer, grey partridge etc.

[Alan]

Originally Posted by Imaginos

Yes, but there are plenty of British species that have evolved/changed their behaviour to fit in with man's management of the landscape. Not for nothing is there a distinction 'farmland birds' including the tree sparrow, yellowhammer, grey partridge etc.

Yes I agree, and as you pointed out above, to which time do we want to go back to! It'll be a compromise whatever may be decided, and again, this wont be truly wild will it! Of course it wont mean the whole landscape just parts might be re-wilded, but I'm sure you get my drift!

Do you think though that many species will adapt to it and take the place of extinct ones?

[speckled wood]

Originally Posted by Alan

I’d love to see the forests re-established, and many other areas for that matter.

The only problem I have with it is the term ‘re-wilding’ in a way it’s a contradiction in terms. To have a new wild area we’d have to manage it at first to some extent, which isn’t wild! We have to start somewhere though so I'll have to overlook that one!

Another problem I have, is that a lot of people seem to have the opinion that most of the landscape needs to be managed to stop it ‘going to wrack and ruin’ as they often put it! They don’t stop to consider that the planet looked after itself very well thank you before we evolved!


Alan

The term re-wilding is logical and the management at the beginning is part of the process.

We have a long way to go however on our wanderings how many of us go along country lanes to find hundreds of yards of verges neatly mown and manicured by residents of nearby houses and cottages? it may look "nice" to them but all we are seeing really is a bland (and mishapen bit of lawn). Actually as I understand it is illegal to do this yet local councils do little if anything to discourage it

[Imaginos]

Originally Posted by Alan

Do you think though that many species will adapt to it and take the place of extinct ones?

We're in the middle of a global extinction event, so yes...eventually. But probably not in our lifetimes, possibly not in the lifetime of our species...

[Andy Warne]

A lot of ancient woodland sites(18,000 acres) in the East Midlands are currently being restored under the Ancient Woodland Project launched by the Forestry Commission.

Then there is the Great Fen Project that aims to restore 3,000 hectares of farmland to fen.

[Earth Hart]

Originally Posted by Andy Warne

A lot of ancient woodland sites(18,000 acres) in the East Midlands are currently being restored under the Ancient Woodland Project launched by the Forestry Commission.

Then there is the Great Fen Project that aims to restore 3,000 hectares of farmland to fen.

The GFP is not far from where I was stationed, when I was in the RAF during the '60s, RAF Wyton. Now I know how to get there, I hope to visit over the next few days when I'm up that way. Thanks Andy, and it's good to know of the AWP, will check it out. How knows, they may have need of a yarnweaver.

[Owl-Light]

I've just had a look at the Ethos site and had a quick run through their pdf on Rewilding. I'd like to read on in more detail before I comment fully but their work sounds very interesting. I'm all in favour of returning as much land as possible to the wild, in fact thats very much my focus.

[Owl-Light]

Originally Posted by Sheryl LaBouchardiere

I've just had a look at the Ethos site and had a quick run through their pdf on Rewilding. I'd like to read on in more detail before I comment fully but their work sounds very interesting. I'm all in favour of returning as much land as possible to the wild, in fact thats very much my focus.

To qualify that last comment a bit, land left untouched returns to the wild pretty quickly. You can't re-create the Wildwood (I wish) but you can let Nature do her stuff. Perhaps with a little helping hand at first but then relatively interupted and see what happens.

However, the re-introduction of large carnivors is a difficult area. The British Isles are a collection of pretty small islands, there are enough difficulties surrounding the re-introduction of Wolves to Scotland. It would only work with a greatly reduced human population.

[nightshade]

I think I may have been doing it for years,a scatter of seed here and there, a hazel in this or that place.Several people grow natural trees and shrubs from seed,just quietly extend or reinforce a hedge etc I want bat corridors,which will encourage birds and other wildlife as well.
Look up postcode plants for suitability

[Imaginos]

Originally Posted by nightshade

I think I may have been doing it for years,a scatter of seed here and there, a hazel in this or that place.Several people grow natural trees and shrubs from seed,just quietly extend or reinforce a hedge etc I want bat corridors,which will encourage birds and other wildlife as well.
Look up postcode plants for suitability

Please be very careful when doing this, make sure you know the area you are going to 'extend' and its plant community (at least-you could get an idea of the insect fauna too) so that you know those plants you are introducing are not going to compete with, or replace any rarities the area possesses. This is particularly true in South West, for example, when you consider the large number of site-specific micro-species of Whitebeam.

[eeyore]

Best bet is to gether seed from the hedge or woodland you want to extend , propigate it, then replant it next year . Talking of which seed gathering sunday is fairly soon isnt it ?