The re wilding of productive farm land.

Here are more:

www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/rewilding-network/projects

Namsnanny, it's obvious (from your post) that you don't understand the concept, or importance of rewilding. You really don't seem interested in slowing down global warming or the destruction of our planet. Instead, you want to keep things as they have been - unsustainable - why?

We have plenty of farmland to rewild. Up to 80% of it is used to grow animal feed. We don't need to eat meat or use animal products. We do need to support the ecosystem that keeps us alive though!

I’ve just read this…

‘The Knepp Estate may hog the limelight, but another rewilding project of a similar scale is unfolding in East Anglia.’

www.inkcapjournal.co.uk/the-grand-plan-to-rewild-somerleyton-estate-including-the-return-of-the-lynx/

namsnanny I am a bit confused by your post

this scheme seems to be in addition to all the others which intend to help and encourage farmers to find different ways to farm?

Which scheme I mentioned are you referring to and I am not sure I mentioned any other schemes.

Have you confused me with someone else?

Thanks for the information everyone.
jillyjosey2 I did notice your post on the other thread about the fertility of our soils, and was very glad to see others are interested.
Ive just finished reading about how mushrooms, mycillium and bio char are all useful in this area.

M0nica correct me if I'm wrong, but this scheme seems to be in addition to all the others which intend to help and encourage farmers to find different ways to farm?

Lots of farmers use these to try to reduce fertiliser, pesticide use, and also re wild marginal land.

I was of the understanding this pushes the agenda into using more cultivated land?

I'm quite concerned that we will lose the little control we have of continuity of our food, and animal welfare.

The good thing about Knepp is that it is as I have said being used as the gold standard and the model for other rewinding projects.

I have been able to watch it since the beginning, and this summer was delighted to hear the clacking of storks, who have been given a safe haven. They are thriving.

But really what I find so glorious is the level of biodiversity. It takes me right back to my childhood living in the west of England.

Sorry - Knepp!

I'll mention beavers instead then!

Knapp was shown on the television in more than one programme.

Rewilding is an excellent thing to aim for to encourage biodiversity. Without this we will lose even more pollinators and crops will fail, as GSM said.

The history of hedges is interesting too, over the millennia we have cleared hedges, re-planted hedges and then cleared them for various reasons.
We've lost more since WW2 than ever and the rewilding programme can only be a good thing.

Of course, farming practices may have to adjust and farmers can't do this without some financial aid because many are struggling as it is.

We've also built on flood plains and will now have to find ecologically sound ways to stop the flooding caused by climate change but also by stupid planning decisions.

M0nica

To be honest I am sick to death about hearing about Knepp, it is a really efficient business and I commend them, but every other scheme - and there are many, can get no spotlight because of Knepp.

I had to page through three pages of google before I found the link I posted above. The first two pages were just, Knepp, Knepp, Knepp, Knepp, Knepp.

Oh dear.

Properly thought out re-wilding can work but we lived on a open moorland where Natural England paid farmers to remove the hefted sheep flocks and introduce native breed cattle. The upshot has been not all the cattle are native breeds so the wrong sort for the land in question and where there was a good diversity of nature with loads of song birds there are very few and the land is going backwards so that eventually it will be no good for anything but scrub and the wrong sort of weeds. Is is such a shame Natural England didn't listen to farmers and farm workers like my husband who knew the land and knew what would happen. My husband is so glad he retired and no longer has to look after this moorland as it was becoming impossible to do so. He was very keen to farm for and with nature but in the right way in the right place.

To be honest I am sick to death about hearing about Knepp, it is a really efficient business and I commend them, but every other scheme - and there are many, can get no spotlight because of Knepp.

I had to page through three pages of google before I found the link I posted above. The first two pages were just, Knepp, Knepp, Knepp, Knepp, Knepp.

The book about Knepp in Sussex is the one by Isabella Tree.

There is of course an organisation, here is the link and something about their aims:

Rewilding has the potential to reverse the catastrophic decline in species and allow nature to flourish across much larger, better connected, and much more resilient areas. Less management is needed, making it more affordable and therefore sustainable. Restoring natural processes and rebuilding ecosystems can draw down significant quantities of carbon from the atmosphere and tackle climate change (see our Carbon Report).
Our ambition at Rewilding Britain is to see nature recovering across 30% of Britain’s land area by 2030. That’s equivalent to approximately 7 million hectares. We believe at least 5% of the land, approximately one million hectares, should become ​‘core’ rewilding areas, where we work to restore ecosystems on a large scale and enable nature to take care of itself.

www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/explore-rewilding/what-is-rewilding/have-we-space-to-rewild

In the summer the noise from the insects and the level of biodiversity is astounding.

Yes monica is correct. The land to be rewilded will not be top graded.

If you are interested in how rewinding will look after a number of years, we have the gold standard here is Sussex. Look at Knepp. It is just a few miles from where I live and it is a joy, especially when it’s not muddy?.

Yes, setaside land was just that. Land set aside and not cultivated for a set period of years, with recompense paid to the farmer for lost income. The land was just left fallow with no care or cultivation

Rewilding farm acreage taken out of production permanently and rewilded in a managed way to return it to its natural state before it was taken into cultivation.

As I have said above, this is almost entirely marginal lands, much only brought into production in WW2 when we needed all the crops we could get and kept in production afterwards through the heavy use of nitrogen fertilisers.

Is rewinding different from set aside? I remember paying a farmer for my daughter to ride her pony on land of his that was set aside years ago.

Rather more concerning is the sale of prime agricultural land to property developers, who then go on to completely disregard planning directives, such as building schools and other amenities. Less ability to produce food. At least re wilding is of benefit to the country side, working with farmers to ensure there will be food for humans and wildlife.

Most of the rewilding is not of Grade 1 and Grade 2 farmland the richest and most productive, it is of marginal lands and less productive land.

One of the environmental groups has bought a farm in the East Angliam area that had been reclaimed from salt flats, they opened up a few sluices and let it return to salt flats. it reduces flooding elsewhere and absorbs high tides and storm waves, as well .

Here is a link to rewilding schemes in the UK treesforlife.org.uk/10-exciting-rewilding-projects-happening-in-the-uk/

You will notice all the land involved is marginal land.

At a very basic level, if we don’t do more to look after pollinators we shall have no crops to eat.

Any way that a farm can incorporate sustainable wildlife friendly land management methods is a good thing, is it not?

Mankind cannot live in isolation, we need field margins left for migratory birds and pollinators, some hedgerows left to grow through the seasons to provide for OUR wildlife.

In my own area I notice the beet fields have not been sprayed, this is the first year ever I have witnessed the weed ‘fat hen’ totally covering beet fields. I watched with interest how the flocks of mixed finches flew through taking the fat hen seeds, now the frost has about killed the weeds off and the beets having bided their time are growing strong and putting on some girth. I dare say the total yield is down, but it has been a haven for wildlife all year, this time of the year sheltering hare, deer, and many game birds.

The book by Isabella Tree is very readable and interesting and talks about resistance from the farming community in Sussex. I think it mentions 10 years of controversy before they began to be accepted.

Farmers are notoriously conservative which is not necessarily a bad thing but these are changing and alarming times.

We spent a short break on a conservation/rewilding project in Devon near Tiverton. It's called the Bulworthy Project and it's run by a young couple who bought some land and who are busy making it sustainable with much support from the local authority and DEFRA.

For instance, they are keeping cattle to provide manure and enhance the variety of species, returning some of the site to peat bog and wetland habitat, growing willow to make charcoal, cooperating with flood reduction plans locally, ensuring the survival of culm grassland which used to cover much of Devon and is important for wildlife.

The young chap gave us a fascinating and informative tour while we stayed in their off grid cabin over the weekend. I think lots of small projects like this are an important part of the future. That's not quite the same as large scale agriculture of course and there is a big question around producing enough food for a growing population but I suspect we'll never be self sufficient as a nation.

I did write a post recently on some thread or other about national concerns over soil fertility. It is said that we may have only 30 or 40 harvest's worth of fertile soil left! If you can bear it, here's another link!

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/805926/State_of_the_environment_soil_report.pdf

Thanks for raising this issue, I think it's very important and worth knowing and thinking about.

Thanks for the link jillyjosie2
I'll read it and hope for clarification.

As with every discussion there are more than just two sides, but at the moment my opinion has been informed by talking to friends who are farmers or work on the land.

I'd recommend reading some of the many books about rewinding projects. Wilding by Isabella Tree is one of the first and best and sets out the arguments well. Here's a review of it:

www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/28/wilding-isabella-tree-review-farm-return-nature

George Monbiot is also worth reading, though controversial.

I think you'll find that even DEFRA is now behind the concept, it's the future in a world where climate and natural resources are changing dramatically. The farmers are getting help to change! Rewilding doesn't mean just letting the land go wild, it means farming in a different way.