We hear a lot these days about rewilding but it seems to mean different things to different people. Some think it is a just a matter of letting nature look after itself without any human intervention, but this overlooks the many species which are plant and habitat specific and without human input face extinction – many butterflies immediately come to mind.
Others believe it is simply a matter of planting more trees, overlooking the threat to existing rare habitats and driving ever more species to the brink. Those amongst us who have walked beneath a monoculture of fir trees will know how depressing it is that barely anything grows or exists in such a place.
Then there are those who only want to reintroduce long lost species. I am unsure of the value of releasing non-native species into our countryside although I do understand the value that captive breeding projects have because they may offer the only way a species can survive.
What many fail to understand is that we now live in a densely populated island with a growing population and we must not rewild or build houses on productive farmland.
In late January I was fortunate to visit a new flood management scheme to slow the flow of water through an area of farmland mitigating against flood and drought problems whilst also improving the quality of adjacent farmland and easing flooding problems on nearby roads. A series of ponds connected by leaky dams has created a wonderful wetland which is already attracting a greater degree of biodiversity and helping reverse the dramatic decline in species that has occurred in our lifetimes. This is how rewilding can be done really well.
Properly done I support rewilding, but how can the rest of us help? May I suggest the following: create a pond, plant wildflower areas and as many nectar rich sources as you can cram in as this will attract a greater diversity of insect life. Everything else flows from there. The massive species decline has to be reversed or we will all suffer the ramifications.
Paul
