Led by nature
What happens when we allow nature space and opportunity to flourish?
A field, grazed intermittently in the past and the grass kept short. The clay earth is waterlogged in winter, hard and cracked in dry summers – though not this year.
Having taken on stewardship of this field several years ago, we have given it space to breathe. Our role - to observe and get curious. To learn and discover a way forward led by nature. This does not equate to doing nothing but taking a sensitive approach in which we observe and consider, taking cues from nature to inform how we respond.
We were wary of the potential for existing thistle, dock and reeds to amass across the space. Concerned we would end up with an impenetrable blanket at the expense of other native flora. So often our thoughts, decisions and actions are driven by fear, rooted in what we don’t yet know, understand or value. We worry about taking a different path and about what might unfold.
Acknowledging our concerns we chose to follow nature’s lead, rather than impose ourselves on a land we had yet to get to know. To tread lightly whilst monitoring the plants that can have an invasive habit and responding to maintain a balance over time.
Bird’s-foot trefoil flourishes along path edges providing a source of nectar for pollinators, particularly bees, and a food plant for the caterpillars of several butterflies and moths, including common blue, silver-studded blue and wood white butterflies..
What has transpired so far is a magical transformation and it’s an ever-evolving process. A conversation between us, the land and the life it supports.
It’s a space that now scuttles, crawls, leaps, scampers, slithers, flutters and flies. Wild song reverberates from the long grass. Grasshoppers scatter in all directions as they sense approaching footfall. Roe deer leave patches of flattened grass where they’ve rested overnight and foxes traverse well-trodden trails that criss-cross the field. Now and then we catch sight of a stoat weaving through the grass and watch frogs hop across the paths. Buzzards soar overhead, woodpeckers drum on the standing deadwood and flocks of chattering long-tailed tits flit through the willow whilst resident tawny owls ‘ke-wick’ under cover of darkness. The ground and the air vibrate with life. The earth breathes and we in turn breathe deeper.
Wildflowers have emerged where there were few. Rising from seed set down in the past and now with space and opportunity to flourish. Bird’s-foot trefoil, several Galium sp., lesser stitchwort, ragged robin, angelica and lady’s smock to name a handful. We’ve recently introduced yellow rattle in patches to facilitate the establishment and spread of the wildflowers, maintain a balance with the more vigorous grasses and encourage greater diversity.
An increasingly diverse community of beings make their home here. Captured above: Five-spotted burnet moth (top left), recently emerged spiderlings among lesser stitchwort flowers (top right), small skipper butterfly (bottom right), meadow grasshopper (bottom left), and honeybee foraging on thistle (centre).
We’ve come to value the role that thistle, dock and reeds play as part of this life support system. Thistle provides food for the larvae of some moth, hoverfly, fly and beetle species as well as painted lady butterfly caterpillars. It provides nectar for an array of pollinators, and gold finches gather to forage on the seed. Dock has been a magnet for aphids – drawing them away from our vegetables and cut flowers and providing a banquet for ladybird larvae that congregated in their dozens in early summer. We’ve seen bull finches feeding on the seed of any dock left standing over winter (the rest we cut back in late summer). They are plants that form part of the mosaic of vegetation and provide vital sustenance for wildlife when part of a balanced ecosystem.
We’ve not started from scratch here. It is a place with its own history. Grazed with an understanding of the soil and land. Hedges given space to extend their limbs, providing shade, shelter and food. We build on what was already here and we’re always learning. With every new insight comes an opportunity encourage life to thrive. Enhancing diversity and nurturing a balanced, healthy ecosystem are key.
Wildflowers rise up from seed set down years ago. Among them species of Galium (top right) and lesser stitchwort that were at their peak in early summer.
It has been life enhancing, quite literally, to experience nature’s power to regenerate and express its diverse forms when given space and time to do so. In allowing its unfolding, observing and getting to know the land and life here, we become better able to tune into nature’s signals and respond in ways that help maintain and enhance biodiversity.
This process of regeneration and creating opportunities for nature to thrive are possible in so many different ways and at diverse scales - from the tiniest patch of earth to vast swathes of land.
We won’t all rewild in the same way. Every space and living community is unique and so too are our individual relationships with the land and with nature. But we can all make a difference and take action to create opportunities for life to thrive.
It begins with us.