George Monbiot is a great fan of rewilding, and writes about it frequently. He would like to see parts of Britain rewilded, especially its uplands. Essentially, this means humans getting out of the way, although opinion varies on the extent a rewilding process would need to be managed (by humans).
Last week’s Spectator carried an article by Simon Barnes about the rewilding of the Knepp Castle estate in West Sussex (the picture is one of their Tamworths). Such was his enthusiasm for the venture – it comes across in every paragraph – that I wanted to go there this weekend. Judging by their website, environmental educators of all kinds already do go there to study.
This is how Barnes ends his article:
“You leave feeling rather befuddled. Did I dream that? Was I really back in ancient England? Did I stand in the night surrounded by nightingales, Daubenton’s bats and a long-eared owl? Did I spend next morning with England’s ancient fauna while our declining half-lost birds chorused all around? Did I really walk upon England’s green and pleasant land — the land that England is really meant to be?”