Making interventions

Rewilding is about helping kickstart natural processes on land and at sea. It involves working with the unknown - and creating hope in the face of an uncertain future, as our climate and ecosystems change around us. 

The first step is often to do nothing. All the communities involved in the production of this guide emphasised the importance of making time to get to know the place and the ecosystem that they are hoping to restore. 

You may also find it helpful to refer to Rewilding Britain’s 12 steps to rewilding.

The Langholm Initiative, which is managing over 4,200 hectares of the Tarras Valley reserve, has spent more than two years understanding the site and considering which actions to prioritise. They are now focusing on removing hundreds of miles of draining on the upland peat moors, to help restore the natural hydrology and ability of the peat to store water and carbon. 

A key rewilding action is often to increase the area of woodland. The route to establishing more woodland will depend on the availability of trees to spread into the area, through seed and other forms of natural regeneration. If there are very few native trees in the area, it may be necessary to plant trees – as at Carrifran, where only a handful of trees remained in the valley and almost a million trees have been planted since the Borders Forest Trust took ownership of the 655-hectare valley. 

When planting trees, make sure young trees and seeds are sourced responsibly. Look for local tree nurseries and seed suppliers. Reforesting Scotland has a tree nursery directory. The Woodland Trust has plenty of advice on planting methods. 

In more densely populated areas, parks are often a starting point for community rewilding. Advocating for reduced mowing and spraying can be the main focus of community groups in urban areas.

For many marine rewilding projects, the important change is to remove pressure on an ecosystem so that natural processes can return. COAST described this as ‘a form of passive restoration: ‘we remove the pressures (by limiting fishing) and allow the environment to recover.’ For projects on land, the damaged state of our natural environment means action of some kind will be needed to kickstart natural processes.

Networks like the Native Oyster Network can offer support for oyster restoration projects.

Seeing results

When you do intervene, whether by removing a pressure or introducing new components of an ecosystem (for example, by planting native woodland or seagrass), the changes that result may be surprising and more exciting than anyone could have imagined.  

Isabella Tree, in her book Wilding, describes how the return of insect and bird life to their farm in Sussex surpassed any expectations of ecologists or farmers. Community rewilding groups have similar experiences and – as the community contributors to this guide show – may be making discoveries that are new to science.

Managing access

Different community groups have different reasons for restoring nature, and public access needs to be considered in the light of those reasons. In Scotland there is a general right of responsible access, and for some groups, attracting members of the public will be a high priority. 

Ury Riverside Park, for example, is rightly proud of its approach to access, which includes flood-proof paths, benches and even play parks in carefully selected locations, as well as notice boards and clearly marked entrances. They estimate that they are getting 500 visitors per day because the park has been designed as part of an active travel route, and that this level of access and engagement has changed people’s awareness of nature. For example, by noticing the arrival of singing larks in spring, or understanding the reasons for grazing to control the giant hogweed. 

Others want to keep themselves out of the limelight, because large numbers of visitors could undermine the ecological processes that are helping to restore biodiversity. Carrifran Wildwood, near Moffat in south Scotland, welcomes visitors to share their experience and discuss the results. But they try to avoid being noticed as a tourist attraction. They took advice to keep the car park small and discreet. Of course people want to see what’s happening, and the experience of woodland returning to this formerly bare valley is inspiring. So they have created a shorter trail near the car park which allows people to view the valley and experience the return of nature to this site. 

Invasive species

One way in which intervention may be needed more urgently is in the case of invasive species. The case study of Ury Riverside Park provides an example of a community group which is pursuing three different approaches to controlling giant hogweed, including by grazing. They found the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative to be a helpful source of advice and ideas. 

Other sites have to contend with self-seeded Sitka spruce, which can regenerate through ‘seed rain’ several kilometres from commercial plantations. Langholm Initiative, for example, has just completed a long and expensive process of removing unwanted Sitka spruce regeneration across the Tarras Valley moorlands using a team of local contractors, funded by the Scottish Government Agri-Climate Environment Scheme. Sometimes there will be financial support available for controlling invasive species, like the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative.