Rewilding
What is rewilding?
Conserving, restoring
and protecting
Rewilding activities are conservation efforts aimed at restoring and protecting natural processes and wilderness areas. Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration with an emphasis on recreating an area’s “natural uncultivated state”. Rewilding could be the most holistic and natural solution to the climate crisis.
Rewilding restores our soil and vegetation to become effective carbon sinks, develops habitats which support our vital wildlife and regenerates natural plant growth. These are critical ingredients to saving the planet from the effects of global warming.
Rewilding in Ironbridge
What is the Trust doing?
The Trust has several small areas of land that are rewilding. These areas either have difficult access or are very small and need substantial amounts of resources to maintain. Decisions were taken on a site-by-site basis by the Trust’s Ecology Group to limit intervention.
The sites that we are rewilding from grassland will, without hay cutting or grazing, become woodland. We can expect after 10 years to see a multi-structure, multispecies habitat supporting a wide range of species.
The formalisation of the rewilding work into a strategy gives the Trust a document to refer to that will show direction, have the potential to raise grant funding and demonstrates that the Trust continues to adapt its working practices.
If in the future the Trust does consider rewilding more sites, community consultation will be key and a mapping exercise of the sites and habitats will be undertaken so that any changes can be assessed and monitored.
Rewilding Strategy
Formalising our approach
Rewilding activities are conservation efforts aimed at restoring and protecting natural processes and wilderness areas. Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration with an emphasis on recreating an area’s “natural uncultivated state”. Rewilding could be the most holistic and natural solution.
Following the Trust’s Climate Change Declaration in November 2019, we have been looking at ways to tackle the causes of climate change. One of these ways is by rewilding sites. In June 2022 Trustees approved a Rewilding Strategy, which would guide the future work of the Trust.
A copy of the strategy can be downloaded here
