In the words of the American biologist Doug Chadwick “The essence of nature is wholeness – a wholeness woven from infinite complexity.  Trying to save it piece by piece doesn’t really make sense even if we had all the time in the world, and we most certainly do not”. 

Every generation thinks that nature since their childhood has reduced but it has been going on for generations. The fact that we can’t comprehend what we aren’t aware that we’ve lost is described as Shifting Baseline Syndrome. 

Many of the species that have been lost need large areas of habitat and we’ve removed large amounts of it for homes, industry, infrastructure and agriculture.  We’ve straightened and controlled rivers, drained wetlands and cleared woodlands.  Spaces for nature have been pushed to the margins of our countryside meaning that there isn’t the space needed any more for many of these species.   

What are we doing about it? In the Wye Valley, we look after six sites (Chee Dale, Millers Dale, Priestcliffe Lees, Cramside Woods, Deep Dale and Topley Pike).  But there are sites owned by National Trust, Natural England, Plantlife, Peak District National Park Authority and Chatsworth which surround ours.  If we worked together, allowing cattle to graze more extensively, mimicking the grazing behaviour of herds of large wild herbivores, could we reduce the intensity of management needed?  This would lead to a much greater diversity and dynamism of habitats within the whole system; areas of very short grass, some much longer and the more scrub and woodland, which is great for breeding birds such as nightingales. We’re now working with our neighbours on a management regime for the whole of the Wye Valley SSSI, to see how far we can take this.  

We’re working on the Wild Peak initiative with our colleagues from Staffordshire, Sheffield and Rotherham, Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire, to see how we can create a patchwork of connected wild spaces with much more wildlife across the Peak District.  The uplands of the Peak District are one of the most important places in the country for people to access the countryside.  We think that they should be able to access wild nature too.  We want to see many more trees, with areas of bog woodland as well as dense, moss laden temperate rainforest in the cloughs running off the moors, bogs to be in good condition, with much more sphagnum moss and dwarf shrubs.  We want to see eagles, ospreys, pine martens, black grouse and hen harriers as well as ravens, lapwing and curlew.  And we want to see the reintroduction of mammals that have been lost.  Beavers and pine martens hopefully coming soon but why not polecat, lynx or bison?  All of these animals once lived here and are coming back to other densely populated places in Europe.  On the island of Mull, in Scotland, the reintroduction of white-tailed sea eagles brings in about £5million each year to the rural economy; what could bringing charismatic nature back do for the economy of the Peak District?   

But natural processes here is not just about these big species.  There is already lots of work being done across the Peak District, for example by the Moors for the Future partners, to reintroduce sphagnum moss and re-wet the blanket bogs on places like Bleaklow and Kinder Scout, which have been severely damaged since the Industrial Revolution by pollution and wildfire.  Protecting and restoring peatlands is one of the most important things that we can do in the fight against climate change. 

We’re looking at how we can connect the Wild Peak with the Trent valley, through the Derwent Valley Forest, with rewilding happening right the way along the river corridor with new woodlands and wetlands developing, including on open spaces in Derby.  Allowing the development of large areas of new native woodland will not only allow the reintroduction of species such as the pine marten and red squirrel, it will also take carbon out of the atmosphere and slow the flow of water into the river, reducing the risk of flooding in Derby.  

Our largest and most ambitious initiative is in the Trent Valley where we’re working with lots of others to try and connect improve connection between the cities of Stoke and Birmingham with the North Sea, by restoring thousands of hectares of new wetland habitat.  This would have enormous benefits for society, holding back water on the land, cleaning it and reducing the risk of flooding, as well as providing more space for people to connect to nature.  As more habitat starts to develop we hope that cranes, will start to come back.  We will need to change how we manage land to allow the development of new large scale habitats and this will include working more with natural processes. This is one of the main reasons why we’re working on bringing beavers back to Willington, which act as ecosystem engineers.  Historically our management of sites in the Trent Valley mimics some aspects of beaver behaviour.  However, beavers do all of it and they’re there all day, every day.  Ultimately, the Wildlife Trusts want to see beavers back where they belong, living wild across the country. 

Rewilding is not about separating people from nature, it’s about reintegrating our society back into the natural world.  We want to encourage people to connect their gardens to allow movement of hedgehogs and toads.  We want everyone to be involved, making more spaces for nature, in gardens, parks, allotments, churchyards and on farms.  We believe that rewilding is a hopeful, positive vision for the future, working with others to bring nature back to our countryside, rivers and towns and cities.  We hope that you’ll come and work with us.