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rare bats, all five species of UK owl,
a plethora of purple Emperor butterflies,
and most impressive of all, turtle doves.
The decline in turtle doves over the past
few decades in Britain has been catastrophic.
According to the RSPB, they are the most
likely bird to become extinct within our
shores by 2020. The fact that turtle dove
numbers are actually climbing in Knepp
– an estate located 45 miles south of London,
underneath the Gatwick stacking system
in the most populated area of southeast
England – is astounding.
Of course, an ecosystem must be finely
tuned and well balanced if it is to thrive.
Too many grazing animals and the land
turns to grassland, too few and it reverts
to species-poor closed-canopy woods.
At Knepp this is regulated by taking animals
off the land to process into free-roaming,
pasture-fed, organic meat, which is then
sold locally and generates an important
income stream for the estate. ‘With the
Wildland Project, we’re still raising cattle
and livestock, only now it is extensive
rather than intensive farming, it’s more
like ranching, really and the animals are
driving great positives such as biodiversity,
habitat and soil restoration,’ says Burrell.
These herbivores have given Knepp
a new lease of life – quite literally – and
have also paved the way for another
business to thrive. ‘We love what we are
doing, it has been a complete revelation, but
it has to make financial sense,’ says Tree.
‘And one of the ways in which we can bring
another income stream into the estate is
through tourism.’ Using the African
model as inspiration, Knepp has built
a blossoming safari business, running
morning and afternoon wildlife tours,
as well as a glamping enterprise, with
cosy shepherd’s huts and yurts in the
middle of the project.
Rewilding, it would seem, has not only
dragged Knepp out of muddy financial
turmoil (that haunting overdraft has been
cleared), it has transformed the land into
a haven for rare species of all shapes
and sizes, thrusting the estate into the
conversation about the future of British
ecology and conservation. Why then, you
may ask, are we not doing more of it?
The answer, Tree suggests, may lie with
aesthetics. ‘We are control freaks,’ she says.
‘We have grown up in a landscape that
is highly managed and we panic at the
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