Nestled in the hills southwest of London, a patch of hedgerows and saplings plays host to grass snakes, butterflies, nightingales, and a team of budding ecologists. The land was once a series of fenced-off fields known as Maple Farm. It has since been transformed by those ecologists. They call themselves the Youngwilders. The Youngwilders formed in 2019 with a simple plan to fight climate change. They planned to convert farms and other deforested places back to wild habitats. Essentially, they wanted to help nature do what it does best — regrow. The hitch? They had to find a property owner willing to let them experiment. Youngwilders co-director Jack Durant told The Guardian that the group's hope at the start was that "there were people who were willing to let a bunch of young idiots on to their land indiscriminately, to make fairly massive decisions that would affect land value." He added, "We didn’t have any evidence that those people existed at the start. We just kind of assumed, or prayed, that they did." It took them six months. That's when they found Maple Farms. The property’s owner allowed them to remove all the fences, plant native seedlings, and let wildlife flourish. The 18- to 30-year-olds that form the group were able to coax the land to thrive. It took some trial and error and a lot of hard work. Now, the Youngwilders support 12 projects across the UK. They trace their success, though, to what took root at Maple Farms. “This was a huge moment for us,” Durant told the Guardian. “Since then, there’s been steady interest. Maybe every three weeks, we get a message to our website from a similar-ish situation to this: someone wanting us to help. And, then also, crucially, they’ll really buy into our youth-led, youth-engagement vision.” Thought Question: What experience has made you feel hopeful about young people’s ability to improve the world around them, and why did it stand out to you? Photo of youngwilders from Instagram courtesy of @youngwilders_.
