Rewilding Project in England Sees Dogs Re-Seeding Urban Nature Reserves
England’s Railway Land Wildlife Trust and the Wilderlife rewilding platform have teamed up to create a novel rewilding project in Lewes, east Sussex. Based on an initiative developed by a pair of sisters in Chile in 2019, the project equips dogs with backpacks filled with wildflower seeds, which bearers will deposit across an urban nature reserve. This mimics the ecological role of wolves, which haven’t existed in the country since the 18th century.
Wolves used to unwittingly collect seeds in their fur, inadvertently spreading them throughout the country and sowing them far and wide. The project aims to rejuvenate the practice and help establish new colonies of plants. Twelve dogs and their walkers took part in the project this spring, covering four times the ground their owners and behaving in a manner more beneficial to the environment.
The dogs’ seed-filled backpacks have been well-received by the local community, who appreciated the role dogs and their owners have played in reintroducing this ancient practice. “Dog walkers often get bad press when walking in the countryside, so we’re so pleased to tell a story in which dogs and their owners are the stars,” said Dylan Walker, an ecologist.
Walker hopes that the project will inspire other nature reserves to participate. “We’ve had quite a few inquiries from other nature reserves up and down the country, who said: ‘This is great, this sort of thing we’d like to do’. We’re keen to share our experiences,” he said.
Read the full article on Positive News here: Read More
