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Rewilding, or restoring nature to degraded areas, is booming in the UK. According to the organisation, there have been many large-scale successes in areas where the introduction of wild animals, such as bison, has helped transform former agricultural areas into thriving biodiversity hotspots. Rewilding Britain.
This is also being done in urban areas on a smaller scale, notably at the Railroad Land nature reserve in the town of Lewes in East Sussex; a small 25-acre site bordered by the River Ouse and a railway line. rewilding The Railway Land Wildlife Trust project is the first in the UK to use dogs in a bid to bring the area back to nature, it has been reported The Guardian.
Rewilding in Lewes
But it’s really not practical to release wild animals to help spread wildflower and grass seeds, which is why the project has enlisted dogs to act like wolves – which roamed Britain before they became extinct in 1760 – by equipping the canines with specially designed backpacks that release seeds, it reported. The BBC.
“If we went back 1,000 years, we would have seen wolves and maybe bears roaming the landscape, there might have been bison, wild boar, wild horses. They all had a positive impact on the ecosystem,” project manager Dylan Walker told the BBC. “We’re a small urban nature reserve, so we’re very limited in terms of reintroducing these animals, but what we have is a substitute for wolves, which are our domestic dogs.”
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The project was inspired by the efforts of two women in Chile who, in 2019, planted seeds, with the help of three dogsin areas that had been devastated by wildfires, according to The Guardian. Walker decided to follow in their footsteps.
How does it work?
Since dogs can cover more ground than humans and can reach hard-to-reach areas, it made sense to use local dog walkers to walk their animals around the reserve. The dog walkers collect holey backpacks containing seeds from staff members before setting off.
“We mixed the seeds with sand not only to help the seeds travel further, but it also proves very useful in allowing us to track where the dogs are depositing the seeds,” Walker told the Guardian.
Dog owners taking part in the project are very enthusiastic about the role their pets are playing: “I signed up because it seemed like a perfect fit. I was asked to put a harness on my chocolate cocker spaniel called Bertie and he ran around spreading seeds like the wolves did many years ago,” said owner Cressida Murray.
Although it is still early days, seed germination has already started in some areas, but this could take years. wild flowers and plants to establish.
“A community project like this not only helps raise awareness and educate people about the ecological impacts of wildlife, but also allows us to enrich our wildlife and environment in the process,” Walker shared.
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