Go Wild

Photo by Federico Di Dio photography on Unsplash

The word ‘Wild’ has insinuated its way into our consciousness over the last decade or so. Instead of swimming outdoors we ‘wild’ swim, we can buy ‘Wild’ deodorants, buy wild clothing and go on wild holidays. There is a wild foundation - a global conservation organisation - and the Wildlife Trusts run an annual 30 wild days campaign. There are various magazines, podcasts, workshops, forest schools and small companies with ‘wild’ in their names and re-wilding projects abound.

Go wild is sexier than suggesting we get outdoors and advertisers are keen to play on our desire to be more planet friendly, more in tune with the natural world, even though the products they’re plying may not take us any closer towards those desires and goals.

Whilst there are undoubtedly many good organisations, causes and projects on the wild bandwagon, I’m wary of the term. It’s been hijacked by ad men, the media and people trying to sell us things. The fact is, in the UK there is virtually no wilderness, in the true sense of the word. There are neglected and uninhabited areas, but no truly wild spaces, where the land is in its original, natural state. Most of our landscapes are created by human intervention: the cutting of the Caledonian forest, the cultivation of land, the grazing of animals, the management of grouse moors. Nature has been managed to suit our requirements and needs with little thought for what the natural world needs to thrive. Key species have been wiped out by our actions in the animal, insect and flora worlds and the UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in Europe. The State of Nature report is bleak.

These is no consensus on how to redress the balance and many key players are not even discussing the issue. There are a lot of projects across the country, but very little co-ordinated effort. The big conservation charities can’t even agree on what needs to be done. It’s a depressing picture.

In Scotland, ‘Scotland The Big Picture’ (STBP) is looking at the whole eco-system as the name would suggest - nature, climate and people. In my view, it’s the only way to tackle the key issues which face the human race. They’ve been working with key stakeholders holders like farmers, tourism businesses and Government to advocate for nature and they don’t pull any punches. Their campaigns are bold and creative and we need more of this in this space, where organisations often compete for support and traction. The release of four lynx into the Cairngorms National Park this last week has not done anything to help the debate around the introduction of key species back into Scotland.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and ineffectual in the face of such enormous global issues, yet there are plenty of things we can do where we are. Join a local or national organisation and support their projects where you can both financially and by volunteering. The Scottish re-wilding Alliance is a collaboration of like-minded organisations who share a mission to enable rewilding at a scale new to Scotland. Rewilding Britain is a national charity that has a mission to see a mosaic of species-rich habitats restored and connected across at least 30% of Britain’s land and sea by 2030. Like STBP they also work in partnership with stakeholders and seek to influence policy. We may not be able to tackle the bigger picture on our own , but we can be involved with groups of people who already are. There is a lot going on in this arena, including training and youth projects and there’s bound to be a local project close to you.

There are plenty of individuals out there offering advice on how you can ‘wild’ your own space and give nature a chance to regenerate, whether you have a garden, a woodland, a farm or no land at all. Cath Hodsman offers a daily prompt on social media (Bluesky and Twitter/X) and Jack Wallington is a gardener who produces a regular newsletter and has written a number of books, including A Greener Life and Wild About Weeds. I have personal experience of these people and there are plenty more out there sharing their experience and insights.

My own top tips for letting a little wildness into your space would be to ditch the chemicals, introduce water and to be less prissy about weeds and grass - let them grow where you can. Grass can be quite a sterile and difficult environment for wildlife so there may be other ways to green up your space without it. My garden backs onto heathland and the garden itself is mostly grass, which in reality is a mix of moss, wildflowers and weeds, so I tend not to do too much with it. I installed a pond last year and already a number of invertebrates have moved in and I am hoping for amphibians this year.

It’s easy to get confused by the hype and hard to separate the greenwashing from the green, but there’s help out there, so find your wild tribe and do what you can.

This article barely grazes the surface of the topic. If you want to find out more I’ve suggested some resources below. There are shed loads of books on the subject now, so the list is not extensive, but below are the books I’ve read so far.

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Recommend Resources

Substack Publications

Thomas Winward

https://substack.com/@thomaswinward?r=5hyfu&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile

Wendy Pratt Notes from the margin

https://open.substack.com/pub/wendypratt?r=5hyfu&utm_medium=ios

Jack Wallington - The Wild Way

https://open.substack.com/pub/wildway?r=5hyfu&utm_medium=ios

Michaela Griffith - Flow

https://open.substack.com/pub/michelagriffith?r=5hyfu&utm_medium=ios

Lia Leendertz - Lia’s Living Almanac

https://open.substack.com/pub/lialeendertz?r=5hyfu&utm_medium=ios

Some suggested Reading

• Wilding - Isabelle Tree

• How to make a wildlife pond - Kate Bradbury

• Wild about weeds - Jack Wallington

• Restoring the Wild - Roy Dennis

• Rooted - Sarah Langford

• Rewilding: The Radical New Science of Ecological Recovery – Cain Blythe, Paul Jepson

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