By now, you’ll know that we at PureComms are animal wild. From fish to snakes, dogs to spiders, we love them all! So, deciding to create a Rewilding Project in our car park was a total no-brainer.
What is Rewilding?
Rewilding is the process of restoring ecosystems to the point where nature can take care of itself. In a time where humans have occupied a large majority of the land, the aim of Rewilding is to reinstate natural processes and missing species, allowing them to take back their habitat. This can be done in the form of large-scale restoration projects like Creag Meagaidh in Scotland, or on a smaller, more localised scale, much like the little pocket of conserved area in our car park.
The Project
Before it burst into life, our Rewilding Project was just a square of unused, overgrown land in the corner of our car park. In February of this year, we began the process of transforming the space into what is now a lush area of wildlife boasting all manner of insects and wildlife.
Our resident zoological expert Danny (we’re not joking – he really is an expert!) worked with CEO Rob to cultivate an environment that would be the perfect home for a variety of flora, fauna, and wildlife. The area is mainly made up of wildflowers such as Poppies, Cornflower and Campion. These flowers are great for the environment as they are easy to grow and attract lots of wildlife, including birds, bees, and butterflies. In the winter months when there is less food available, wildflower seeds are also a good source of food for birds and smaller mammals.
Earlier this month we released 10 Painted Lady Butterflies into the area. Our Marketing team looked after the critters for 2 weeks, from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly, before releasing them with Danny into the Rewilding area. We have also released some dragonfly nymphs and beetles into the pond, and even spotted a few little frogs swimming about!
How you can make your own Rewilding Project
After seeing the success of our Rewilding Project, of course you’ll want to make your own! The great thing about Rewilding is that it can be done anywhere – no land is too big or too small.
The first step is to assess the land you have. Observing what is already growing and living on the land will reveal important things about the habitat, such as wildlife features, the state of the soil, food sources and more. This will ensure that you don’t accidentally destroy anything valuable, and inform your decision making moving forward.
From here, you can plan exactly the things you would like to achieve with your land. Would you like to introduce a specific animal to the area? Or protect a certain rare plant species? Whatever your goal, it’s important to mimic natural processes as best you can. Remember, the idea of Rewilding is to let nature drive its own recovery, so you want to minimise human interaction and intervention as much as possible.
Finally, the fun part, you can start Rewilding! Once you’ve decided what you want to achieve and planned how you want to achieve it, you can sit back and watch nature take its course. It’s always a good idea to record what’s happening on your land so you can understand what’s working and if anything may need to be tweaked. And, to share your Rewilding journey with the world!
For more information about starting your own Rewilding Project, visit https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/start-rewilding
