A new rewilding safari park in Devon, called Sunrise Park, is being created from a four year rewilding programme. It joins the LettsSafari Network of parks - taking the number of parks in the network to three.
All three parks are in the southwest of England, supporting the environmental credentials of this developing region. Sunrise Park is near Exeter, on the Haldon ridge.
The 10 acre safari park was established utilising the latest rewilding techniques developed over time by LettsSafari’s own teams. It has just completed its initial 2 year regeneration programme designed to increase biodiversity, remove carbon and grow wildlife populations within interlocking habitats. It is now commencing a further 2 year programme to extend open scrub and new tree plantings.
The core macro-habitats newly formed create the conditions for a thriving small-park ecosystem to establish itself. Given the size of the park it has reintroduced just a small handful of herbivores using our animal proxy strategy to harness a contained nature-based solution for natural regeneration. Perimeter fences have been lowered in strategic places to allow the local fallow deer to run freely through the place.
Soay act as a proxy for larger deer or gazelle. The wild herbivore is rare, ancient, and self-sufficient making them well suited to kicking off smaller-scale rewilding efforts. Their narrow, sharp hooves slice the ground and their mouths and horns drive forces of habitat regeneration. They eat a wide mix of grazing, moving constantly and aid to keep back invasive species that inevitably spring up from woodland regeneration, in particular.
With only 1,000 soay left in the world, Sunrise Park Joins LettsSafari efforts to ensure they can be bred for other parks in the LettsSafari network, protecting this magnificent breed.
Sunrise Park is a model for smaller LettsSafari parks. At its edge was an industrially farmed conifer forest with some old, grazing grounds. The pine forest has been thinned back allowing young deciduous trees to grow through, providing a new layer of broad leaf trees for long term carbon removal.
Slithers of scrubland have been developed and fields are establishing as wild grassland.
The park features LettsSafari’s brand new Wildlife Biodomes™ to accelerate soil improvement, while providing self-sustaining natural homes for insects, bugs, birds and small mammals.
Previously bereft of biodiversity, the young park is now attracting a wide range of insects and wild bees thanks to its rewilding programme. Buzzards and hawks have been spotted along with a growing diversity of bird life. Rabbits and hares quickly moved in and other smaller mammals are being spotted more frequently.
Dead hedging is being developed to enable wild hedgerow to grow through. Birds are already nesting inside. Sunrise Park proves that any small park, corner of a farm or estate can be successfully rewilded - creating a model for many more exciting new LettsSafari parks to spring up.
Subscribe to LettsSafari today so we can create more LettsSafari parks like Sunrise Park - reversing the biodiversity crisis and doing something about climate change.
Sunrise Park joins LettsSafari’s first safari park - called Dawlish Park, which was announced at the launch of LettsSafari.com in June. It is a 75 acre park at LettsSafari’s centre for rewilding in Mamhead Park South. Herbivores featured here include fallow deer and badger faces.
Dawlish Park has abundant wild grassland, a mature, ancient forest and newly planted woodland areas with nearly 5,000 young trees. In between the new trees is a mix of scrub and wild grassland. The second parkland to join the LettsSafari Network of parks was Devon’s amazing rewilded Capability Brown gardens.
If you have a 10+ acre park (or area of land), you too can join the LettsSafari Network of parks. LettsSafari parks get support and advice from LettsSafari and its members to become a biodiverse-rich, rewilding safari park.
We are excited to welcome Sunrise Park to LettsSafari. And we look forward to welcoming many more rewilding parks to the LettsSafari Network of parks.