Section 1.b. "Smaller-Scale Rewilding: A Practical Guide to Restoring Nature in Your Own Space"

Section 1.b. of the definitive guide to smaller-scale rewilding from the pioneering team at LettsSafari.

"Smaller-Scale Rewilding: A Practical Guide to Restoring Nature in Your Own Space"

Introduction to Smaller-Scale Rewilding - Part 1.b.

A pioneering approach

LettsSafari, a UK-based rewilding initiative, has been at the forefront of championing rewilding on this human-friendly scale. The Letts family “accidentally discovered” the power of small wild spaces back in 2006, when they turned a few acres of wasteland in New York State into a thriving mini-ecosystem. By simply planting wild grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, and trees and then stepping back, they witnessed nature’s astonishing comeback: insects swarmed in, followed by frogs and snakes, then birds and mammals, all within a couple of years.

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What started as an experiment soon proved to be a replicable model. In 2014, the Letts family scaled up slightly - purchasing a run-down 100-acre estate in Devon, England - and applied the same principles. The result was Mamhead Park South, now a leading smaller-scale rewilding centre teeming with wildlife and new woodlands where a manicured estate once struggled. Through these experiences, LettsSafari helped define “smaller-scale rewilding” as a movement and showed that land need not be vast to yield big environmental gains.

In fact, what the Letts family observed on just a few acres in 2006 has now become an accepted practice in conservation: rewilding projects under 250 acres are increasingly recognised for their ability to tackle climate and biodiversity challenges at scale.

Ecological networks and climate impact