Section 5.e. "Smaller-Scale Rewilding: A Practical Guide to Restoring Nature in Your Own Space"

'Tips for Maintenance and Long-Term Success with Smaller-Scale Rewilding' - the latest section of LettsSafari's guide to smaller-scale rewilding.

We’re publishing weekly instalments of our guide to smaller-scale rewilding in LettsSafari+ and your inbox - section after section, week after week. Packed with amazing photography and immersive videos straight from our parks.

If you're not already a paid member of LettsSafari, subscribe today. Get the amazing guide and help build more rewilding safari parks for the price of a cup of coffee a month.

Tips for Maintenance and Long-Term Success

While rewilding emphasises letting nature do the work, some maintenance (or rather, stewardship) ensures the site continues to thrive and doesn’t degrade due to certain factors. Here are some tips to keep your smaller-scale rewilded space healthy over the years:

• Adaptive Mowing/Cutting: For meadow areas, plan a late-season cut. Typically, once a year in late summer or early Autumn, cut the meadow (using a scythe, strimmer, or mower on the highest setting for small areas) and rake off the cuttings. This mimics grazing or hay cutting which wildflower meadows depend on to remove nutrients and prevent scrub takeover. If the area is large, maybe cut in patches (not all at once) so insects always have refuge. If you have yellow rattle in your meadow, make sure it is seeded (usually by July/Aug) before cutting. Pile the cut hay in a corner for a week to allow any stray seeds and insects to escape, then compost it. Over time, this regime will increase wildflower diversity. If grass is still too vigorous, consider a spring cut as well (some do an April cut and late summer cut).

Cutting wild grasses the manual way!

• Managing Succession: Decide how much scrub or tree growth you want. If you aim to keep a balance, you might do some winter pruning or removal of saplings in parts of the site. For example, maybe every winter you remove half of the baby ash trees that sprouted in the meadow to stop it turning into a woodland, but leave some for diversity. If you want a section to become woodland, then let those saplings go, but manage edges (so they don’t shade the entire site). At LettsSafari parks young saplings are re-planted in November and moved to more beneficial spaces. It's probably better to have zones – e.g., one corner you allow dense scrub (for wrens and thrushes), another corner you keep open, one area for wild grasses etc. Maintenance then is selectively cutting back encroaching scrub from open zones each year. A battery-powered trimmer or hand saw suffices for small stems. If larger, consider enlisting help or using a swale grazing method (maybe you have pet rabbits or can borrow goats briefly to munch bramble).

---

---

• Invasive Watch: Keep an eye out for any invasive species reappearing. For example, if bindweed or Japanese knotweed tries to come back, consistent removal is key. Often after a couple years of new regime, invasive pressure reduces as natives fill in, but vigilance helps. For weeds like thistle or ragwort that some neighbours might fret about if they spread, you can manage their spread by topping (cutting flower heads before seeding) or even pulling them out once you have sufficient for wildlife. E.g., allow some ragwort for cinnabar moths, but prevent it from overtaking by pulling excess after flowering. If you have none of those concerns, ragwort and other invasive species will actually balance out as soil fertility changes – but always be mindful of context (if next door is a horse paddock, they’ll not want ragwort seeds blowing over). Good communication can solve this (maybe you manually remove seed heads along the boundary, assuring the neighbours it’s under control while still keeping some for nature).

---

---

• Enriching Habitat Features: Over time, you might add more habitat boosters: e.g., install a small log bench (doubling as insect habitat under it), dig an additional shallow scrape for a wet area, or plant a new variety of native plant that you love. Also maintain any structures: clean out birdhouses annually (late fall), clean bee hotels (or better, use replaceable cardboard tubes) to prevent disease buildup, and ensure your pond stays functional (scoop excess leaves if it’s choking, etc.). None of these are heavy chores - mostly occasional seasonal tasks.

• Deal with Nutrient Inputs: If lots of leaves from surrounding trees blow onto your meadow and threaten to form thick mulch (which could smother smaller plants), rake some off and compost them (though leave some – leaf litter is beneficial). If your neighbours’ fertiliser or run-off leaks in, perhaps create a buffer of dense planting to absorb it (like a border of tall grasses to catch fertiliser from a lawn next door).

---

---

• Wildlife Monitoring: Keep notes of wildlife year to year. If you notice a decline in something (say, fewer butterflies one summer), consider why. It could be a broader climate issue or maybe your site got too shady - prompting you to create a new sunny glade by trimming a bit. If a certain plant is fading out, maybe its conditions changed - you could reintroduce seeds or adjust management to favour it (e.g., a plant that likes disturbance might need you to scuff up some soil).

• Patrol for Litter or Hazards: If it’s an open area accessible to public, sometimes trash might get in. Check and remove litter so it doesn’t harm wildlife (e.g., drink can where small mammals could get stuck). Also ensure no one dumps grass clippings or garden waste that could bring weeds (put up a polite notice if that’s an issue).

In smaller-scale rewilding there’s no such thing as weeds - it’s all about place and balance.