Oscar Hartman-Davies

Oscar is our lead researcher and outdoorsy person. He is happiest when submerged in water, and brings an appropriately fluid, dynamic approach to his work at Youngwilders. Coming from a Human Geography and Environmental Governance background, he believes strongly in the vital role of people in co-producing a wilder landscape together with nature and, being half Finnish, champions jokamiehenoikeus (everyone’s right/the freedom to roam) as a guiding principle for wilding. Oscar is also a PhD researcher at Oxford and a member of the Digital Ecologies project, where he focuses on the ways in which digital technologies are shaping marine environmental governance.

Molly Easton

Molly is the policy expert and communications director at Youngwilders. She has worked in environmental policy and politics for the last three years, recently completing her MSc in Environmental Technology at Imperial where her research project evaluated the sustainability aims of English viticulture in comparison to other countries. She is passionate about finding the best ways to engage different audiences on issues relating to nature and climate, from developing the communication and political strategy for environmental campaigns to launching a contest for young people to respond creatively to climate change in the run up to COP25. 

Anya first saw the word 'wilding' hidden away in a lecture slide while studying for her degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge. It wasn't the most hands-on introduction, but she soon found herself making regular visits to some of the UK's seminal wilding sites, determined to learn more about how wilding could work on the ground. Anya later returned to Cambridge, where she taught final-year undergraduates in Conservation Science through the University's tutorial system. She counts the Peak District as a major natural inspiration after spending time in the hills near her grandparent's house. Anya's role at Youngwilders is our resident conservation scientist. 

Jack Durant

Jack may not have any 'skills' per se, but he counts himself as a big fan of the natural world. His love of nature started with spending parentally concerning amounts of time on Wimbledon common as a child. Ensuring access to local, beautiful natural spaces like this has proved a central motivator in Jack's passion for the youngwilders project. 

Having studied philosophy at undergraduate level, he is currently doing a Masters at the Institite of Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC in Canada, where he works as the resident environmental philosopher in his research team. Jack's role at YW lies somewhere between administrator and chief enthusiast.