Small-Scale Wilding
Small-scale wilding differs in some key aspects from the bigger scale wilding projects you may have heard more about. While there is no hard-and-fast definition of what constitutes 'small-scale', it most often refers to sites ranging from garden-size up to a few hundred acres. Below is an overview of some of the important things to consider on smaller-scale wilding sites.
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Our Team
Youngwilders started in 2020 as a passion project made up of four friends wanting to restore nature. Since 2022, we have functioned as a fully-fledged non-profit.
We’re always excited to hear from people who may be interested in getting more involved in the running of Youngwilders. Please get in touch if this sounds like you.
Oscar Hartman-Davies - Co-founder, Lead Researcher and COO
Oscar 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 - Co-founder and Strategic Advisor
Molly 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. Since then she has been working as the Founder and CEO of Foodsteps, a startup focused on helping food businesses track and reduce their greenhouse gas footprint. She counts the Peak District as a major natural inspiration after spending time in the hills near her grandparent's house.
Jack Durant - Co-founder and Director
Jack's love of spending time in unkempt natural spaces began with charging headlessly around Wimbledon Common as a child. Ensuring plentiful local, beautiful natural spaces like this has proved a central motivator in Jack's passion for the Youngwilders project.
Jack studied philosophy at undergraduate level before completing a Masters at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustinability at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. After a stint working as researcher in environmental philosophy, he is now focused on YW full-time and serves as the organisation's Director and primary point of contact. Reach him at: Jack@youngwilders.uk
Noah Bennett - Chief Technical Officer
Anya Doherty - Co-founder and Strategic Advisor
Noah has a background in Environmental Engineering, with a particular focus on hydro-morphology, flooding, and river restoration, and graduated with an MEng in The Environment, Energy and Sustainability at Cambridge University in 2019. Following his degree, Noah worked for several years as an engineering consultant on a wide number of environmental projects with both the private and public sector.
Noah is now the technical lead at Youngwilders, responsible for the detailed design of our wilding projects as well as the behind the scenes mapping and calculations which support our work. Noah has a passion for improving watercourses as part of our projects, and believes that river restoration can be the cornerstone for connectivity between wild spaces.
Iona McMillan - Summer Intern 2022
Studying a Geography BA at Oxford University to focus on her passion for connected justice for people and nature, Iona became fascinated by wilding and the promise it could hold for the future of our wildlife. Her dissertation explored the more-than-human relationships created through birdfeeding, and this belief in the importance of direct interaction and nature connectedness influences her perspective on rewilding. Iona is also a passionate advocate of the need for young voices in conservation, having been part of Keeping It Wild, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trusts Youth Team, since 2017. She is currently interning with Youngwilders before starting a Biodiversity, Conservation and Management Msc at Oxford.
Join us!
1. Subscribe to our mailing list below or get in touch via our get involved page.
2. Post a photo of nature in your local area, or one of yourself in nature, on instagram and tag us @youngwilders_. We'll be reposting our favourite snaps.
