Rewilding the birthplace of England
Somerset Wildlands is delighted to announce that with our latest purchase of 73 acres of land below the Isle of Athelney in the Somerset Levels, we will be rewilding 'the birthplace of England' - but we need your help!
The Isle of Athelney was famously used by Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons, as a refuge during his wars with the Vikings in the 9th Century. Following a defeat at Chippenham Alfred hid in the marshes and swamps of the Somerset Levels, before regrouping at Athelney and going on to defeat the Viking leader Guthrum and laying the foundations for the first unified Kingdom of England.
Speaking about the news, historian and writer Tom Holland said: “The island of Athelney, where Alfred burnt the cakes while dreaming that Wessex might be free, saw the entire future destiny of England hung in the balance; so to learn that the area around it will be restored to its former condition of wildness is the most wonderful and romantic news.”
Alasdair Cameron, Founder and Executive Director of Somerset Wildlands: "Britain's wildlife is in crisis, but it does not need to be like this.The Somerset Levels in the south-west of England were once a vast wild wetland. From pelicans to beavers to giant river sturgeons it would have teemed with life, and Somerset Wildlands is working to bring back a bit of that life and wildness through a process of rewilding".
Somerset Wildlands has a model of distributed rewilding and is building up a network of wild stepping stones, large and small, in the landscape. These are areas of land managed in as light touch a way as possible, and which are simply allowed to develop in a nature-led way.
"It's not an exaggeration to say that without the swamps and marshes which once covered this area then England as we know it might not exist, and while we can't go back in time to Alfred's day, we can be inspired by the past to create a wilder, better future for everyone. This idea of rewilding the birthplace of England is something which can be a powerful symbol of the kind of country we can be in the future", said Mr Cameron.
Early morning view across the site towards the Isle of Athelney. Sep 2022
"This is a hugely exciting project, but we need the public's support. Rewilding like this has low management costs, but it is not free. We will need to raise £500,000 over the next five years to pay for and manage the land, and people can help by going to our website and becoming members, making donations or spreading the news", said Mr. Cameron.
After acquiring the land in September 2022, Somerset Wildlands will now allow the land at Athelney to develop as freely as possible for nature, with only minor initial interventions, such as re-profiling ditches to make them less straight. In the future it is possible the site could take part in reintroduction programmes for lost plants or animals. In the meantime any animals which are slowly returning to the region already - such as beavers or sea eagles - will be welcomed. At the same time the charity will work to build a community of interest around rewilding in the area, working with existing groups and volunteers to give people hands-on experience of rewilding and nature restoration.
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The land at Athleney was initially purchased with the generous assistance of We Have the POWER's Funding Nature scheme, set up by Julia Davies. This provides philanthropic loans to charities to purchase land for nature, and is particularly crucial for acquiring land in our area, where most is sold quickly and at auction.
