Name: Clark Fields, in memory of JA and EM Clark.

Size: 53 acres, including 3 acre community food forest area.

Date rewilding began: March 2025

Our most recent acquisition, this land was very generously donated by the JA Clark Trust, who were previously the landowners. At 53 acres this site is different to several of our others, in that it is drier, beginning on a gentle rise a few metres above the Brue River valley near the town of Street, and descending gradually to the flood plains below. It is a beautiful spot, looking out towards Glastonbury Tor over the moor, and what must have once been a great wet marsh. There are some old trees in the hedges, and a few rushy, wet areas, but the bulk of the land is historically improved grazing.

The site is also closer to substantial settlements that any of our other sites, which is both a huge opportunity and a challenge. As part of this we have decided to work with a local partner to turn three acres of the land which are most visible to the nearby community into a food-forest garden - this will provide a base for our partner’s work with people with mental health needs, and also a space which other community groups or nearby schools can interact with nature and food production. Beyond this community element will be the wilder, more hands-off sections of the wildlife site.

The plan, as with all our sites, is simple. As far as it is possible we will allow it to rewild under its own auspices, with minimal intervention or human infrastructure. Along the way we will monitor changes in the wildlife or potentially use it as a base for small-species reintroductions, where appropriate. Over time it will become a beautiful wild stepping stone in the landscape and a refuge for wildlife. Due to its close proximity to the town, it may require a bit more attention than some of our locations, and a little more management around a few aspects (there are some power lines which will need to be kept free of trees over the decades for example, and there may be more consideration to keeping it clean and how it looks in the early years), but the philosophy will remain the same.

It is too early to show the results of our work on this site, but the pictures below give an idea of how it looks at the very beginning of its rewilding journey, as does the satellite image above. Next stages will be to recruit a number ofd volunteer wardens and to begin to get some baseline ecological date for the site - invertebrates, plants, mammals etc. This will help to show the success of the project in years to come, as well as inform any decisions we are required to make.