Rewilding
Letting nature take its course
Rewilding is at the heart of what we do at Elmore Estate. Rewilding means letting nature take its course, returning the land to the wild with minimal human intervention.
It’s a form of conservation and restoration, essential to our efforts to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises, and protect the local environment for future generations. It’s also a state of mind.
Since 2020, we’ve been rewilding a large part of Elmore Estate, 450 acres in total, by letting nature do her thing and introducing rare-breed animals to our wildlands and wetlands. In this way, we’re letting the land recover without the use of chemicals, fertilisers or mechanisation.
It’s a beautiful and entirely natural process, through which our soils are improving and biodiversity is exploding all around us. With an ever-growing abundance of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects, Elmore is going wild.
Custodians of the land
Our rewilding journey began a long time ago. Anselm, custodian of the land, was born in Africa, where childhood safaris and adventures in the bush shaped a lifelong obsession with nature.
As an adult, Anselm travelled the world and returned to Africa many times. But it wasn’t until recently, in a moment of epiphany, that he realised the raw power of nature could be experienced right here, in the heart of rural England.
It was the must-read book Wilding by Isabella Tree, which documents the rewilding of the Knepp Estate in West Sussex, that fired his imagination. Inspired, he decided, along with his team, that rewilding was the key to a sustainable future for Elmore Estate.
Today, rich and buzzing with life, the Elmore wildlands are being transformed. Less English countryside, more untamed savannah. Depending on the season, you might spot deer at dawn, hear owls calling after dark, or see rare birds like herons, harriers and egrets. Foxes, badgers, hares and longhorn cattle roam freely, with Iron Age Pigs and Exmoor Ponies coming soon. The Elmore wetlands will also be home to one of the largest beaver enclosures in the British Isles.
It’s a true glimpse of nature returning.
Join Us
While rewilding is all about leaving nature alone, we welcome the input of likeminded individuals keen to share stories and information on this hugely important topic.
We want to hear from nature writers and lovers. Ecologists, foodies, foragers and farmers. Rural enthusiasts, wizards, poets and prophets.
Got a tale to tell? Get involved and help shape our online content, news and future activities.
Rewilding is a process. Become part of it.
