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Boothby Wildland near Grantham is blossoming, writes Stamford Climate Action Group




There’s not one ‘silver bullet’ in tackling the twin climate and biodiversity crises we face, writes Lorienne Whittle, Boothby Wildland manager.

However, given space and protection, nature itself can provide the solutions. In a shift to work with nature, Boothby Wildland are creating something proactive and tangible.

This 617 hectare former arable farm just outside Grantham offers a pragmatic opportunity to bolster local nature recovery and sequester carbon. There’s a plethora of other benefits for people too. Through rewilding, Boothby Wildland is becoming an ever-shifting mix of habitats such as scrub, grassland and wood pasture, for example. This transformation - creating a more complex, interesting and beneficial landscape for people and wildlife - is at the heart of what we are working towards.

Boothby Wildland
Boothby Wildland

There’s no one definition of ‘rewilding’, but the movement has gained huge momentum in recent years. Whilst rewilded land is essentially ‘given back to nature’, it’s by no means a hands-off approach. The aim is to restore natural processes so that they can once again support healthy, functioning ecosystems. This is done in a variety of ways:

- Re-establishing natural vegetation, increasing the variety and number of insects.

- Introducing pigs, ponies and cattle, who help restore the soil ,whilst managing different habitats with their grazing, browsing and rootling. The pork, beef and venison produced go into the local food system with little input from chemicals, heating, water or extra food.

Lorienne Whittle, Boothby Wildland manager
Lorienne Whittle, Boothby Wildland manager

- Re-introducing beavers, phenomenal ecosystem engineers, with an incredible capacity to create wildlife habitat, improve water quality, ‘slow the flow’ and alleviate flooding.

Nattergal have chosen this local spot as their first and flagship rewilding site. Known as the ‘breadbasket of Britain’ due to the (mostly) highly productive land, South Lincolnshire isn’t without its challenges for a rewilding project. However, less productive pockets of land such as Boothby present an opportunity to work cohesively for the benefit of nature, the climate and the local community.

We’re increasing access across the Wildland, running weekly volunteering sessions, with free monthly guided walks, open days and tours. We plan to host schools, green prescribing groups and even develop a hub of nature-based micro enterprises.

There’s plenty of ways to get involved in this local flagship project. For more information please check out our website www.nattergal.co.uk or get in touch by emailing: Boothby@nattergal.co.uk



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