Knepp Rewilding

For our August WI meeting, the Bombshells were delighted to welcome Matt Phelps who treated us to a talk on rewilding that was brimming over with his knowledge and enthusiasm. Matt has worked on the Knepp Estate for five years and as the Lead Ecologist since 2024. Most of us have visited Knepp in the past and we have also held WI coffee meet ups at the cafe. But this was a chance for us to get an insight into the fascinating history of Knepp and Charlie Burrell's ever expanding rewilding project.

Charlie Burrell, the current owner of Knepp inherited the 3,500 acres of farmland from his Grandparents in 1983 and continued the estate as an arable farm. Unfortunately Charlie struggled to make a profit from conventional farming mainly due to the clay soil prevalent in West Sussex which affected the yields so negatively.

Ever the entrepreneur Charlie turned to dairy and ice cream production, and all was well until the 1990s, when the EU forced the end of the state backed monopoly that was the Milk Marketing Board, with the resultant collapse in the price of milk.

At a loss how to continue, there then occurred a momentous meeting with Frans Vera, the famed Dutch biologist who in the 1970’s helped found the Oostvaardersplassen rewilding project in the Netherlands. This meeting gave Charlie the idea of a fully hands off system to return his land to nature.

Matt showed us a photograph of Charlie’s family on the farm from the 1930’s, I don’t think that any of us had realised that the pre-war countryside was far from neat and manicured and indeed, greatly resembled the scrubland that has developed at Knepp over the last two decades. In fact prior to the Second World War farms were made up of small fields, hedgerows, thickets, scrub and patches of woodland. However, survival during the War meant that every patch of land had to produce food with hedgerows removed, bigger fields and mechanisation which is efficient, and high yielding, but this caused a gradual degradation of the soil and a horrific reduction in wildlife.

Turning the land back to nature takes time, requiring radical change with men laid off, farm cottages sold, machinery disposed of and most of the 17 miles of fences ripped out. The changes that then happened on the land were astonishingly fast with waves of weeds, grass, brambles and scrubby trees rapidly establishing themselves. However, if the land is not going to totally to revert to woodland, specialist land management is required, only this time the managers are animals and not people.

A small number of cattle, pigs, horses and deer were released and allowed to roam freely, live and breed independently and through their natural behaivour, instigate and maintain change in the landscape. Matt explained that it is not possible to go back to the original breeds that used to inhabit Europe, so best matches have been found such as English Longhorns which are a good substitute for the long extinct Aurochs. Similarly, Tamworth pigs are used instead of wild boar and there are 27 Exmoor ponies filling the role of the once indigenous Tarpan horse. In addition there are a lot of deer: Red and Roe deer have been present in this country since the last ice age, while the Fallow were introduced by the Romans, and there are some Muntjac -though these are part of the countryside due to escapes rather than introduction.

This management system is process led. Pigs rootle and disturb the ground like mini ploughs, while the deer, horses and pigs all browse different plants and shrubs with the result that the vegetation is always changing. Matt showed us drone footage of the estate, and it is interesting to see that whilst the 20-year-old field boundaries are still visible, there are striking changes in the spread of vegetation from field to field.

Without wolves, bears or lynxes that would normally act as apex predators humans have to monitor and control animal populations, otherwise it is the availability of food that will dictate numbers and no one wants to see animals starving to death in lean years. This then provides a source of meat which is used in the restaurant and cafe. In addition, there is a niche market for the beef, venison and pork – such high-quality meat from animals raised and butchered on site attracts premium prices and can provide 10 or 15% of the estate’s income.

Matt was rightfully proud of the return of so many wild animals and birds. Nightingales are back in force with 62 singing males. There are 14 Turtle Dove territories. White tailed eagles are regularly seen over Knepp and are now breeding near Pulborough.

White Storks are one of the greatest successes with 42 chicks fledged this year, and as numbers have increased, a subgroup has developed that have taken up residence in the re-cycling tip in Guildford.

One of the most exciting additions to the landscape at Knepp is the introduction of beavers. They are now well established, building dams, coppicing trees and have totally changed the landscape in their enclosure, and most excitingly have raised 4 kits over the years.

It is easy to be excited polecats and possibly even pine martens returning but we need too to be thrilled by the increase in smaller beasts like the dung beetles. Their population is now 20 times greater than that found on the nearest organic farm.

Perhaps prettier than the beetles is the Purple Emperor Butterfly which has returned to Sussex because the pigs disturbed the soil, so the willow seeds germinated and the

butterfly has now the habitat it needs. A wonderful triumph that is celebrated as the logo for Knepp Rewilding.

There is no doubt that Matt could have gone on speaking, and the Bombshells would have continued to be fascinated by such a wonderful topic, as was evidenced by the strength of the round of applause that followed. The evening ended with thanks from us all. If you have enjoyed this summary of Matts talk, we highly recommend you get down to Knepp and see everything discussed here for yourself! https://knepp.co.uk/

The Bombshells have had a busy month with activities such as a super coffee morning sitting by the lake at Sumners Pond.

Two teams represented the Bombshells at the WI Annual Quiz at Haywards Heath. Whilst we didn’t win, our teams played at both the morning and the evening sessions, which were great fun and were enjoyed by all the contestants.

Southdown Patisserie was the venue for one of our occasional Afternoon Tea treats. The whole cafe was given over to the Bombshells, and we were offered a choice of a sweet or a savoury tea. Both were delicious. Thank you, Lorena, for organising it.

Morning and evening book clubs met and this month read ‘The Vanishing Half’ by Brit Bennett. Our September read will be ‘Atmosphere’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid.