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A leading reconstruction initiative in lincolnshire It is set to transform using more than 600 hectares of former agricultural land beaver, pig, AnimalAnd pony.
This ambitious Boothby Wildlands project represents the first large-scale implementation under a major government programme, which aims to be an “exemplary” for securing nature restoration through private finance.
The scheme, on land previously considered “difficult” to farm, will generate valuable carbon and nature credits from its newly established habitats. the wildlife they support.
Central to its ecological revival is the re-flow of the river and the establishment of otters in a large enclosure.
These efforts are designed to create critical wetland habitat, improve water quality, and prevent flooding.
Further ecological enhancements include allowing vegetation to “grow out” from existing parts of woodland and hedgerows.
Later larger grazing animals would be introduced to promote a rich mosaic of grasslands, scrub and wooded pasture habitats.
The property is owned by Naturgale, a company founded by leading environmentalists to promote and increase private investment in nature restoration.
“As the inaugural pilot project to reach the taxpayer-funded implementation phase.”landscape Under the “Recovery” programme, Boothby Wildland has secured contracts worth up to £11.8 million over three decades.
The initiative is a key component of a comprehensive post-Brexit environmental land management plan, removing agricultural subsidies from the EU era.
The Landscape Recovery branch of the scheme aims to support projects that restore nature across landscapes and attract private finance to support the work as part of efforts to meet legal targets to halt declines in wildlife.
In Boothby, agricultural land that was mostly used to grow animal feed on wet, deep soils has been abandoned for a “control area” where fields were once treated with chemicals to cover grasses and wild flowers, while hedges are growing larger and young oaks are growing near mature trees.
Long-vanished “ghost ponds” have been restored, using which protected great crested newts have already been discovered.
And while the tire marks of the diggers used to create the West Glen River bend in May are still visible, reeds, wild flowers, dragonflies and water waders have taken over the shallow areas, while farm drains have been destroyed to stop water from flowing so quickly through the ground.
A 200-hectare (500-acre) enclosure around the river and a tributary stream for the beavers is also being fenced, with opening expected in December.
They will manage the landscape to create wetlands that support a range of wildlife, and it is hoped that their presence and the re-flowing of the river will reduce flooding that affects the lower part of the village.
Over the next few years heritage breeds of cattle, pigs and ponies are expected to be introduced for natural grazing and for meat production, while stalking is used to keep deer populations under control and provide venison.
Lorien Whittle, Naturgal’s rewilding landscape manager, said the landscape “is going to be much more wild”, eventually containing a mix of open grassland and wooded pasture with large trees, while in the meantime grasses and shrubs will grow back.
Ecologist ranger Lloyd Parks said the number of wildlife such as small birds is increasing year-on-year across the site, which was purchased in 2021 before farming closed for several years, as food for them becomes more abundant.
“A lot of these lovely plants that people call weeds are actually important for the nutrition of these species. We’re starting to see good numbers of chaffinches, linnets, yellowhammers,” he said.
Birds of prey are also drawn to the location, including red kites and marsh birds along with kestrels, and even a male and female Hen Harrier were seen last winter.
Government landscape recovery funding is going towards elements of the plan, including enhancing footpaths and bridgeways, building an education center with a nature classroom and pond for diving, employing staff in education and community roles and conducting onsite monitoring of wildlife.
But income to build housing and maintain the project will come separately from private finance, including the sale of “biodiversity net gain” credits under a scheme that requires developers to promote nature while completing housing or other projects.
There are sales of what Ms Whittle calls “charismatic carbon” credits, which pay for the natural regeneration of carbon-storing woodland that also provides other benefits such as natural habitat and social benefits.
The tours and days away from the team are also generating income for the project.
Ms Whittle said: “We are really keen to make this an example nationally and internationally of how we can use private finance to secure nature restoration.
“But it’s also really important to me and the local team that it’s a place that local people are proud of.”
He said the team had worked closely with local people to provide the elements they wanted such as a safe bridleway and fencing away from homes to reduce visual impact – and creating space for a community garden.
Tony Juniper, chairman of Natural England, the government nature body that runs the landscape recovery programme, said more than 50 projects had received initial support to develop bespoke plans, involving a number of landowners, farmer groups, water companies and charities.
He said: “The reality in England at the moment is that we will need to act on a larger scale than ever before, given our very welcome goals for nature restoration.
“One of the things we need to make that work is to combine private finance with public investment.”
Mr Juniper also said climate and nature emergencies were “inextricably linked” and that restoring landscapes like Boothby would have many climate benefits, from storing carbon and tackling more extreme weather and flooding.
He said Boothby’s plan would increase local employment, provide “a wonderful facility for people to enjoy”, and still produce food in the form of high-value meat.