Wild Somerleyton
Raising awareness and recovering nature — rewilding lowland habitats in Suffolk.
Wild Somerleyton took the decision to move away from sheep grazing and traditional management to a rewilding approach using extensive low density cattle grazing. Since 2016, they have introduced a range of grazing species to encourage natural habitat succession and dynamics across the project area.
NATURE BASED ENTERPRISE
The proposals have created new nature based enterprise including high quality meat production, events and weddings, ecotourism (holiday log cabins, camping, glamping, safaris), education activities, and a health and wellbeing programme.
This project is part of the wider Wild East project, aimed to promote nature recovery across the region and return 20% of land to nature. This ambitious campaign is about raising awareness and inspiring how our countryside could look in the future for wildlife and people.
KICK-STARTING REWILDING
A reduction in sheep grazing was needed to allow natural processes more free reign on the site. More diverse, functional grazing animals were introduced to the project area to create species diversity and wood pasture habitats. In addition, some manual removal of non-native invasive species and fences was required.
future plans
- Continue monitoring wildlife in partnership with Suffolk Wildlife Trust and RSPB
- Promote rewilding and nature friendly farming to local communities through the Wild East project
The Rewilding Network
The Rewilding Network is the go-to place for projects across Britain to connect, share and make rewilding happen on land and sea.
More about Wild Somerleyton
Find out more about Wild Somerleyton on their website.