Our story
Boothby Wildland in Lincolnshire is one of three wildlands owned by nature restoration company Nattergal, who are pioneering the commercialisation of nature restoration to help deliver the “30% by 2030” global biodiversity framework goal.
Boothby Wildland was Nattergal's first rewilding site, encompassing 617 hectares of arable land with diverse grade 3 soil types. Since its purchase in 2021, we have been gradually phasing out intensive cereal farming, systematically withdrawing fields from agricultural production. Small, species-rich nature hotspots at its periphery are beginning to expand and reclaim the less productive monoculture fields. The next step is to restore the West Glen River through 'rewiggling' and beaver introductions, improving ecological dynamics and reducing local flooding. In time, free-roaming herbivores will be introduced to catalyse essential ecological functions and support the recovery of the ecosystem.
Our advice
Before we started...
At Nattergal, we have used the inspiration and evidence of Knepp Wildland to come up with a model that provides real solutions for nature recovery. It can be used at scale and in multiple regions around the world, from the seabed to coastal wetlands to ecologically degraded, low-yielding farmland.
Our values are Nature First, Collaboration and Act Local.
Along the way...
Community engagement has been a critical part of our approach to managing Boothby Wildland. We are very lucky to have an exceptionally supportive local community and some wonderful regular volunteers. Our initiatives have included:
- Early community workshop to exchange ideas and develop a vision for Boothby
- Weekly volunteering opportunities
- Free monthly walk and talk events
- Free workshops and film screenings
- An annual summer event for families
- Project based engagement, for example online and in-person consultations for our river restoration plans
- Interactive initiatives such as our current Summer of Art
- Monthly newsletter
- Facebook page
Working closely with local and national specialist organisations has also ensured that we apply the latest best practice. Our partners and advisors have included the Knepp Estate, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, Rewilding Britain, Natural England, the Environment Agency, DEFRA, the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Nottingham and Gloucester, and many more.
Looking back...
Robust stakeholder engagement has definitely been crucial to our success. The support of our community and the insights from like-minded organisations have been invaluable.
Our Changeprint
Our Changeprint can be measured by hectares of land transitioned from intensive farming to rewilding; increase in species richness or sightings of key indicator species; number of volunteers and hours committed; number of workshop participants; attendance at community events; and the number of organisations actively involved in supporting or advising us. Monitoring methods have included: bird-ringing; audio moths; camera traps; drone footage; habitat and botanical surveys; bird, butterfly, and bee surveys; bioacoustic monitoring for birds and bats, and an interactive Wild Map.
