The Knepp Rewilding Project

In 2001 the Knepp Castle Estate started the transition from extensive arable and dairy farming to a pioneering process-led conservation project. And so began the rewilding of 3,500 acres in Sussex. Natural processes have been restored with large herbivores moving freely in the landscape, as they would have a few thousand years ago.  Longhorn cattle, Tamworth pigs, Exmoor ponies, fallow, roe and red deer imitate their ancestors. Each species affects the vegetation in different ways which creates a mosaic of habitats from open grassland through to regenerating scrub. Penny Green, Knepp’s ecologist, will share the journey of this rewilding project and the extraordinary results of the project so far, with some headline success stories including nightingales, turtle doves and purple emperors.