Our philosophy is rooted in the ground-breaking grazing ecology research of Dutch biologist Frans Vera. In ancient landscapes, lost grazers like the aurochs, wild boar and tarpan—and their modern counterparts such as Tamworth pigs, longhorn cattle and Exmoor ponies—shaped habitats by trampling saplings, turning up the soil, and distributing seeds.

His studies also showed that rather than species-poor closed canopy woodlands (as we once thought), much of the country was likely to have been a more open form of woodland pasture driven by these grazing animals. It would have had dynamic, shifting landscapes of open-grown trees, emerging scrub, grazing lawns, groves and thorny thickets. Animals and vegetation would have been involved in a continual battle, with each trying to reclaim the land as their own.

The Knepp Estate, right here in Sussex, has used Vera's teachings to transform their 3500 acre intensively managed farms into one of the most biodiverse spaces in the country and is now home to rare purple emperor butterflies, turtle doves, white storks and even nature's number one landscape engineer, the beaver! 

Unfortunately, rewilding with animals only works if you have a large enough space (a minimum of 25 to 50 acres) with the appropriate number of animals. If you do not own such a large piece of land, as most of us don’t, then not to worry. This is where we come in! Using our chainsaws, brush-cutters and hand tools we will mimic the actions of those browsing animals, replicating the essential disturbance they create,  bringing light and life to your land.