Think big, act wild, goes the strapline at Rewilding Britain, which Sara King puts into practice every day. As well as advising UK rewilding hotspots, she coordinates the Rewilding Network, a community of trailblazers with a vision for a wilder Britain
Sara King – rewilding manager at Rewilding Britain
It was a family of beavers that inspired Sara King’s career choice. Now a manager at Rewilding Britain, the charity restoring the nation’s ecosystems, King had been working as an ecological consultant when she visited a beaver enclosure in Devon.
She was astounded by the complexity of the wetlands these industrious furry mammals had created there. “It was a turning point that took me on the rewilding journey I’m on now,” she says. “Seeing nature return to this small fenced enclosure made me think: ‘I don’t think we [as humans] would have been able to create such an amazing wetland if we’d designed this and got the diggers out and created it ourselves.’ [I realised that] keystone species like beavers can actually restore nature much better than we can.”
Working at Rewilding Britain often leaves her in awe of what can happen, she says, “when we put nature in the driving seat, rather than trying to control it”. Take the Knepp Estate in Sussex, which is now home to the largest colony of purple emperor butterflies in the UK, thanks to the sallow scrub emerging there after almost 25 years of rewilding. The triumph has challenged traditional wisdom that these spectacular butterflies prefer woodland habitats.
Working at Rewilding Britain often leaves King in awe of what can happen, she says, 'when we put nature in the driving seat, rather than trying to control it'
“I trained as an ecologist, and we were kind of taught that we knew everything about species,” King says. “But rewilding is broadening our knowledge of nature in Britain, and throwing in some surprises along the way, which is super exciting.”
King’s current role involves supporting landowners and land managers to rewild land, giving them practical advice and helping them connect with others to share knowledge and ideas. Visiting rewilding projects is one of the many perks of her job: “It’s great to be able to get outdoors and hear the birdsong, the buzz and the abundance of insects, and to see herbivores, like cattle and ponies and pigs interacting with these landscapes.”
Even when she’s not working, King finds joy in what rewilding can achieve. While on holiday in north-east Poland last November, she saw three male elk wandering through a field – part of a growing population that’s being supported by wetlands, forests and meadows. “It was the perfect sunset,” she recalls. “Elk are big and charismatic, and it’s really magical to be in their presence.”
Rewilding is broadening our knowledge of nature in Britain, and throwing in some surprises along the way, which is super exciting
Nature is “transformational” for our wellbeing, King fervently believes, and she feels fortunate to be able to see others experience the benefits through community engagement programmes. Rewilding is still a relatively new concept, but she is optimistic to see the movement gathering momentum and offering an antidote to eco anxiety.
“People often say nature is fragile,” she says, “but seeing what rewilding can do – whether it’s species coming back and creating dynamic landscapes, or changing grazing to allow more natural regeneration of woodland – shows that nature can be resilient.
“Even in Britain, one of the most nature-depleted countries, if we give nature the space and the conditions it needs, and a little bit of a helping hand, it can bounce back. That’s something to be hopeful about.”
Main image: Katherine Gulika
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12 %
of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions could be captured by restoring and protecting native woodland, peatlands, heaths and species-rich grasslands over 30% of Britain -
83 %
of the British public now support rewilding, according to polling by YouGov
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