Isle of Wight Filming Reflection

Here is a reflection on my time spent back home on the Isle of Wight seeing how rewilding could personally impact me and where I live.

The Isle of Wight has already seen rewilding in some ways with the recent reintroduction of six White Tailed Sea Eagles as part of a five-year reintroduction plan

The first interview I did back home was with Jamie Marsh from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. I met Jamie along the Eastern River Yar, a potential rewilding and beaver reintroduction site.

I then met Kinglsey Hollis, a young farmer who grazes his sheep on small bits of land which some believe should be left to rewild. I interviewed Kingsley to explore the other side of the debate and how rewilding potentially clashes with the farming community, and whether the two can work together.

Here is a behind the scenes shot of my interview with Jamie Marsh:

Here is a video diary of my thoughts on my time filming on the Isle of Wight:

Why Rewilding and Reintroduction matter in the UK

Here's a response to some of articles highlighting the environmental benefits and importance of rewilding in the UK:

The Guardian: Rewild a quarter of UK to fight climate crisis, campaigners urge

I was interested to find out how rewilding areas could be used to combat climate change and reduce carbon emissions.

It appears the general idea that re purposing areas of land used for hunting or areas of farmland that don't provide vast benefits could promote the recovery of flora and fauna that could absorb carbon emissions, whilst reducing the carbon footprint of British farmland. A good example of this is Knepp Estate in Sussex.

However, this has been criticised by the British farming community who have their own targets to reduce the carbon footprint of British farmland ad believe that rewilding areas of and will force food producers to look at cheaper options in other countries which do not share the same concerns on climate change.

BBC: How Shropshire ideas may help the angry rewilding debate

This was an interesting article that looked at the rewilding debate holistically and used Shropshire as an example of a happy middle ground in the debate that benefits both sides.

The article discussed the idea of 'green corridors' rather than whole swathes of land being left to rewild making smaller changes to benefit and promote the wildlife already there, especially when it comes to animals such as pine martens which are on the brink of extinction.

BBC: More than a quarter of UK mammals face extinction

Perhaps the most alarming of the three, this article highlights just how rapid the decline of British wildlife is and how many animals are on the brink of extinction.

The fact that 26% of British mammals are dangerously close to extinction shows a great need for restoring wildlife and promoting safe areas for nature to recover.

However, I am curious to discover whether efforts to reintroduce species such as wolves, beavers and bears should be prioritised over promoting the recovery of species such as pine martens which are near extinction and have a large benefit on their environment, for example their ability to control grey squirrel populations which will in turn promote red squirrel populations which are generally too cunning for pine martens to hunt.

Cornwall Beaver Project Filming Reflection

Here is a reflection on my time spent in at Woodland Valley Farm in Ladock, Cornwall, interviewing Chris Jones, a farmer who had introduced beavers to his farm land

I went down to Woodland Valley Farm to interview Chris and film the beavers using camera traps which had been provided to me by, Craig Williams, a friend of mine who studies wildlife photography at Falmouth University and helped me to film, and also has a keen interest in rewilding.

I wanted to find out about the beaver project, what it is about them that Chris was so passionate about, the benefits they bring to farmland and what his motivations were for the project; a love for the animal? to help the farmland? or, perhaps financial gain?

Here is a selection of behind the scenes shots from the filming set up:

Here is a video diary of my thoughts on my weekend in Cornwalll:

Ben Fogle Interview

Award-winning broadcaster, adventurer and United Nations Patron of the Wildnerness, Ben Fogle gave a guest lecture this week at Bournemouth University's Careers Week.

I was able to catch him for a short interview afterward in which he shared his thoughts on rewilding.

You can watch the interview below:

What is your opinion on rewilding?

With so much in the news recently about climate change and global warming, how important could rewilding be?

Public Response

I decided to post a discussion point on the Isle of Wight Nature Facebook group, in which I am a member.

I currently live on the Isle of Wight, where six white-tailed sea agles were reintroduced this summer. This was a big news story and caused some divided opinion; most were excited to sea these eagles as the last breeding pair in the UK was recorded on the Isle of Wight back in 1780, however, some were worried about pets and live-stock being at risk of being hunted by these giant birds of prey.

Here is my original post on the group:

Here are a couple of helpful comments I received: (the names have been removed)

What is Rewilding?

According to Rewilding Britian, rewilding is "the large-scale restoration of ecosystems where nature can take care of itself. It seeks to reinstate natural processes and, where appropriate, missing species – allowing them to shape the landscape and the habitats within."

My documentary has two key focuses: The people who are supporting the push to rewild Britain, and those who are opposed to it. What are the reasons behind their passion? 

The second is the reintroudction of species that have been extinct in the UK for a long time. This adds visual excitement to my project and is one of the main reasons why some are opposed to rewilding, and also provides me with an exciting filming challenge. 

Introduction

What do you think of when I say British wildlife? 

Badgers? Squirrels? Deer?

What if I said Bears? Wolves? And Beavers? You’d think I was making it up?

What if I told you the Peak district could be the next Yellowstone or the Highlands the next Yosemite? 

And, what if I told you this was already happening?

My documentary will not only focus on the reintroduction of species long gone from the British Isles but perhaps, more importantly, the people behind this conservation movement and those opposed to it.

Over the next few months, I will be posting updates on my filming progress as well as interesting discussion points around the topic of rewilding.