Based on Isabella Tree’s best-selling book by the same title, Wilding tells the incredible story of a young couple who bet on nature for the future of their failing, four-hundred-year-old estate.
Blessed with inheriting a castle plus five square miles of farmland in West Sussex, the couple continued the family tradition of mixed arable and dairy farming, but the soil was so depleted that yields decreased, year on year. In 2000, faced with these dire circumstances, Isabella and Charlie took a risky decision. Ripping down the fences, they returned the land to nature and entrusted its recovery to a motley mix of animals, both tame and wild. It was the beginning of a grand experiment set to become one of the most significant rewilding experiments in Europe - and beyond.
20 years later, largely by helping nature restore itself, Knepp has become a wildlife haven – and a beacon of hope for nature lovers. In this glorious hope-filled documentary, you will be treated to a stunning vision of the countryside reasserting itself and the wildlife that returned, and continues to return, in abundance.
Please join us to enjoy a screening of the film, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A, to include Molly Biddell, Head of Natural Capital at Knepp Estate; Harvey Jones from South Holt Farm rewilding project; Steve Bolton, Wilder Communities Officer for Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust; and local landowner Tom Morris.
Come along to find out how what’s happening in and around Petersfield. Renaturing and rewilding can be achieved anywhere and at any scale, and you are invited to discover what you can do to help enhance nature connectivity across our landscape.
Wednesday 26th November
The Petersfield School Studio, Cranford Road, Petersfield GU32 3LU
Doors 6.30pm - screening 7pm - discussion 8.15pm – finish 9pm
Refreshments available to purchase
More information about our panelists:
Molly also leads on nature-based solutions for family-run regenerative farming business Hampton Estate near Farnham, facilitates the Upper Adur Farming Cluster group, and is a columnist for Farmers Weekly.
Harvey is a rewilder and entrepreneur with 1250 acres of wildlife sanctuary in the South Downs. He believes that wildlife needs somewhere to live and something to eat, that ‘weeds’ and ‘pests’ have a right to life, and that we have a moral choice to make as a result.
Steve supports communities to take action for nature, covering Basingstoke, Petersfield and Winchester. He facilitates community-led improvements for nature including wildlife surveys and monitoring. He has previously worked for Butterfly Conservation and Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Tom Morris and his partner Ellie have invited nature to reappear at its own pace on a two-acre field near Petersfield Heath, aiming to achieve a diverse meadow rich in wildflowers, insects and mammals - managed only by natural competition and an annual meadow-cut.