Wye Valley Wilding visit to The Grange Project
As the WVW group arrived at the Grange Project we drove through a monumental downpour and we had visions of spending the morning sheltering in a barn. Spirits lifted when, as the last attendees arrived the rain abated and did not return that morning.
We were greeted by the driving forces behind the project, Tom and Chloe Constable who introduced the Grange Project and discussed their rewilding ambitions and how the project aims to enable community engagement, youth participation, educational activities as well as providing space for small businesses in the converted barns. It was inspiring to hear how a rewilding project can have such ambition beyond the environmental benefits we associate with rewilding.
The Grange Project is situated in a beautiful natural bowl with the farm house at its centre. Tom and Chloe guided us around the land pointing out the biodiverse wetland, the profusion of ancient oaks (one dramatically half collapsed and providing a rich new habitat), some limited tree planting and scrape digging as well as introducing the group to the Project’s most charismatic residents, the pigs, who have already had a dramatic influence through their extensive rootling.
The Constables are also experimenting with the Japanese concept of a “Tiny Forest” – it will be interesting to see how this evolves in a rewilding project rather than the urban / park context with which it is more frequently associated.
There was much to discuss about this imaginative project over tea and cakes, kindly provided by the Constables and we are excited to follow its progress.
