Inspiration Sites
At Nattergal, we have used the inspiration and evidence of our sister companies, Knepp Estate and Highlands Rewilding, to establish a model that provides real solutions for nature recovery. It can be used at scale and in multiple regions around the world, from the seabed to coastal wetlands to ecologically degraded, low-yielding farmland.
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Knepp was the first major lowland rewilding project in England, founded by Charlie Burrell and Isabella Tree. It comprises 1,400 hectares (3,500 acres) of former arable and dairy farmland on the Knepp Estate, in West Sussex. Since 2000, the estate has been using free-roaming grazing animals and the restoration of dynamic natural water systems to create new habitats for wildlife. It has become a beacon for nature restoration in the UK, demonstrating how cataclysmic declines in wildlife can be reversed in a very short space of time.In just 20 years, Knepp has become a breeding hotspot for some of the UK’s most threatened species, including nightingales and turtle doves. The sheer volume of life that has returned to Knepp is shifting ecological baselines, providing greater ambition for conservation.
Studies have also shown that Knepp has doubled its soil carbon and microbial biomass since embarking on rewilding, and provides other ecosystem services such as water purification and flood mitigation.
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A mass ownership company with the purpose of “nature recovery and community prosperity through the scaling of rewilding, in the Highlands of Scotland.” Founded in 2020 by Jeremy Leggett, a former Director of Greenpeace, and founder of the solar PV company Solarcentury; it is introducing rewilding and nature restoration practices on three Scottish estates.
Their initial baseline work on the Bunloit Estate using the most advanced natural capital modelling companies and technologies available was summarised in the 2021 Natural Capital Report, released at COP26 to wide acclaim.
“At Knepp Castle, West Sussex, over the last 20 years, we have experienced a remarkable – some would say, miraculous – resurgence of wildlife, including some of the rarest species in the UK. It is certainly on a scale I had never imagined possible. The sheer abundance of species and complexity of the habitats that have emerged at Knepp since we allowed our depleted, unprofitable farmland to revert to nature is astounding. Rewilding brings back life”
Sir Charlie Burrell
Partners
We are lucky enough to be supported by some of the most impactful and innovative nature restoration organisations, research academics and companies working in the emerging UK natural capital market.
