Just two weeks before World Rewilding Day 2025, a significant milestone for the rewilding movement occurred in the Purbecks of Dorset – the first beavers were legally released into the wild!

This landmark change in legislation offers renewed hope for the restoration of the UK’s wildlife and the natural processes essential for creating more sustainable and resilient ecosystems. These changes will help make our water, soil, and food resources stronger in the face of climate change.

Here at Wild Woodbury, we’re proud to be part of this global movement. Our efforts to restore and balance ecosystems are taking shape. We’ve completed vital groundwork to support natural regeneration, including the creation of large brash piles from old, leggy gorse – which, when in large quantities, offers little value for wildlife. These brash piles provide natural protection for tree saplings from deer, create shelter and food sources for various species, and offer perches for singing birds, promoting seed deposition across the site.

Additionally, we’ve blocked field drains with clay and slowed down ditches using analogue beaver dams. These actions have expanded water coverage across the land, resulting in an impressive spread of frogspawn. This, in turn, should attract more reptiles, dragonflies, and birds this summer. The retained water will also serve as a vital refuge for wildlife during droughts. Wild Woodbury is now home to over 1900 species, including 30 species of butterfly, over 280 moth species, and in 2024 we welcomed visits from marsh harrier and wryneck.

Perhaps, in time, we might even see beavers returning to Wild Woodbury!