Vision & Approach

Our vision is for Moor Barton to be a place of ecological restoration, thriving wildlife and healthy, diverse communities.

 

Our approach to creating this ecological restoration and thriving wildlife is to ensure that the land is made up of a mosaic of ecologically rich habitats. These include wood pasture, hazel coppice, transitional edge and wildflower glades, closed canopy woodland, wetland, veteran trees and conifer woodland.

 

Key to this approach is introducing keystone and functional creatures or, where this is not possible, mimicking the effects these creatures have (or would have had) on the landscape. Humans are part of nature and we believe a populated landscape, in humans taking up their role as a keystone species and ‘tending the wild’. So, as well as mimicking the effects of important missing animals, we use traditional skills and land management practices such as coppicing, hedge laying and grazing animals. These practices increase the biodiversity of the land whilst also contributing toward keeping these ancient skills alive.

 

Principals of permaculture and forest gardening are woven through the way we tend the land and organise the project, drawing on the expertise of many of those involved. We believe that producing food is a responsibility that comes with access to land and we are working to increase the existing abundance of the land for humans and the rest of nature (for example planting and tending local varieties of fruit and nut trees across the site).

 

At Moor Barton Wilding, we aim to create a space where humans and wildlife can thrive together. Humans have a vital role to play in ensuring ecological restoration and thriving wildlife, perhaps in nature depleted landscapes like the UK more than anywhere. At the same time, we know and evidence shows, connection to the natural world supports healthy humans and communities. 

 

Important to our vision is bringing people together to connect to nature, learning about rewilding and be inspired to take action in their own communities. We recognise that access to land and opportunities to engage with the natural world are not equal. Just as we strive to make the flora and fauna communities at Moor Barton ever more diverse, so our intention is that the human community involved in the project is also diverse and inclusive. We welcome people of every race, age, gender, sexuality, physical ability, faith and class.  We know that we still have a long way to go with this and are proactively working to make Moor Barton more accessible and inclusive.