Rewilding At Furnace Brook

What Is Rewilding?

Rewilding is the process of letting nature lead. Restoring the natural systems, habitats & species that allow landscapes to become healthy, diverse & resilient again. Rather than controlling the land, rewilding works with natural processes such as:

  • Regenerating wetlands, rivers & streams

  • Allowing forests & scrub to recover

  • Reintroducing or supporting keystone species

  • Restoring healthy soils

  • Re-establishing natural grazing & disturbance

  • Reducing pollution & human pressures

At its heart, rewilding is about repairing our relationship with nature & allowing ecosystems to flourish in ways that benefit wildlife, people & the climate.

Our Partnership with the Global Rewilding Alliance

Furnace Brook is proud to work alongside the Global Rewilding Alliance, a worldwide network supporting nature-based solutions, ecosystem restoration & community-led rewilding initiatives across more than 100 countries.

This partnership connects Furnace Brook to a global movement & ensures our work follows internationally recognised principles:

  • Science-based restoration

  • Community leadership

  • Respect for local culture & heritage

  • Long-term ecological regeneration

  • Nature-positive economic development

Being part of this alliance places Furnace Brook at the forefront of rewilding innovation in the UK.

Rewilding With Community at the Centre

Our approach to rewilding is grounded in the belief that healthy ecosystems & healthy communities depend on one another.
Our approach blends:

🌿 Ecological Restoration

We restore habitats damaged by pollution and historic land use, using methods such as:

  • Aquatic regeneration of our lake

  • Wetland re-creation

  • Meadow & woodland recovery

  • Soil rebuilding through composting & biochar

  • Regenerative food production

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Community Leadership

Rewilding is more powerful when local people are part of it. We work with:

  • Schools & youth groups

  • Farmers & land-based workers

  • Community volunteers

  • Local organisations & charities

  • Citizen science groups

Our aim is not only to restore nature but to build a nature-literate, resilient community.

🧪 Living Laboratory Approach

Our site serves as an open, working Living Lab, where:

  • Ecologists, researchers & community scientists monitor change

  • Micro-enterprises develop regenerative products & skills

  • Demonstration plots show rewilding techniques in action

  • Visitors can see, learn, & take ideas home

Rewilding becomes something people can touch, see & experience, not just read about.

🌱 Productive & Regenerative Land Use

Rewilding does not mean locking people out of nature. At Furnace Brook, we integrate:

  • Community farming

  • Edible forest gardens

  • Beekeeping

  • Mushroom cultivation

  • Aquatic plant recovery

  • Native tree nurseries

This is rewilding that feeds people while feeding the ecosystem. Some call it Agriwilding.

Where Ideas Take Shape

We believe in doing things differently—with intention, with passion, and with people at the center of it all. Every detail here reflects that mindset.

“The aim of rewilding isn't to turn the ecological clock back in time, but to allow it to actually start ticking again.”

— Eoghan Daltun