Wilder Conference & Awards 2023

If interested, please purchase your ticket first before submitting RSVP.

Consider joining Stewart at the Wilder Conference & Awards 2023 in Portsmouth. The conference is for everyone that has an interest in the restoration of nature and our environment. Organised by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) it will celebrate the progress made in the first three years of the Trust’s Wilder 2030 strategy. Debate will ensure on what needs to happen now to put our land, rivers, and sea back into recovery before the end of the decade and a range of speakers from non-governmental and governmental organisations have been booked to talk on a wide range of environmental restoration issues. A full programme will be released closer to the event by the Trust and I will contact attendees at the appropriate time. Since the conference will last up to six hours, attendees can leave whenever they wish.

Ticket are available by donation (a suggested £10 - £20) and can be booked online at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wilder-conference-awards-2023-tickets-675121987037?aff=oddtdtcreator

The CEO of the HIWWT Debbie Tann, will be joined by staff and special guest speakers including:

• James Wallace, CEO of River Action,
• Jim Murray, actor & founder of Activist Anglers,
• Mandy Lieu, owner and founder of Ewhurst Park biodiversity project,
• Francesca Cooper & Hollie Fallick, Nunwell Home Farm
• Kate Rice, Southern Water
• Ian Boyd, Arc Biodiversity & Climate
• Jo Heath, Hampshire County Council
• Alison Potts, Natural England

The Trust President and co-presenter of Springwatch, Megan McCubbin, will present the Wilder Awards immediately following the conference, celebrating the incredible achievements of individuals, groups, & organisations making a difference for wildlife & the environment.

Background information to some of the organisations attending: River Action was launched in 2021 and has led a number of high profile campaigns which have materially increased public awareness of the pollution crisis facing our rivers, and the failure of Government funded environmental agencies to address this. Its prime focus is to target food production companies whose supply chains are complicit in the increasing volume of river pollution caused by the run-off of nutrient rich agricultural waste. However, wherever our precious rivers are being abused by polluters, River Action will be campaigning to raise awareness and seek remedy. Activist Anglers are led by actor, and an active ambassador for The Angling Trust and Atlantic Salmon Trust, Jim Murray, with the aim of applying pressure where required to clean up our waterways. Ewhurst Park biodiversity project is a 364 hectare estate at Ramsdell in Hampshire, which looks to renew our relationship with nature through rewilding and restoring natural processes. The estate will change its approach to management, moving from arable land, a biomass plantation and sheep grazing to a dynamic and ever changing landscape supporting a rich abundance of wildlife. Similar to the Knepp estate in Sussex, the mission of the Ewkhurst Park biodiversity project is to encourage the return of nature, through changing its grazing and management practices, and produce local food in an edible landscape. Low numbers of cattle, horses and pigs will be introduced to the area to mimic natural grazing, and additional habitat restoration will create a burst of new habitats for wildlife and people to enjoy. Restoring our connection with nature is also important, and tourism and education programmes are central to the plans. Nunwell Home Farm is located on the Isle of Wight and is run by two young women on a mission to rewrite the farming blueprint. Tackling climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and UK food production they are striding out and coming up with their own concept of what it means to farm holistically. Challenging mainstream orthodoxy, they believe that nature restoration and protection can sit right alongside food production and have a positive symbiotic relationship. By utilising methods of Nature Friendly Farming, Regenerative agriculture and Circular Design they will bring back the wild into this landscape, grow nutrient dense food for our local community and bring the public on board through education, social media and farm access. By integrating animals into their land management systems they can utilise them to positively impact our environment whilst producing food. Arc Biodiversity & Climate is at the forefront of new thinking in environmental consultancy, integrating ecology, landscape, communities and development to shape better places for people and wildlife. Natural England is the government’s adviser for conserving nature and the natural environment in England.