Alne WI Open Meeting ...

The Alne Women’s Institute had a wonderful turnout on Wednesday evening in the village hall. Much appreciation to everyone who attended to hear the fascinating presentation on rewilding the UK efforts by Alwyn Craven and Tom Hook from the Forest of Flowers in Huby. They explained how the work they started in 2015 has transformed a 100-acre area of old farmland into a haven for wildlife.

The planting of 42,000 trees, alongside 35 native wildflower species, has created a thriving ecosystem, benefiting pollinators, birds and a diverse range of native wildlife. This beautiful rewilding conservation project is working to reverse the effects of the shocking decline of wildlife over the years.

Some shocking figures include:

• 500,000 countryside ponds lost since 1920's

• 97% wildflower meadows lost since the 1930's

• Over 50% of hedgerows lost snce the 1950's

• 44 milion breeding birds lost between 1967 and 2009

• 25% drop in moth abundance since the 1970's

• 97% drop in turtle doves numbers between 1995 and 2021

The Forest of Flowers holds many themed guided tours throughout the year, including a dawn chorus walk, Spring wildflower walks, dragonfly spotting and identification tour, bat walks, and more. For more information on rewilding the UK, visit their website. Every Monday morning, visitors are welcome to join their volunteer program and assist in this wonderful project.























To read more about the Forest of Flowers and rewilding the UK, pick up a copy of the paper from your nearest stockist.

To view archived news stories please click here.