At the suggestion of SENS, Staveley Roundhouse recently hosted a screening of Wilding, a thought-provoking documentary about one of the UK’s most pioneering rewilding projects.
The film tells the story of Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell and their decision to step away from conventional farming at their 3,500-acre Knepp estate in West Sussex. Faced with a struggling farm and depleted land, they took the radical decision to give nature the opportunity to recover, allowing natural processes and free-roaming animals to reshape the landscape.
The screening was very well supported, bringing people together at the Roundhouse to explore some of the ideas behind rewilding and the recovery of biodiversity.
One of the film’s most striking messages was the interconnectedness of the natural world. From the mycorrhizal networks and life within the soil, through insects and birds, to the larger animals roaming freely across Knepp, Wilding demonstrates how every part of the ecosystem plays a role in the health of the whole.
Rather than presenting nature as a collection of separate species, the film explores the complex web of relationships that allows ecosystems to flourish and asks what can happen when we give nature the space and opportunity to take the lead. Watch the trailer here
The collaboration between the Roundhouse and SENS will be seeking to bring more films like this to Staveley in the future.