Doing most of our work together from behind a screen, it’s important to the Wild Card team that we get out into the wild together from time to time. This is always a great learning opportunity, but it also acts as both inspiration and motivation. Whenever we have visited a rewilding site, we have been reminded of what our work is all about and are excited to bring the vision of the rewilders we meet to landscapes beyond their own invertebrate and bird filled hedgerows.

We had already been to the iconic Langholm in Scotland and a couple of brilliant projects in England so it was definitely time to take ourselves off to Wales. This felt particularly important to us as Wild Card has recently joined the Welsh Rewilding Alliance. So Poppy, one of our Wales-based Wild Cardigans, set about finding the perfect place and, my goodness, they struck gold with The Grange Project. 

The Grange Project is an 80-acre pocket of wild beauty deep within the Monmouthshire hills. The project was founded in 2023 by Chloe and Tom Constable and in those few years it has already achieved so much thanks to their intelligence, commitment and drive to build a better future for their children and for the wider community. Tom told us that it was the birth of their first child which first connected him to the reality of the climate and biodiversity crisis on more than just a theoretical level. Many of us struggle when faced with this reality. For Chloe and Tom, it spurred them on to take tangible action; to change their lives completely and create something hopeful.

But you would be wrong to think that The Grange Project was set up as some sort of an escape plan. It is far far more than a sliver of serenity hidden away from the rest of society. It is a beacon. Through sharing knowledge via their wilder podcast, inviting people onto their land, and working to benefit the whole community, The Grange Project guides us towards what is possible.

Chloe and Tom do not have a background in ecology. Instead, they are learning through doing. On their podcast they not only share this journey, but they also speak to ecologists, campaigners, and experts from all sorts of backgrounds to explore “a simple but urgent question: what does it really take to create more space for wilder nature?” I have been catching up with previous episodes in my lunch breaks since getting home and highly recommend you check it out. Who doesn’t want to listen to people who love nature talking about their passion?

As well as learning from one another through the podcast, The Grange is also keen to support others working within the rewilding space. Part of the land has been given over to Youngwilders, a youth-led nature recovery project. As we walked around the site, we were able to see where the youngwilders had got stuck in with pond creation, scarifying for wildflowers and tree planting.

Tom has also developed a really exciting offshoot project to help more rewilding sites around the country link up with their supporters and find funding. Using the skills he accrued before he donned his fox-nibbled wellies, Tom created Platform Nature, a mapping website which allows people to sponsor a piece of land that is being restored and be kept up to date with what’s going on there.

It is also really important to Chloe and Tom that The Grange Project doesn’t just support the restoration of nature and create a haven for wild species. Their aim is for it to support people too by creating both rural jobs and producing food. Rewilding sites have often been criticised for taking land out of food production. The Grange Project works with the ambition to eventually produce as much food on their 80 acres as was produced before it become a rewilding site. We didn’t get time to see the market garden at The Grange because we were enjoying hanging out with the pigs too much but we did get to taste some of the produce. Chloe is an incredible cook and I for one felt my mind and body nurtured as I gazed across the land with a warming bowl of soup in my hand or set to work on a delicious main meal. Produce from the market garden is also put to work in their seasonal supper clubs where it’s supplemented with produce bought from other local producers, as well as herbs or berries that are growing wild. For those that like a tipple, there’s also Wilder Gin from the Grange Distillery, another project which helps to create jobs and keep the site financially viable.

There were only two pigs at the site. Tom told us that this is the recommended number for a project of 80 acres and they certainly seemed very content. They aren’t a breed that would necessarily be first choice for a rewilding site. When pigs are reintroduced to rewilded land they are acting as a proxy for the wild boar that we have lost. With this in mind, boar hybrids such as Iron Age Pigs are often preferred. The Oxford Sandy and Black pigs we met might not be quite as effective, but they still go back a long way in the UK landscape and have excellent rootling skills. We certainly saw many places where they had upturned the soil, creating micro-environments in which invertebrates can thrive and wildflowers can emerge. The disturbed ground will also slow the flow of water during heavy rain and hold it back for longer in drier conditions.

The choice not to go with the Iron Age Pigs reveals a second key aim of the project: that of connection. For Chloe and Tom this project is about more than just what happens on the land itself; it is also about what happens to the people who connect with that land. The vision is therefore for a site where both pigs and people can move freely about the site and interact without any fear of one another. Oxford Sandy and Black pigs are far happier to have strange humans around and are therefore less likely to be wary or defensive. This, in turn means that humans can meander wherever they wish along the natural pathways through the Grange, one of which takes you right through the pigs’ favourite patch on your way up to an off grid cabin. This means that you can wish the pigs goodnight as you head off for a very comfortable night’s sleep.

Which brings me to the most exciting part of this year’s meet up for our team. Because this time we didn’t just visit a rewilding site, we stayed in one! With two of us staying in the shepherd huts located within the wild countryside, and the rest of us in Bell Tents near the gorgeous Grange Hub, we were able to rise with the sun and survey the beautiful landscape. This really set us up for the day ahead. 

The Grange Hub was the venue which became our base for working. It’s incredibly well thought out, positioned with excellent views and stocked with a wild library that I could easily get lost in. There are also tables to work on, sofas to chill out on, and access to some really great quality coffee. The Hub is not just for people who work in or for nature, but for anyone who wants a space away from the ordinary. It is the perfect setting for away days and retreats or to lead workshops. There is also the opportunity to have a tour of the site and even get involved in a bit of rewilding or nature connection activities if that fits what you would like to do. The practical rewilding and tour definitely added to our own experience.

Chloe and Tom point to the research demonstrating that connection with wild nature enacts change on a number of different levels. It helps us with our physical and mental health; nurtures creativity and empathy; and it inspires us to enact positive change to address the climate and ecological crises. Whether you visit one of their free open mornings, taste the food from their land, take your work team there for an away day, or book some time out to stay in one of their cabins, there are many ways for you to find connection at The Grange.

But Chloe and Tom’s vision is not just for us, but for the next generation too. This summer they have been hosting young people at the site as part of a new charity project to bring the positive effects of wilder connections to them too. 

There are so many great things going on at The Grange that we left there with more than just memories of bird song, ancient oak trees and pigs. We left with a lot more hope in our hearts too.