‘Hold your nerve and trust nature’: birds, bats and butterflies rebound at Somerset rewilding farm

Letting nature take over at a former dairy farm has resulted in a surge of species in just three years

Three years of rewilding on a former dairy farm in east Somerset have seen recorded bird species soar from 67 to 94, butterfly species rise from 11 to 24 and small mammals grow in number.

Heal Somerset, the first site acquired by the charity Heal Rewilding, has produced a state of nature report mirroring a national survey by environmental charities that has tracked the decline in nature.