Urban nature reserves in the UK recruit dogs equipped with backpacks to restore biodiversity

Previously wolves in Britain were hunted to extinctionBy the 1760s, they roamed large areas, often traveling 20 km or more each night. In doing so, wolves inadvertently pick up wildflower and grass seeds in their fur, spreading them many miles away and helping to establish new colonies of plants, establishing a partnership that is vital for biodiversity and ecosystem prosperity.

The Railway Land Wildlife Trust project in the town of Lewes, funded by Ouse Valley Climate Action, seeks Recreate this ecological advantage Equipping local dogs with backpacks filled with seeds to help regrow the landscape. The project is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

The project manager, Dylan Walker, told the Guardian that wildlife reintroduction processes often involve reintroducing large herbivores, such as bison or wild horses, but in a small urban nature reserve, this is very difficult to do. “So, to replicate the impact these animals have on the ecosystem, we tried to use the large number of dog walkers who visit the nature reserve daily.”

Lewis’s project is based on a project carried out in Chile in 2019, in which two women, with the help of their three dogs, planted seeds in areas of the country that had been devastated by forest fires. The seeds are mixed with sand to help them travel further and also allow the project to track where the dogs are depositing the seeds.

Although the project is still in its infancy, Walker said they have already begun Watch Seed Germination in some areas. “Community projects like this not only help get people involved and teach them about the ecological impacts of wildlife, but also allow us to enrich our wildlife and environment in the process.”