Wilding
PBS Western Reserve (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):
Wednesday, April 22, at 10 PM
Thursday, April 23, at 2:30 AM
Based on Isabella Tree’s best-selling book by the same title, WILDING tells the story of a young couple, Charlie Burrell and Isabella Tree, who bets on nature for the future of their failing, 400-year-old estate.
The couple finds that their land and soil, once fruitful and full of life, has been decimated by decades of plowing and chemicals used in the modern farming industry. They discover the land needs a complete overhaul that can only be done by letting it go back to its ancient, natural processes and introducing ancient wildlife species that once roamed there freely. Ripping down the fences, they set the land back to the wild and entrust its recovery to a mix of animals both tame and wild, in the hopes that their beloved family estate can return once again to its former glory and more, showing the audience what the enchanting and ancient countryside of England should be. The film documents this grand experiment which became one of the most significant rewilding experiments in Europe.
The project highlights how tamed animals are adept at leaving their domesticated lives, flourishing in an environment that nurtures them, which in turn changes the landscape, even attracting species back from the verge of extinction. In just twenty years the land is transformed from barren farmland into one of the most important biodiversity hot spots in Britain. This film offers the rarest of things: a story of environmental hope.
