Backpack-wearing dogs are being enlisted to “act like wolves” to help rewild an urban nature reserve in the East Sussex town of Lewes.
Before wolves were persecuted to extinction in the UK in about 1760, they were known to roam large areas, typically covering 12 miles (20km) or more each night.
In doing so, wolves would inadvertently pick up wildflower and grass seeds in their fur, dispersing them many miles away and helping establish new colonies of plants, which is vital for biodiversity and for ecosystems to thrive.
The project by the Railway Land Wildlife Trust in Lewes, funded by Ouse Valley Climate Action, aims to recreate this ecological benefit by equipping local dogs with seed-filled backpacks to help reseed the landscape. The project is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK.
Dylan Walker, the manager behind the scheme, said: “We’re really interested in rewilding processes, but they often involve reintroducing big herbivores like bison or wild horses. In a smaller urban nature reserve it’s really hard to do those things. So, to replicate the effect that those animals have on the ecosystem we aimed to utilise the vast number of dog walkers that are visiting the nature reserve daily.”
The project in Lewes builds upon a previous project in Chile in 2019 in which two women, helped by their three dogs, planted seeds in areas across the country that had been devastated by wildfires. Walker saw an opportunity to follow in their footsteps after observing that an area of the local reserve had become heavily degraded by constant footfall.
Dog walkers can pick up dog backpacks containing seeds from staff members, with holes in each pack helping deposit the seed as the dog explores the environment. “We mixed the seed with sand not only to help the seed go further, but it also proves to be really helpful in allowing us to track where the dogs are depositing the seeds as well,” Walker said.
As dogs are able to cover more ground than humans and can better reach harder to access areas, the wildflower seeds are spread more widely across the landscape and germination is likely to be more effective.
Cressida Murray, a dog owner who is taking part in the project, said: “I signed up because it sounded like such a good fit. I was asked to place a harness on my chocolate cocker spaniel called Bertie and he ran around spreading seeds like wolves used to do many years ago.”
While it is still early days in the project, Walker said: “We’ve already started to see seed germination in some areas, but most of the seeds that have been distributed by the dogs are perennials, which take a couple of years to establish and flower so hopefully next year we’ll see some clearer results.
“A community-based project like this not only helps engage and teach people about the ecological impacts of wildlife but also allows us to make our wildlife and environments richer in the process.”
