Lewes, England — In an urban nature reserve in a small town about two hours south of London, you’ll find Lewes Railway Land Urban Nature Reserve teeming with life, including plenty of humans and their companions.
“We get a lot of people into the reserve, which is what we want, a lot of dog walkers,” Dylan Walker of the Railway Land Wildlife Trust, which manages the green oasis, told CBS News. “Inevitably, that impacts the habitat.”
After years of heavy use, the reserve has suffered somewhat in popularity, losing some native plant species. But Walker hopes bring back this biodiversity.
“We were wondering what we could do here?” Walker said. They found the answer in a backpack, designed specifically for dogs.
CBS News
“We have our seed and sand mix here, our wildflowers and our native grasses, and we’re going to put them inside the package,” Walker explained, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that any seeds deliberately scattered in a natural area must be native to the area.
Small holes allow the seeds inside to fall out as the dogs move around.
Ruthie Martin tested it on her daughter’s golden doodle when she came for a walk in the reserve.
“They don’t care what bag they’re carrying on their backs,” Martin said of the canine seed sowers.
More than 300 years ago, wolves roamed the UK, often travelling up to 100 miles in a single night. Walker says they would collect seeds in their fur and drop them in new locations.
“It’s really cool to have this kind of project where we could use our beloved pets to mimic the behavior of these wild animals,” Martin said.
It’s an idea that originally came from two sisters in Chile, whose backpack-wearing dogs have helped regrow forests destroyed by wildfires.
Organizers in the UK believe it may take a few years to see the full impact of the pilot project on the reserve.
