Dogs wearing backpacks are being mobilised to rewild an urban nature reserve in Lewes | Rewilding

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 United Kingdom around 1760, they were known to roam large areas, typically travelling 20km or more each night.

In doing so, wolves inadvertently pick up wildflower and grass seeds in their fur, dispersing them miles away and helping to establish new plant colonies, which is vital for biodiversity and thriving ecosystems.

The Railway Land Wildlife Trust project in Lewes, funded by Ouse Valley Climate Action, aims to recreate this ecological benefit by equipping local dogs with seed-filled backpacks to help them re-seed the landscape. The project is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.

Project leader Dylan Walker said: “We’re really interested in rewilding processes, but they often involve reintroducing large herbivores like bison or wild horses. In a smaller urban nature reserve, it’s very difficult to do that. So to replicate the effect that these animals have on the ecosystem, we looked to use the large number of dog walkers who visit the nature reserve on a daily basis.”

Lewes’ project builds on a previous project in Chile in 2019, in which two women and their three dogs planted seeds in areas of the country devastated by wildfires. Walker saw an opportunity to follow in their footsteps after seeing that an area of ​​the local reserve had been badly degraded by constant traffic.

Dog walkers can pick up dog backpacks filled with seeds from staff members, with holes in each packet helping to deposit the seeds as the dog explores the environment. “We mixed the seeds with sand not only to help the seeds go further, but it’s also proving really helpful in allowing us to track where the dogs are depositing the seeds as well,” Walker said.

Because dogs are able to cover more ground than humans and can better reach harder-to-reach areas, wildflower seeds are more widely distributed across the landscape and germination is likely to be more efficient.

Cressida Murray, a dog owner taking part in the project, said: “I signed up because it seemed like a perfect fit. I was asked to put a harness on my chocolate cocker spaniel called Bertie and he ran around spreading seeds like wolves did many years ago.”

Although the project is still in its early stages, Walker said: “We have already started to see seeds germinating in some areas, but most of the seeds distributed by the dogs are perennials, which take a few years to establish and flower, so hopefully next year we will see clearer results.”

“A community project like this not only raises awareness and educates people about the ecological impacts of wildlife, but also allows us to enrich our wildlife and environment.”