‘Man’s best friend’ is becoming an ally of nature too thanks to a novel rewilding project in England.
Furnished with leaky backpacks stuffed with wildflower seeds, dogs are being let loose on an urban nature reserve just outside Lewes, east Sussex. The idea is that they mimic an ecological role vacated by wolves, when the latter was driven to extinction in the UK in the 18th century.
Wolves unwittingly collected seeds in their fur and deposited them all over the UK, creating new colonies of plants. Now Lewes’ dogs are doing the same thanks to an initiative run by the Railway Land Wildlife Trust and the Wilderlife rewilding platform.
