No guest this week. Just Tom and Chloe with a drink, a lot to catch up on, and roughly an hour to get through it all.

It's been 18 months since the last proper project update and quite a lot has happened. 4,000 trees planted. A tiny forest that nearly died twice and is now over six feet tall. A market garden. A distillery in the barn. A charity. Four schools through the gate in one week. And an otter, which felt significant.

This is the third update episode - episode 9 was the start, episode 29 was one year in. This one's the most honest of the three.

What We Cover

Restoring More Nature

The trees, the dragon's nests, and what happens when you prepare the ground properly
Why the tiny forest survived a drought, deer, and voles - and is now extraordinary
The wood meadow: a rare habitat, hand-scythed by the community, and why it matters
The pond that failed, then gave us house martins, a kestrel, and an otter
The pig situation (it got complicated)
The cow debate: October, says Chloe. Tom is less sure
Breeding birds: double the species recorded between 2024 and 2025
Naturfa Pathway: one of four sites selected across Wales by the Welsh Government

Producing More Food

From silage grassland to 50-100+ varieties of fruit and veg - and why that matters for food security
The cathedral polytunnel, the duck pond, the new orchard, and chickens planned for under the trees
Courses launching this summer: market gardening, agroforestry, mushroom growing, seed saving and more
What it actually means when the food you grew feeds the people who came to help grow it

Contributing to the Local Economy

From two tractor drivers twenty days a year to six people working on site
Wilder Spirits: pre-orders open 2 April. The first spirit distilled on a rewilding site in Wales, in a paper bottle
Platform Nature: 20 founding partners from Wildlife Trusts to a koala sanctuary in Australia
The Grange Hub, Wilder Away Days, and why Tom talks about money on a nature podcast
Revenue transparency: what the first six months actually generated

Connecting More People to Wilder Nature

Wilder Connections charity: Chloe's co-design phase with schools across Monmouthshire
What happened when a group of teenagers asked if they could hug a tree
Monthly open days: selling out a month in advance
Hopes for the rest of 2026 - and why Tom wants everyone to slow down a little

Timestamps

00:00 - Tom's opening confession

01:31 - What we said on episode 29, and how much has changed

05:44 - The four pillars explained

07:04 - 28,000 listeners, 125 countries, and someone in Cape Town saving for their own rewilding site

07:53 - PILLAR 1: Restoring More Nature

08:12 - 4,000+ trees, dragon's nests, and the saplings finally breaking through

10:43 - Tiny Forest: 98% survival, over six feet tall, future outdoor classroom

13:59 - Hedgerows: planted, lost to drought, replanted

15:36 - Wood Meadow: what it is, why it's rare, and a lot of hand-scything

18:44 - Deer: why culling became unavoidable, and the experiment with over-planting

22:24 - The pond that collapsed - and then gave us house martins, a kestrel and an otter

26:39 - Voles everywhere, and what doubling bird species in one year actually means

27:13 - Pigs: what went wrong, what's coming next, and the ecological case for them

31:21 - The cow debate

33:54 - Welsh Rewilding Alliance: founding members

34:02 - Naturfa Pathway: recognised by the Welsh Government

35:05 - PILLAR 2: Producing More Food

35:37 - How a market garden ended up being run by the people who said they wouldn't run it

37:47 - Ducks, chickens, and the orchard

41:54 - 50-100+ varieties: why growing diversity is also food security

43:29 - From least to most efficient food production on the same land

44:33 - PILLAR 3: Contributing to the Local Economy

44:33 - Wilder Spirits: the distillery, the story, the paper bottle, 2 April

47:13 - Mark, Sandy, and why six people working on site matters

48:18 - Platform Nature: what it is, who's using it, and where it's going

52:31 - The Grange Hub: opened by the Future Generations Commissioner

53:13 - Wilder Away Days: NHS to corporate

55:23 - Why talking about money is part of the project

56:38 - Cabins: off Airbnb, direct only, and why that was the right call

57:34 - Revenue transparency: the real numbers from the first six months

58:39 - PILLAR 4: Connecting More People to Wilder Nature

58:58 - Wilder Connections: what the charity is, and why Chloe built it

01:01:11 - Four schools in one week

01:02:01 - Teenagers, sticks, and what co-design actually looks like

01:04:10 - The oak tree moment

01:05:38 - Open days: what they are, and why April sold out a month early

01:06:35 - Hopes for the rest of 2026

Links and Resources

The Grange Project

grangeproject.co.uk

Wilder Spirits - pre-orders open 2 April 2026

wilderspirits.co.uk

Wilder Connections - Chloe's charity for nature connection in young people

wilderconnections.charity

Wilder Away Days - nature-centred corporate experiences

wilderawaydays.co.uk

Platform Nature - tools for nature restoration projects

platformnature.com

Leave Curious - Rob's rewilding YouTube channel (120,000 subscribers)

https://www.youtube.com/@CuriousLeave

Dayhike Magazine - the magazine Tom said had him turning every page

dayhike.co.uk

Book an open day or open morning at the Grange Project

grangeproject.co.uk

Previous Update Episodes

Episode 9 - Building the Ultimate Mosaic: A Grange Project Update
https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/wilder-podcast/ep-009-building-the-ultimate-mosaic-a-grange-projectnbspupdate
Episode 29 - Failure and Success: 12 Months of Rewilding at the Grange Project
https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/wilder-podcast/ep-029-failure-and-success-12-months-of-rewilding-at-the-grange-project

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#138 "Keld Heick har skrevet alle sange i verden" med Per Sodemann