A North Yorkshire estate has agreed to rewild large swathes of its arable land as part of a new 30-year restoration project.
Castle Howard Estate has signed up to a project with the Environment Bank which will see 440-acres of low-yielding arable land rewilded.
The project will see the estate invest in habitat enhancement and regeneration in a bid to boost biodiversity over a period of over 30 years.
Environment Bank says the project will "transform arable land to a mosaic of newly created grassland, shrubland, ponds and reedbeds, whilst enhancing streams, ditches and woodlands".
It will also include "sustainable grazing livestock, rewilding species like beavers and seeding local plant species to attract rare native birds back to the area, such as turtle doves".
Lawyers at Briketts, who advised the estate on the move, said the project would likely set to set the bar for diversification of land and future nature share initiatives.
Daisy Darell, of Birketts estates team, said: “This initiative sets the trend for future nature shares projects and demonstrates to the rural community what is possible in terms of diversification within an estate’s portfolio.
"In the Castle Howard collaboration, a substantial biodiversity uplift is expected on the estate as a consequence of the nature shares initiative, which is fantastic for nature."
The project is expected to yield nearly 200% in biodiversity uplift and capture over 30,000 tonnes of CO2e over the next three decades.
It comes as rewilding campaigners recently announced plans to introduce a herd of tauros cattle - a giant breed bred resembling the ancient aurochs - onto a Scottish estate.
Trees for Life's project would be a UK-first, with the immediate aim of it to boost biodiversity, but outcomes like meat production and agri-tourism could be explored later.
The rewilding charity aims to introduce a herd of up to 15 tauros from the Netherlands to its 4,000-hectare Dundreggan estate, near Loch Ness, in 2026.
