Project Re=Leave - getting nature back on track
Project Re=Leave was established in 2020 by Carl Mynott with a the sole objective of facilitating the return of overused, unproductive, and exploited land to nature, as swiftly as nature will allow it.
We facilitate relationships between individuals and companies who are looking to build funds to enable them to purchase land from small parcels to entire landscapes so they can put in place light-touch management plans to allow nature to reclaim the land as sympathetically and, of course, as naturally as possible.
We are not about wholesale human-lead land management - we are about the natural, organic reclamation of land by the elements, plants, vertebrate, and invertebrate life which is native to the local area.
Our network of highly experienced environmental scientists and consultants, together with strategic partners specialising in raising finance are focussed on one aim, helping to remove, reduce, and offset the negative impact that our necessary development and progress is having on our planet.
Acquire...
The first step in the process is to identify and acquire suitable parcels of land through fundraising and negotiation. As you might expect, there are numerous challenges in this phase of Project Re=Leave's work.
Availability of suitable parcels of land is unpredictable, as is its cost. Often there is competition from commercial entities who also wish to acquire the land for further exploitation. It is our job to ensure that this happens in as few situations as possible.
Observe...
Once acquired, each parcel of land is surveyed, observed over a period of time to identify and assess its present biodiversity value. We identify precisely which species of plant, bird, insect, mammal and other life are already using the habitat.
It takes a considerable amount of time so undertake our observation activities. Each parcel of land will need to be monitored for at least a whole year, often two years or more, to establish exactly what natural activity is already going on in the habitat. Only once this observation period is complete can we move on to the next step.
Plan...
With the observation period complete, it's time to assess the potential biodiversity that the land can sustain. We help to plan and prioritise precisely what action needs to take place in order to give nature a helping hand in reclaiming the land for itself once more.
In many cases, this may involve very little management at all. This is the optimal situation, there's no need to mess with nature if it is already doing a great job of getting back to business. In some cases, though, it may be necessary to intervene to remove invasive species, or to reinstate diverted water sources, for example.
Allow...
The final step is simply to allow nature to do its work, ensuring that access to and from the land is as free and open as possible, and that means for humans, too. Humans are as much a part of nature as the other organisms that exist in the countryside, and they must be encouraged to understand how to live in harmony with their surroundings.
We believe that it is important for considerate access to Project Re=Leave managed sites to be maintained so that each of us can once again enjoy interacting with the wildflower meadows, wetlands, moorland, woodland, heaths and brecks that once covered the whole of the United Kingdom.