Sustainable development
Bader College launches major rewilding initiative at Herstmonceux Castle Estate
September 24, 2026
Share
The official launch of the rewilding project will take place on October 25 and 26 at Herstmonceux Castle Estate. (Jonathan Perugia)
Queen’s University and Bader College have begun an ambitious long-term rewilding project at Herstmonceux Castle Estate, which will transform 240 acres of ecologically depleted farmland on the 600-acre estate into a biodiversity haven and create new opportunities for research, teaching and learning, and collaboration.
The project will be led in partnership with Nattergal, a leading nature restoration company in the U.K., and funded through the sale of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) credits, bringing in revenue and supporting both the environmental and financial sustainability of the castle estate.
Advancing nature recovery, climate resilience, and research and teaching, the rewilding initiative supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 15 (Life on Land), and contributes to biodiversity targets under the U.K.’s Environment Act 2021.
“Herstmonceux Rewilding demonstrates how Queen's can contribute to addressing global challenges through collaboration and learning,” says Patrick Deane, Principal and Vice-Chancellor. “It also advances the ambitions of our Bicentennial Vision by giving students and researchers opportunities to deepen our understanding of nature recovery, biodiversity, and sustainability. What they learn through this work in the U.K. will strengthen research and learning at Queen’s and help inform approaches to environmental stewardship in other contexts.”
BNG and working with Nattergal
Biodiversity Net Gain is an environmental policy, in place since 2024 and used in the U.K.’s planning system, which aims to ensure new developments leave nature in a measurably better state than they found it. The legislation mandates new development projects to deliver a minimum 10 per cent increase in biodiversity relative to the pre-development state, and to deliver this gain either on-site or off-site. The castle estate will be one of the sites for which developers can purchase BNG units off-site.
Nattergal owns and manages large-scale rewilding sites across Essex, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire. At Herstmonceux, the nature restoration company will support habitat restoration, land management, and ecological monitoring. Its monitoring program will track changes in land use over time and provide data to support research, reporting, and decision-making.
Nattergal will manage the sale of the BNG credits for the estate. A Conservation Covenant is a legal requirement and will be established to ensure the long-term protection of the land for a minimum of 30 years.
What rewilding means at Herstmonceux
Rewilding at Herstmonceux involves actively supporting natural processes across the estate. This includes careful monitoring, managed grazing, habitat restoration, and long-term stewardship to promote nature recovery.
The project will transform large sections of the estate, historically leased to farmers, into a diverse landscape of grassland, scrub, wetlands, woodland, and wood pasture.
“Herstmonceux Rewilding will create richer habitats for plants, insects, birds, mammals, and other wildlife,” says Matthew Evans, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic). “It will help the estate address broad environmental challenges, including habitat loss, soil degradation, the need for landscapes that retain water, store carbon, and support biodiversity, and of course, climate change.”
The nature restoration plan will strengthen ecological connections to the Pevensey Levels, a wetland of international and national conservation importance, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and an internationally protected Ramsar site. Free-roaming herbivores, such as cattle and pigs, will be introduced and will help shape the maturing habitats, with buffer zones and fencing planned in consultation with local stakeholders and farmers.
Students and researchers will track landscape changes over time by studying biodiversity recovery, soil health, water, carbon, land use, and habitat development. (Jonathan Perugia)
A living laboratory for Queen’s
Located within the 600-acre Herstmonceux Castle Estate, Bader College offers teaching spaces, laboratories, accommodation, historic buildings, gardens, woodlands, and open landscapes. The rewilding project will establish a long-term nature recovery site within this academic setting.
“Herstmonceux Rewilding reflects what makes Bader College distinctive within Queen’s. It connects teaching, research, and place in a manner few campuses can,” says Provost Evans, who is also Interim Director of Bader College. “Students and researchers will be able to study environmental change directly while contributing to the long-term stewardship of a remarkable historic estate.”
Nattergal’s Natural Capital Monitoring program will support the project, providing Queen’s and partner institutions with a site for fieldwork, ecological monitoring, and applied research. Students and researchers will track landscape changes over time by studying biodiversity recovery, soil health, water, carbon, land use, and habitat development.
For Bader College, the project advances its commitment to place-based learning. It offers students and researchers a long-term site to integrate teaching, fieldwork, and research as changes unfold.
Community, access, and launch event
The rewilding project will prioritise community engagement. Bader College, Herstmonceux Castle Estate, and Nattergal will work with local groups, farmers, neighbours, and stakeholders as plans progress. New trails will expand public access, and volunteering opportunities will enable community members to support conservation.
The official launch will take place on October 25 and 26 at Herstmonceux Castle Estate, bringing together Queen’s senior leaders, faculty, students, alumni, project partners, and members of the Bader College and Herstmonceux Castle Estate communities.
To learn more about the project and opportunities to engage with Herstmonceux Rewilding, visit the Herstmonceux Castle Estate website and the Bader College website.
