Active Sussex Explores Rewilding, Nature Recovery and Green Skills at Knepp Estate

The Active Sussex team visited Knepp Estate to explore environmental sustainability and how nature recovery supports the creation of healthier, more inclusive active spaces.

Set within 3,500 acres of pioneering rewilding near Dial Post, Horsham, the estate provided the ideal setting for a day centred on our Environmental Sustainability Action Plan, particularly the Improving Blue and Green Spaces priority area.

Reflecting on the visit, David Taylor, who leads the Environmental Sustainable agenda at Active Sussex, said: “Visiting Knepp gave us the perfect opportunity to see firsthand the positive impact that improving biodiversity has on both planet and human health. 

“It allowed us to witness how improving a place’s environmental sustainability also makes it a more inclusive, attractive and accessible place to be active in, all whilst protecting it for future generations.”

The day began with a warm welcome by Holly Tuppen from the Knepp Wildland Foundation, whose passion and expertise brought the estate’s 20‑year biodiversity journey vividly to life. 

Holly shared the remarkable history of Knepp’s rewilding project, from the introduction of free‑roaming herbivores and the restoration of grazing ecology, to the return of species such as nightingales, purple emperor butterflies and white storks. 

The estate now stands as one of the UK’s most celebrated rewilding success stories, demonstrating how allowing nature to lead can transform landscapes and strengthen ecosystems.

Weald to Waves: A 100‑mile wildlife corridor for Sussex

Holly also introduced us to the ambitious Weald to Waves project – a vision to create a 100‑mile wildlife corridor stretching from Ashdown Forest to Climping Gap. 

The project invites landowners, organisations and communities to pledge their support in creating a ribbon of connected habitat across more than 20,000 hectares of Sussex.

The project is built around three core goals:

– Creating a nationally significant wildlife corridor of continuous natural habitat.

– Promoting nature as a provider of vital ecosystem services, supported by sustainable farming and reduced pollution.

– Engaging communities across Sussex, helping people understand, enjoy and protect nature so that both people and wildlife can thrive.

The 100 Mile Classroom: Inspiring the next generation

One of the most exciting elements of Weald to Waves is the 100 Mile Classroom, an ambitious landscape learning and upskilling programme that connects young people with nature recovery and green careers.

Holly highlighted why this work matters: access to outdoor learning is limited, schools often lack local case studies, and fewer than 30 percent of young people know what a green job is. 

Barriers are highest in rural, low‑income areas, yet Sussex is emerging as a national leader in nature recovery and urgently needs a skilled future workforce.

The 100 Mile Classroom aims to:

– Match every state secondary school along the corridor with a local outdoor learning site.

– Embed nature recovery into the curriculum through lesson plans and schemes of work.

– Boost teachers’ confidence and knowledge around rewilding and local ecology.

– Create clear pathways into green jobs through volunteering, placements, work experience and paid training.

By September 2026, the project hopes to link 20 state secondary schools with ten core learning sites, building a long‑term pipeline of young nature restorers and environmental leaders.

Guided walk through a living landscape

Both Holly and her colleague Amy Hurn, Weald to Waves Gardens and Greenspaces Coordinator, then led the team on an hour‑long walk through part of the estate. 

Along the way, we spotted white storks soaring overhead, fallow deer moving through the scrub, and pigs turning over the soil – natural behaviours that help shape the evolving landscape. 

We also saw evidence of beavers hard at work, including a freshly built dam along the waterway.

Knepp Estate is a wonderful place for a walk, with free access and a rich variety of landscapes, from wet woodland and rivers to ancient trees, hedgerows and open scrub.

Connecting sustainability and physical activity

The day concluded with a deeper look at our updated environmental sustainability action plan, Healthy Environments. 

Together, we explored how improving environmental sustainability directly supports our mission to create more inclusive, attractive and accessible places for people to be active, while protecting these spaces for future generations.