Overgrowth is a gathering for young people to connect and build our collective capacity as environmental stewards

About Overgrowth

Overgrowth South is a youth rewilding summit hosting by Youngwilders in collaboration with the Knepp Wildland Foundation. Overgrowth exists to allow young people (18-30) to teach, inspire and help each other build our generation's capacity as environmental stewards.

This year, Overgrowth will take place across two days at the Knepp Estate, with camping in the Wild Futures educational camping area at the heart of Knepp's rewilding project. There will be discussions, walks, talks, workshops, games, show and tells, spaces to unwind, peer learning and a host of other elements.

About Knepp

Knepp Wildland is a 3,500 acre estate in West Sussex, and one of the most significant and successful rewilding experiments in the world. Since 2001, the land – once intensively farmed - has been managed in line with rewilding principles, and has seen massive increases in biodiversity, with rare species like turtle doves, nightingales and purple emperor butterflies seeing nationally unique bouncebacks. It’s a thrilling window into the thrumming, life-rich environment that would have characterised our countryside before major human disruption, and that with careful work could characterise our countryside again in the decades to come.

About Youngwilders and the ‘Overgrowth’ Initiative

Youngwilders is a non-profit doing youth-led nature recovery work. Our mission is to accelerate UK nature recovery and (2) involving young people in the process and movement.

‘Overgrowth’ is a space for wild ideas - bringing people together to reconnect with nature, each other and our role as environmental stewards. Through big events, a zine and online sessions, we explore creative, fun, and unconventional ways to grow our capacity for shaping a wilder, more connected future.

What to expect

Overgrowth is a space for young people to lead the conversation around the state of nature in the UK. Everything across the weekend will be led by young people 30 and under!

There will be talks on a variety of nature and conservation topics, with speakers varying from up-and-coming to major players. There will also be a series of youth-led workshops, ranging from sessions on field ID skills, bird, bat and moth walks to activities focused around nature-based arts and crafts.

The Saturday walks will be run by the Knepp Wildland Foundation's Young Guides and will give you a chance to experience Knepp’s rich mosaic of habitats and the critters that inhabit them. You will also have the opportunity to explore Knepp on foot in a less guided capacity throughout the weekend.

Aside from the organised activities, Overgrowth will include many moments of unstructured downtime to allow attendees to talk with one another, and sit and take in the beautiful natural surroundings Knepp has to offer.

Programme Outline

Saturday 6th September

10:00-11:00: Arrival and meet & greet

11:00-12:00: Youngwilders and Knepp welcome

12:00-14:30: Guided tour of Knepp and lunch

14:30-17:30: Afternoon panel, workshops and downtime

17:30-19:30: Putting up tents + chilling

19:30-20:30: Dinner

20:30-22:00: Optional night school activities

Sunday 7th September

7:00-8:30: Optional early morning activities

8:30: Breakfast

10:00-12:30: Field ID sessions

12:30-14:30: Lunch and workshops

14:30-16:30: Collaborative group exercise

16:30-17:30: Downtime

17:30: Hometime

The venue

The event will be hosted from: Knepp Wild Futures Site, Countryman Lane, Dial Post, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 8PZ

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Transport

Train: The nearest train station to Knepp is Billingshurst (BIG).

Free shuttle: We will be offering a free transport service to attendees travelling via public transport. This will be a combination of hired minibuses and car shares. The minibuses will leave Billingshurst at 10am on Saturday morning, and will leave Knepp at 17:30 on Sunday, arriving at Billingshurst for around 17:50. Please notify us if you will need the shuttle in the ticket order form.

Car: We recommend using public transport or car-sharing where possible. If you need to drive, there will be parking available.

Food and Refreshments

All tickets will include a vegan lunch on Saturday and Sunday, a hot dinner on the Saturday, and hot breakfast on the Sunday morning. All meals are vegan and gluten free. Please notify us of any allergies and/or dietary requirements in the ticket order form. Alternatively, attendees are welcome to bring their own food for these meals.

Tea, coffee, soft drinks and snacks will also be provided throughout the weekend.

Accessibility

Age: this event is open to people aged 18 - 30 years

Regions: this event is specifically for young people from the South of England, South Wales, and the Midlands

Inclusion: this event is open to anyone with an interest in nature and/or the environment. You do not need any experience or knowledge of rewilding

Description supplied by the event organiser.