ONE hundred acres of former golf course land at Pyrford are being “rewilded” with native species of plants and trees by a local family.
The project adjoins the grounds of The Old House historic mansion, home of the Sachak family.
It is being led by Joy Sachak, who persuaded her husband Akeel to buy the land from the neighbouring golf club in December 2019.
“It was my crazy idea after I read Isabella Tree’s Wilding – the Return of Nature to a British Farm, which is inspirational,” said Joy.
The Sachaks have planted a threequarters-of-a-mile hedge using native trees and have dug out several ditches to improve drainage and the habitat.
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Joy was initially inspired by her youngest son, Matthew, who enjoyed growing tomatoes and basil when he was in primary school.
“The next year, I started growing vegetables and it blossomed from there,” she said. “We are as zero-waste as we can possibly be.”
When the family moved into The Old House 16 years ago, they “inherited” a gardener who had long been looking after the mansion’s 15 acres of grounds. “He knows how to manage land and has been very helpful,” Joy added.
She said land keeping ditches working on the land is important, especially as the site is a flood plain and there had been no maintenance on the ditches for a long time.
The ditches and the three lakes which were created for the golf course have attracted a wide range of waterfowl and migratory birds. More than 100 different species have been recorded as resident or visiting the land.
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Joy said there are signs that there could be water voles on the land – the Ratty of the Wind in the Willows stores – although it is some time since they were seen in Surrey.
The family have spotted mink and have heard owls and deer, foxes, frogs and grass snakes can be found on the fledgling nature reserve.
One of the lakes has mayflies, which suggests it has a healthy marine ecosystem. “They have been significantly depleted on the River Wey due to pollution,” said Joy.
The plan is to keep watering the hedge until it is self-sufficient and do a mass planting of native trees, mostly oak, every three years.
“You are supposed to keep watching for a year to see what happens before doing anything else,” Joy said.
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The family have been helped by Andrew Elliott, who father farmed the land before it became a golf course. All four adult children have returned to live in the house during the year of coronavirus restrictions, so are available to help with the conservation work.
“Of course, we didn’t know what was going to happen, but having the land during the past year has been absolutely wonderful,” said Joy.