Make it Wild

Make It Wild began in 2010 when Helen and Christopher Neave were worried about struggling hedgehogs, bees and butterflies. They had worried for too long … it was time to act!

They bought 26 acres of rough grazing land in North Yorkshire and set out to give it back to nature. With family and friends, they planted 20,000 trees, sowed wildflowers, dug ponds and created space for wildlife to return.

“We’d always loved nature, but it reached a point where that love turned into concern. Wildlife was being squeezed out of its own rightful place, and we couldn’t just stand by and watch.”

Over time, the land changed. Insects arrived. Then birds. Then mammals. What began as a field slowly became a functioning habitat.

“At first it didn’t look like much, just small trees in guards. But once the flowers came, everything followed. Sitting down after a morning’s work, it was obvious something special had happened here.”

That moment led to Make It Wild, with a simple belief at its heart, if you give nature the space and care it needs, it responds.