Armed with Backpacks of Seeds, Local Pooches Enlisted to Help Rewild Urban Nature Reserve

credit – Railway Land Wildlife Trust Lewes

Inspired by an innovative Chilean forest restoration effort, the English town of Lewes is enlisting the help of dog walkers to rewild a local nature reserve.

Heavily degraded by foot traffic, the project co-ops dogs’ tendency to run about in the woods to spread wildflower seed from saddlebags strapped to a harness around the dog’s abdomen.

The idea mimics the function that wolves once played in that part of England, roaming over vast distances getting grass and flower seeds stuck in their coat, only to fall off and germinate somewhere else.

Continued below.