In 2025, British naturalist Chris Packham helped restore 55 acres in Devon with 3,500 native trees; a year later, wetlands, wildfowl, waders and otters had transformed the former pasture

A year ago, Downicary in Devon was, in Chris Packham's words, a plain, flat, green field. Today, the 55-acre site looks very different.

A system of ponds and wetland areas has been dug into the land, filling with water over winter and attracting wildfowl and waders. As the water level dropped back in summer, dragonflies, damselflies and marshland plants appeared. Parts of the grassland have also been left long and allowed to flower.