In 1997, Dutch ecologist Frans Vera successfully defended his thesis, the subject of which challenged the accepted belief that Europe had been covered in forest prior to human intervention. Twenty years later, in June 2017, delegates gathered for a conference to review progress with Vera Rewilding at the Knepp Estate in Sussex, where Vera’s ideas have been implemented. Miles King describes the conference, and discusses what has happened in the time since Vera completed his thesis.
Twenty years ago, Dutch ecologist Frans Vera defended his doctoral thesis on the subject of ‘Metaforen voor de wildernis. Eik, hazelaar, rund en paard’ or ‘Metaphors of Wilderness: Oak, Hazel, Ox and Horse’ (Vera 1997). The thesis was expanded, updated and published as Grazing Ecology and Forest History in 2000 (Vera 2000).