Wild Ennerdale: a cultural landscape

Ennerdale is located in the Lake District National Park, north-west England. The valley has been managed as coniferous plantation forest since the 1920s by the Forestry Commission. Since 2002, however, the Forestry Commission has been a partner (along with the National Trust and United Utilities) in the Wild Ennerdale (WE) initiative. The vision of WE is ‘to allow the evolution of Ennerdale as a wild valley for the benefit of people, relying more on natural processes to shape its landscape and ecology’. This chapter considers the relationship between WE and the cultural landscape of the Ennerdale valley, and has identified disparities between the WE view of engagement and participation and corresponding feelings of alienation, dispossession and dislocation expressed by some respondents. The chapter presents an argument for stronger links between the wilding project and the local community, and in doing so highlights many of the tensions and complexities found in wilding programs globally. We argue for a much greater appreciation of the role (rural) communities have played, and continue to play, in shaping the local landscape. Recognition of this role is important in terms of delivering sustainable wilding projects in the future.