A celebration of wild landscapes and rewilding is coming to the Lincoln area this month as part of the Loving Your Landscape series of events. 

The free, family-friendly events taking place at Doddington Hall and the Cornhill Market will be based on research taking place as part of the ambitious Wilder Doddington Project, supported by the University of Lincoln, UK, which sees the transition of an agricultural, managed landscape to a self-managed, wilder ecosystem. 

The Loving Your Landscapes events will take place on Saturday 11 June and Saturday 18 June and will showcase academic and student creativity and research around the rewilding efforts across the grounds of the Doddington Hall estate. 

Doddington Hall has embarked on a 100-year project with a vison to bring more nature back to the estate – a ‘Wilder Doddington’. The initiative looks to end arable farming on the site, letting nature take over, to allow ecosystem recovery. 

Abigail Woods, Pro Vice Chancellor and Head of College of Arts at the University of Lincoln said:  

“The University of Lincoln and Doddington Hall and Estate are thrilled to present the ‘Loving your Landscape’ celebration of Doddington’s transition from an agricultural, managed landscape to a self-managed, wilder ecosystem. 

“This is just one of several ways in which we are working together to advance the ‘Wilder Doddington’ project.” 

Claire Birch, owner of Doddington Hall and Estate said: 

 “We are so pleased to be hosting the Loving Your Landscape exhibition and events at Doddington. 

“We work closely with the University and are passionate to promote the connection between people and the countryside.” 

Featuring at both events is a thought-provoking exhibit led by University of Lincoln Researcher and Senior Lecturer in Illustration, Wayne Lockwood. Students have been challenged to visually communicate the ethos behind Wilder Doddington through illustrated posters, inspired by ecological research, which depict aspects of Doddington Hall, its landscape, and key species expected to return during the rewilding process.  

On Saturday 11 June teams from the University of Lincoln and Doddington Hall will be taking over an outdoor corner of Cornhill Market in Lincoln City Centre.  

The Rewilding pop-up will give shoppers and passers-by a fun, visual insight into how rivers impact our land with a working model river system, a chance to investigate the microscopic world of soil, and learn how to make seed bombs – a real world tool for rewilding. 

On Saturday 18 June at the Wilder Workshops, Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Lincoln, Martin Scheuregger, will be leading a hands-on sound recording workshops where participants will have the opportunity to carry out real field recordings and to contribute to the creation of a new living sound archive which captures the sounds of Doddington.  

Senior lecturer in Psychology, Laetitia Marechal and Bonaventura Majolo, Professor of Social Evolution at the University, will be leading a walking tour through the wilds of Doddington’s grounds, exploring how being in nature can impact wellbeing – with conversations regarding the latest psychology research on mental wellbeing. 

The Loving your Landscape event series is part of a thriving collaboration between the University of Lincoln and Doddington Hall and Gardens, funded in part by the Natural Environment Research Council. To find out more and to book onto the free events, visit: https://www.doddingtonhall.com/wilder/  

Photo "Doddington Roe Deer" by A Foxley-Johnson