Dogs with backpacks plant seeds to rewild lost woodland

When wild wolves roamed Britain centuries ago, they would have brushed past plants, gathering seeds in their fur. As they ventured over the landscape these seeds would have fallen off, helping to disperse different fauna.

Now a group of pet dogs in the town of Lewes in Sussex has been recruited to perform the same ancient task — by wearing specially designed backpacks full of seeds of woodland flowers.

A pilot project aims to restore a plot of woodland in the Railway Land nature reserve. About the size of half a football pitch, it previously had no ground vegetation at all. Trees were coppiced, or cut back, to let in light. Ten pet dogs were then enrolled to spread the seeds of 23 woodland species, including bluebells, common spotted orchids, early purple orchids, foxgloves and hairy St John’s wort.

The seeds fall from holes in the backpacks. “When dogs run around sniffing and exploring, they tend to get into nooks and crannies where humans don’t necessarily go,” Helen Meade, of the Lewes Railway Land Wildlife Trust, said.

The area had been carefully chosen for being free of wildlife, such as ground-nesting birds, that could be especially vulnerable to being bothered by dogs let off their leash, she added.

Thought to be the first project of its kind in the UK, it was inspired by a scheme in Chile, where 1.4 million acres of forest were devastated by wildfires in 2017. Three collies were used to spread seeds to help restore part of the burnt ecosystem.

Dylan Walker, from the Railway Land Wildlife Trust, said that some plants had already sprouted from the canine-spread seeds. “This has been such a joyous experience. Local dog walkers have been so helpful and positive about the project,” he added.

“Dog walkers often get bad press when walking in the countryside so we’re so pleased to tell a story in which dogs and their owners are the stars.”

Cressida Murray, a local dog owner, said: “I signed up for the project because it sounded like such a good fit. I was asked to place a harness on my chocolate cocker spaniel Bertie and he ran around spreading seeds like wolves used to do many years ago. It’s such a great project to involve our local community and I thoroughly enjoyed being part of it.”