Overgrowth South 2025 - Youth Rewilding Summit

About Overgrowth

Overgrowth South is a youth rewilding summit hosting by Youngwilders in collaboration with the Knepp Wildland Foundation. Overgrowth exists to allow young people (18-30) to teach, inspire and help each other build our generation's capacity as environmental stewards.

This year Overgrowth will take place accross two days at the Knepp Estate and will include a night of camping in the Wild Futures educational camping area in the heart of the Knepp Rewilding project. There will be discussions, walks, talks, workshops, games, show and tells, spaces to unwind, peer learning and a host of other elements.

About Knepp

Knepp Wildland is a 3,500 acre estate in West Sussex, and one of the most significant and successful rewilding experiments in the world. Since 2001, the land – once intensively farmed - has been managed in line with rewilding principles, and has seen massive increases in biodiversity, with rare species like turtle doves, nightingales and purple emperor butterflies seeing nationally unique bouncebacks. It’s a thrilling window into the thrumming, life-rich environment that would have characterised our countryside before major human disruption, and that with careful work could characterise our countryside again in the decades to come.

About Youngwilders and the ‘Overgrowth’ Initiative

Youngwilders was founded in 2022 as a youth-led non-profit focused on (1) accelerating UK nature recovery and (2) involving young people in the process and movement.

‘Overgrowth’ is a space for wild ideas - bringing people together to reconnect with nature, each other and our role as environmental stewards. Through big events, a zine and online sessions, we explore creative, fun, and unconventional ways to grow our capacity for shaping a wilder, more connected future.

What to expect

Overgrowth is a space for young people to lead the conversation around the state of nature in the UK and this year's event is focused on action driven co-learning.

There will be talks on a variety of nature and conservation topics, with speakers varying from up-and-coming to major players. There will also be a series of youth-led workshops varying from lessons on field ID skills, to nature-based arts and crafts, and will serve as a more casual space to relax and have fun.

The Saturday walks will be run by the Knepp Wildland Foundation's Young Guides and will give you a chance to experience Knepp’s rich mosaic of habitats and the critters that inhabit them. You will also have the opportunity to explore Knepp on foot in a less guided capacity on the Sunday.

Aside from the organised activities, Overgrowth will include many moments of unstructured downtime to allow attendees to take in the beautiful natural surroundings Knepp has to offer.

Programme Outline

Saturday 6th September

• 10:00-11:00: Arrival and meet & greet
• 11:00-12:00: Youngwilders and Knepp welcome

• 12:00-14:30: Guided tour of Knepp and lunch
• 14:30-17:30: Afternoon talks, downtime and workshops
• 17:30-19:30: Putting up tents + chilling
• 19:30-20:30: Dinner
• 20:30-22:00: Optional evening activities

Sunday 7th September

• 7:00-8:30: Optional early morning activities
• 8:30: Breakfast
• 10:00-12:30: Nature ID Workshops
• 12:30-14:30: Lunch and workshops
• 14:30-16:30: Collaborative group exercise
• 16:30-17:30: Downtime
• 17:30: Hometime

The venue

The event will be hosted from: Knepp Wild Futures Site, Countryman Lane, Dial Post, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 8PZ

what3words address: ///closet.avocado.viewer

Transport

Train: the nearest train station to Knepp is Billingshurst (BIG).

Free shuttle: we will be offering a free transport service to attendees travelling via public transport. This will be a combination of hired minibuses and car shares. This service will run from Billingshurst train station to Knepp on Saturday morning, and from Knepp back to Billingshurst station on Sunday afternoon. Exact timings will be confirmed ahead of the event.

Car: we recommend using public transport or car-sharing where possible. If you need to drive, there will be parking available.

Food and Refreshments

All tickets will include a hot lunch on Saturday and Sunday, a hot dinner on the Saturday, and breakfast on the Sunday morning. All meals are vegan and gluten free. Please notify us of any allergies and/or dietary requirements in the ticket order form. Alternatively, attendees are welcome to bring their own food for these meals.

Tea, coffee, soft drinks and snacks will also be provided throughout the weekend.

Accessibility

Age: this event is open to people aged 18 - 30

Regions: this event is specifically for young people from the South of England, South Wales, and the Midlands

Inclusion: this event is open to anyone with an interest in nature and/or the environment. You do not need any experience or knowledge of rewilding to attend. We want Overgrowth to inspire and energise the next generation of environmentalists, that means all young people from all backgrounds, professions, identities

Venue accessibility: for information about the venue, paths, toilets and more, please read Knepp's accessibility guide

Contact us: if you have any questions about accessibility on the day then please get in touch via the contact button in the footer of this page. We are happy to talk through adjustments we can provide to help you attend.

Clothing and equipment

Weather-permitting, all participants will be spending a substantial amount of time outdoors and the marquee in which the talks are held in can get cold. For comfort, all participants will need:

• Sturdy, waterproof shoes or boots
• A waterproof coat
• Warm layers
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• Tent and other camping equipment

If you do not have any of the above, pop us a message via the contact button in the footer of this page before the event! We will be able to provide equipment for those who don’t have them. If you’re in need of a tent for the overnighting element, please indicate so in the Eventbrite order form.

Accommodation / Camping

We will be sleeping outside in tents. Please bring a tent, sleeping bag and mat.

If you do not have any of the above, you can let us know in the order form when buying a ticket! We will be able to provide tents, sleeping bags and mats for those who don’t have them.

Other Key Information - Please read

A few things to mention regarding health and safety on the site.

• Camping in September can get very cold. Please bring lots of warm clothes, including hat, gloves, waterproofs and lots of layers.
• There are compost toilets and showers
• Please be aware there are ticks and adders on site. As a precaution, please wear long trousers, socks and closed toe shoes when you're on site.

The order form has space for you to specify if you need any additional equipment, if you would like to speak in more detail about anything please feel free to get in touch with Noah at noah@youngwilders.uk.

Financial support

If you can afford to pay, we would welcome your support. If you require financial support, we are able to offer this for both ticket and transport costs (see instructions below).

How to request support: travel expenses

If you require financial support to travel to the event, please get in touch. We are able to offer up to £30 for those who need it. This should be able to cover return train tickets if booked in advance.

To request support, please email noah@youngwilders.uk with the amount of support you need.

How to request support: Eventbrite ticket

If you can't afford to buy a ticket to this event, please get in contact as we have set aside discounted tickets for those that need it.

To request support, please email noah@youngwilders.uk with your request for financial support.