Lewes, England — Located in a small town about two hours’ drive south of London, Lewes Railway Land Urban Nature Reserve is teeming with life—many of them humans and their companions.
“We have a lot of people coming to the reserve — and that’s what we want — a lot of dog owners,” Dylan Walker, of the Railway Land Wildlife Trust, which manages the green oasis, told CBS News. “That inevitably has an impact on the habitat.”
After years of intensive use, the reserve has suffered somewhat from its popularity, with some native plant species being lost. But Walker hopes bring back that biodiversity.
“We thought, what can we do here?” Walker said. They found the answer in a backpack designed specifically for dogs.
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“We have our seed and sand mix here of our native wildflowers and grasses, and we’re going to put that in the packaging,” Walker explained, stressing the importance of seeds that are purposefully distributed in a natural area being locally sourced.
The small holes allow the seeds to fall out when the dogs walk around.
Ruthie Martin tested it out on her daughter’s Golden Doodle when she came to the reserve for a walk.
“They don’t mind the burden of the packs on their backs,” Martin said of the dogs that sowed the seeds.
More than 300 years ago, wolves roamed the UK, often travelling up to 100 miles in a night. Walker said they picked up seeds in their fur and dropped them in new places.
“It’s really great to have projects like this where we can use our beloved pets to mimic the behavior of these wild animals,” Martin said.
The idea originally came from two sisters in Chile. Their dogs, who sit on their backpacks, help restore forests that have been destroyed by wildfires.
Organisers in the UK say it could take several years before the full impact of the pilot project on the reserve is seen.
