āManās best friendā is becoming an ally of nature too thanks to a novel rewilding project in southern England.
Equipped with leaky backpacks full of wildflower seeds, dogs are being let loose on a site just outside Lews, where they āmimicā an ecological role vacated by wolves when they were driven to extinction the 18th century.
Wolves unwittingly collected seeds in their fur and deposited them all over the UK, creating new colonies of plants. Now Lewesā dogs are doing the same thanks to an initiative run by the Railway Land Wildlife Trust and the Wilderlife rewilding platform.
The idea is believed to have started in Chile, where people used dogs to disperse seeds following devastating wildfires. Dogs can cover larger distance than their owners and often explore areas that are hard for humans to reach.
Project manager Dylan Walker said: āThis has been such a joyous experience. Dog walkers often get bad press when walking in the countryside, so weāre so pleased to tell a story in which dogs and their owners are the stars.ā