Dartmoor Tors Festival: Beavers, Boar and More: Getting real about rewilding

Event information

“Landscapes of the past are over. It’s the creation of landscapes of the future – however novel they may be – that are important.”  Derek Gow

Rewilding is a controversial and sometimes divisive subject; but what happens when it’s actually put into practice? And can we really restore nature and wildlife in a meaningful sense in a world we have fundamentally changed? Join Derek Gow and Chantal Lyons for a fascinating conversation about animals, co-existence, humans and the land.

Farmer, conservationist and author Derek Gow is in the process of rewilding his 300 acre farm in West Devon, not far from Dartmoor. He has played a significant role in the reintroduction of the beaver, water vole and the white stork to England.

Science communicator Chantal Lyons is the author of Groundbreakers: the Return of Britain’s Wild Boar; she is currently writing a new book about megafauna.

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This is part of the second Dartmoor Tors Festival, happening at various places around Dartmoor from 30 April – 3 May 2026. Tickets for festival events at Ashburton Arts Centre are all available at wegottickets.com/dartmoortorsfestival2026. All of the festival goings on are listed at dartmoortorsfestival.co.uk.


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