Rewilding is an exercise in returning more of the planet to nature. But truly understanding rewilding is an exercise in wonder. Learning to interconnect every tiny part of nature can be a daily marvel.

As humans, we tend to normalise the ‘now’. We forget that things used to be different, sometimes not even that long ago. For the UK, looking back just 100 years, we can see that there is huge potential to increase the presence of nature. Picture more than twice as many birds in your garden. Picture almost thirty times as many hedgehogs! Imagine a world that buzzes with life – a countryside of thick hedgerows and trees, all providing food and places to live for a wide range of animals, birds and insects. Imagine all of that extra beauty, whilst at the same time increasing the carbon capture potential of the land, restoring the quality of the soil and tackling our biodiversity crisis.

It is easy in this time to feel that the problems we face are too great for any one individual to possibly make a difference. But Heal was created as an organisation that can help every member of the general public to do something significant about nature recovery. Our charity aim is the rewilding of nature, but we also believe that our work will help people ‘come into the peace of wild things’. Our name is our purpose: heal the land, heal nature, heal ourselves.

To inspire people and give them a sense of direct involvement, we have come up with a really exciting idea called ‘Heal 3×3’. Heal will purchase large areas of land in the UK for rewilding. An individual can donate £20 to sponsor a specific 3m x 3m square of Heal land. This square is assigned a unique three-word address using the what3words global addressing system. The supporter will know exactly which bit of land is ‘theirs’, and will even be able to view drone footage as it grows and develops. We hope that this connection will give every supporter a strong sense of being part of a valuable and inspiring rewilding project.

We are also committed to engaging young people in our work. We have formed ‘Heal Future’ as a space for our young supporters (under 30) to communicate and network with ourselves and each other. We are committed to work with young voices to make sure this rewilding model is relevant for them now and long into the future.

Our work gives me a wonderful vision of a country filled with an abundance of habitat and wildlife. I hope that I have inspired you as well.

Jan knows the exact moment she became a wildlife campaigner, one morning in June 2014 when she intervened to stop dozens of swifts being killed during the demolition of their nesting site. She can trace a love of them back to childhood, along with countless other species, particularly frogs, newts, skylarks and woodlice. A tawny owl made out of an old sock was one of her finest achievements as a Brownie.

Her first degree was in Geography and she joined a corporate communications firm straight out of university and has spent most of her business career in technology marketing communications. In 2012 she graduated with a first in Psychology and trained as a specialist in resilience. She still serves on the boards of two businesses she helped to found.

Her work with wildlife has been local and very practical. She founded a swift group which has the world record for the most swift boxes installed in under a year; she was a co-founder of Wild Maidenhead and leads the group's Wild About Gardens scheme, and she project managed the largest installation of amphibian rescue ladders in England. Nature is what makes her heart sing, she says.