Our experience of being Tilgate Youth Rangers in 2025

Amy King (Youth Ranger, David Streeter Wildlife Champion and wildlife film maker)

I’ve been going to a Tilgate Youth Rangers group for about a decade now. It has been an almost consistent part of my life since I was twelve, and last year was no different. During an unthreateningly mild December day, the 16–25 group met for the last time in 2025.

After building the upside-down fire, our group started working on campfire doughnuts. Batter whisked, sandwiches spread, sugar prepped, there was something for everyone to be getting on with. We were making two different varieties, traditional jam, and more festive mincemeat. This was mince pie mincemeat, not beef, although perhaps both types seem an equally weird pick for doughnuts. With a stack of small sandwiches piling up, focus shifted back towards the fire. By now, the blaze had died down, perfect for cooking with. We took it in turns to fry the doughnuts. Despite my reputation for burning things, I soon found myself with a frying pan in hand, gooey doughnuts sizzling over the flames.

It's not all sitting around a fire and cooking doughnuts though. From wildlife gardening to bird box painting, our group undertook a wide variety of activities last year. During a quiet moment, I asked the group what their highlight had been. Of course, our three field trips came up immediately. 

We went to Knepp to learn about rewilding, Wakehurst to see the seeds, and who could forget feeding orphaned lambs at the Sussex Wildlife Trust’s very own livestock unit on the Wiston Estate. But some of the subtler stuff also came up. We’d found rare Harvest Mice nests in our very own Tilgate Park, something that was a complete surprise to everyone. Armed with the knowledge of their presence, we can now make plans on how to conserve them better.