When Helen and Chris Neave first came across the land, it was nothing special. The field had been overgrazed, compacted, and worked hard for too long. But something about it held them and amplified the urgent call to help, and give back to nature. They saw not what the land was, but what it could become with the right care and attention.
Helen was still working full-time as a Consultant Surgeon. Chris had recently sold his business. Both felt the need to step into something more grounded. They wanted to contribute, to restore, and to reconnect. They didn’t have a detailed plan. But they felt a quiet conviction that land, treated with care, could offer more than yield.
Their first act of giving back sparked something much bigger.
They put their hands in the soil and began to work. The project that initially started as a family weekend project has now grown into a network of 11 rewilding locations. Their work connects individuals, businesses, and communities in a shared mission. They aim to protect, restore, and rebuild our relationship with the natural world.
What began as a personal commitment now feels like a gentle movement. It weaves biodiversity with belonging. And it shows how business can grow with care and purpose.
“Our purpose is to support nature,” Helen says. “It’s not just our aim to support nature; It’s our purpose.”
This story isn’t about box-ticking or corporate greenwashing. It’s about two people who chose to honour the land and act as its custodians. And by doing so, created a way for others to do the same and share the purpose of their work.
The Spark
The turning point came, as these things often do, in a moment of stillness.
It was a sunny afternoon in 2017, seven years after Helen and Chris had planted 20,000 trees on a patch of unremarkable Yorkshire farmland – their personal gift to nature. They’d spent the morning tending the land, as they often did, and were sharing a simple picnic when Helen paused.
“Blimey, Chris,” she said, “we’ve actually done it. We’ve brought nature back.”
Around them, the air buzzed with insects. Birds flitted from branch to branch. Badgers had returned. Deer ran across the clearing. The once-quiet field, one that had barely supported two kinds of grass and a lonely thistle, was now home to a thriving ecosystem.
“That was the lightbulb moment,” Helen recalls. “It was the first time we realised this wasn’t just a family project. It was something that could, and should, happen again.”
But to do it again, they’d need to shift gears. Relying solely on their own resources wasn’t sustainable. Chris, ever the business man, suggested they find a way to bring others along, from individuals to businesses and anyone who shared their love for the wild.
And so, the seed for Make it Wild was planted. Not just a gift to nature this time – but a purposeful, living business rooted in regeneration.
The Model
Make it Wild is, at its core, a business that exists to serve nature. Every decision begins with that purpose. Every action loops back to it.
What began as a personal rewilding effort on one field has grown into a replicable, sustainable model, with biodiversity at its heart and a business structure that supports scale without losing soul.
Here’s how it works:
- Land regeneration
Make it Wild acquires or partners on land with the sole intent of restoring biodiversity. Each site is surveyed by ecologists to understand its unique habitats and potential. Restoration might involve tree planting, pond creation, wetland revival, or wildflower meadow restoration, tailored to what the land needs most. - Nature sponsorship and dedications
Individuals can dedicate trees, ponds, meadows, or bird boxes to commemorate life’s moments. From births, weddings and memorials – weaving human stories into nature’s renewal. - Business partnerships and carbon offsetting
Companies sponsor tree planting or entire named woodlands, often aligned with headcount or carbon goals. Carbon offsetting, while not the original aim, has become a powerful way to draw in corporate support for biodiverse rewilding. - Franchise-style partner sites
A growing network of landowner partners across the UK manage their land for nature, while Make it Wild handles outreach, marketing, and admin – sharing proceeds in return. Each site offers a bespoke menu of options, from tree planting to hosting volunteer days. - Community and education
From wellbeing walks and mindfulness sessions to school partnerships and film nights, Make it Wild invites people to engage with the land and not just support it from afar. - Minimal eco-tourism
A single holiday cottage and a shepherd’s hut offer low-impact ways for people to stay, connect, or run nature-based sessions – but tourism is intentionally limited. “We didn’t want to become an accommodation business,” Helen notes.
Each new piece of land becomes a site not just of ecological repair – but of relational repair. Between humans and the earth. Between businesses and their responsibilities. Between the idea of growth and what it could mean when rooted in care.
“At every land management meeting, there’s an empty chair… It’s there to remind us to ask: what would nature say?”
– Helen Neave, Co-Founder, Make it Wild
The Impact
For Helen and Chris, success isn’t measured in profit margins – it’s heard in birdsong, found in rare moths, and seen in the return of ancient rhythms.
“Have we demonstrably supported biodiversity?” That’s the question they keep returning to. And the evidence says yes, and resoundingly so.
Some of the key outcomes:
- 100,000+ native trees planted, closing ecological gaps and creating vital new habitats
- 265 species of moth documented, including some not seen in Yorkshire since the 1970s
- 8 species of bat recorded at their Bank Woods site, including two rare ones
Restoration of multiple degraded landscapes into thriving, diverse ecosystems But the impact doesn’t end with nature. It extends deeply into the community:
- Mental health support
From “Wellbeing in the Woods” programmes to guided natural mindfulness walks, Make it Wild has created gentle spaces for healing – especially valuable for people struggling with loneliness or depression. - Volunteering and purpose
A regular group of volunteers, with some attending multiple times per month, have found meaning in the work. “A man who has become one of our keenest volunteers told us he feared falling into depression when he retired – but discovering Make it Wild rescued him.” Helen shares. - Education and inclusion
Make it Wild partners with schools, runs competitions, and works with organisations like the Darwin Scholars to make conservation careers more accessible. Children name calves, design signage, and explore the woods they helped shape. - Corporate engagement
Beyond sponsorship, businesses are invited into real connection with the land. They often attend tree planting days or walking the woods where their offsetting takes root.
At its best, this isn’t just a business. It’s a movement. It brings people back into relationship with the land, and each other.
The Marketing
Make it Wild doesn’t shout. It invites.
Their marketing is less about sales funnels and more about meaningful conversations. The kind that begin under ancient trees or over coffee at a local event, and linger long after.
“Some of our biggest clients have come completely out of the blue,” Helen says. “You can’t replicate that. It’s just people telling people.”
Here’s how they quietly build momentum:
- Word of mouth and relationships
Their strongest marketing tool is connection. When people meet Helen or Chris, the passion is unmistakable. Their partnership manager, John, leads outreach and networking, attending events and bringing businesses to the woods, because with projects like these, seeing is believing. The magic in the place, not in brochures and websites. - Guided visits and tours
Free summer tours of sites like Bank Woods offer businesses a chance to witness rewilding firsthand. It’s more than a sales pitch – it’s an invitation into wonder. - Presence on platforms like Restore
By joining the global nature restoration platform Restore, Make it Wild has opened the door to unexpected corporate interest – including one spontaneous £15,000 sponsorship from a Swiss multinational company. - Targeted digital presence
While the current website is being redesigned for stronger business engagement, it has already played a key role in attracting B2B clients. Modest use of paid ads helps, but most growth comes from relational trust. - Event-based outreach
Stands at sustainability fairs, partnerships with local councils, and links with other values-aligned networks help widen the circle without diluting the message.
There’s no aggressive lead generation here. Just a consistent, gentle presence – rooted in truth, bolstered by beauty, and carried forward by those who believe in what they’ve seen.
The Finances
From the outside, Make it Wild may look like a passion project. And it is. But it’s also a growing, commercially viable business.
“We’ve had 56% compound annual growth in sales since 2017,” Helen shares. “It started from a low base, of course, but it’s been consistent.”
Here’s how the financial model works:
- Initial funding
The project was seeded by the sale of Chris’s previous business. This gave them the freedom to buy their first field outright – an early advantage that Helen is quick to acknowledge but certainly didn’t come without the previous hard work, sacrifice and commitment of running the business. - Diverse revenue streams
- Corporate sponsorships, including tree planting and named woodlands
- Carbon offsetting, which was a major growth area since 2019
- Biodiversity credits, a promising future stream, though currently slowed by regulatory issues
- Individual dedications, such as trees, ponds, wildflower meadows, and bird boxes
- Event hosting and educational workshops
- Minimal eco-tourism via one holiday cottage and a shepherd’s hut for on-site coaching sessions
- Lean leadership
Despite their success, Helen and Chris have chosen not to take full commercial salaries. “We’re investing in the mission, not extracting from it,” she notes. - Team structure
The business now supports a team of ten. This includes eight employees and a handful of regular freelancers, plus a strong volunteer base. Two key hires (accounts and partnerships) have enabled growth without overextension. - Franchise income model
Partner sites offer a scalable revenue stream without requiring Make it Wild to own more land. In return for marketing and admin support, partners share a portion of proceeds, creating a win-win for nature and landowners alike.
Make it Wild doesn’t rely on grants or donations. It operates as a business, proving that values-led regeneration can be financially self-sustaining, and even thrive.
The Vision
What would it look like if every corner of the UK had a pocket of land given back to nature?
That’s the vision guiding Make it Wild’s next chapter: a rewilding presence in every county — each one a living example of what’s possible when we put nature first.
“That’s John’s idea,” Helen says with a smile. “A Make it Wild site in every county. And we think it’s doable.”
The future is already in motion:
- Scaling through partnerships
The new franchise-style model allows landowners, from farmers with underused fields to families with inherited land, to regenerate with Make it Wild’s support. It expands impact without requiring more capital. - Automation and systems
With more sites and clients, Make it Wild is investing in backend systems to streamline admin, sales, and customer experience. This frees the team to focus on what really matters. - Legacy planning
Helen and Chris are already thinking about succession. While their children may or may not take over, they’re laying foundations for others to continue the mission and in turn ensuring that the work endures beyond them. - Deeper community roots
Whether through education, wellbeing work, or meaningful partnerships, Make it Wild aims to grow not just wider, but deeper thus cultivating a culture where humans and nature thrive together.
This isn’t about empire-building. It’s about soil, species, and stewardship. A patchwork of wild spaces, lovingly restored, for generations to come.
“It’s not our aim to support nature; it’s our purpose.”
– Helen Neave, Co-Founder, Make it Wild
The Challenges
Building a business around nature isn’t always easy. It requires deep listening – to the land, to your values, and often, to your limits.
One of the most persistent challenges has been saying no.
“We’ve had lots of requests to wild camp on our land,” Helen explains. “But we had to say no. Chris was worried about fires, broken branches, or even just the disturbance. We’ve worked too hard to risk undoing it.”
Even seemingly profitable ideas, like turning their shepherd’s hut into guest accommodation, have been gently declined. The admin, the stress, the impact: it’s just not worth it.
Beyond those choices, other challenges include:
- Valuation mismatch
Many products and services are still priced without regard for their ecological cost. “A flight is often cheaper than a train – that’s broken,” Helen says. “It makes it harder to compete ethically.” - Navigating regulation
New frameworks like Biodiversity Net Gain credits offer promise, but the execution has been slow and inconsistent, especially at the local council level. - Balancing passion and pragmatism
With deep personal investment, it’s tempting to take on too much. “We’re learning to step back,” Helen shares. “To work more on the business, not just in it.” - Unseen labour of ethics
Choosing the right thing over the easy thing, again and again, can be quietly exhausting. From supply chain decisions to the design of a woodland path, the mental load of integrity is real.
But through it all, they hold fast to their anchor: nature. And in many cases, the hardest decisions have turned out to be the most rewarding.
The Mindset
At the heart of Make it Wild is a quiet, unwavering principle: nature is not a backdrop, it’s a participant.
That belief isn’t just poetic. It’s baked into how they work.
At every land management meeting, there’s an empty chair. It doesn’t belong to a staff member or stakeholder. It belongs to nature.
“It’s there to remind us to ask: what would nature say?” Helen explains. “It’s surprising how often it shifts our decisions.”
This presence which is symbolic and practical, has helped the team stay true to their purpose. It’s steered them away from unnecessary infrastructure. It’s challenged them to rethink convenience. And it’s made space for humility.
Other elements of their mindset include:
- Purpose before profit
Make It Wild’s mission statement is clear and simple – ‘It’s not our aim to protect nature, it’s our purpose. You can learn more about the mission here. - Courage to be different
When they first started, people didn’t get it. Friends in farming circles thought they were wasting good land. “We were seen as a bit odd. Now, not so much.” - Passion as compass
Their work is animated by love – for trees, for the land, for a quieter way of living. That emotional clarity keeps them grounded through complexity. - Trust in slow growth
Rather than chasing rapid scale, they’ve nurtured a model that grows with integrity. Each decision is rooted, deliberate, and relational.
This is leadership not as dominance, but as deep care. A kind of stewardship that listens first, and acts second.
The Wisdom
What can others learn from Make it Wild’s regenerative path? Helen offers these reflections:
- Start with love
“Go with your passion. People feel it. And they’ll want to be part of it.” - Let nature guide your decisions
Place the earth at the table (literally or symbolically) and ask what it would choose. You might be surprised. - Build trust, not just traffic
Relationships, not algorithms, have driven their biggest opportunities. Depth over reach. - Be prepared to say no
Protect your purpose. Not every offer or income stream will be aligned and that’s okay. - Measure what matters
Success can look like moths returning, or someone finding purpose in your woodland. Make sure your metrics match your mission. - Stay rooted in authenticity
Don’t dilute your message to fit trends. The right people will resonate with the real story. - Make room for rest
Growth doesn’t mean burnout. Prioritise sustainability in how you work, not just what you support.
In a world that often rewards speed, Make it Wild reminds us that slow, steady, purposeful growth is not only possible but it’s powerful.
Try This
Inspired by Make it Wild’s gentle, grounded approach? Here are five ways to bring regenerative thinking into your own work:
- Start with a question
Before launching a project or partnership, ask: What would nature choose? Let it shape your approach.
- Create rituals of reflection
Make space in your week or month to step outside, slow down, and reconnect with what really matters.
- Dedicate something to the earth
Whether it’s planting a tree, creating a wild patch, or naming a project with intention, embed gratitude in your work.
- Build partnerships that heal
Look for collaborations that restore – not just extract value. Aim for shared purpose, not just profit.
- Say no with love
Protect your mission by declining work that feels misaligned, even if it’s lucrative. Integrity is the long game.