Tile & me: Joel Phillimore

In each edition, we share a subscriber story from our 100–strong community of rewilders that captures their connection to wildness and their 3m x 3m tile. This month, we hear from Joel Phillimore, the Founder of Ginnel Pigs, Trustee at the Marsh Community Centre, and Community Programmer at Highlights Rural Touring Scheme in Cumbria.

Tile: closets.knitted.blanking

Location: Marsh into Lugg

What does wildness mean to you? 

Nature doing what it’s supposed to be doing, and being allowed to get on with it.

What first drew you to Wild Mosaic? 

My partner was the first to find out about it and sponsor a tile. She recommended I take a look and I immediately fell in love with the concept. We were living in London at the time, a long way from our home in the north and missing the nature we’d grown up surrounded by. Wild Mosaic felt like a simple and effective way to reconnect with nature. 

Can you describe your relationship to your tile? 

I chose it due to its location, on the boundary between a marshy slope and the River Lugg. I figured the meeting point of earth and water would be a good spot to see a range of different changes. It’s been really cool to see the changes to the area so far, especially the recent transformation of a drainage ditch that was carrying water quickly away into a series of pools and ponds that will burst into life over the coming months.

How do you bring more wildness into your life? 

We started by digging up our lifeless lawn and filling our garden with region appropriate pollinator plants. The last summer was spent watching bees, birds, frogs and even some hedgehogs make themselves at home. I hope to get more deeply involved in supporting wildness in the area over the coming years.

If you could be a ‘Wild Thing’ what would you be?

That’s a tough one. I love the big cats, and wish we still had Lynxes and Wildcats here in the UK. If I were to choose something that’s here now, it would have to be a good old Fern. The way they erupt into huge plumage after months of regathering hits me right in the good feels!

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Become a rewilder

Whether you’re longing to reconnect with wildness or wanting to deepen your relationship with the landscape you call home, Wild Mosaic is a simple way to become part of Britain’s rewilding story.

Your 3m x 3m tile will support the restoration of wilder life. You’ll receive regular updates about your tile’s transformation, watch as drainage ditches become ponds, and witness land burst back into life season after season.

Join our growing community of rewilders and claim your own patch of wildness today.

www.wildmosaic.eco/adopt-a-plot