Rewilder Weekly #1
This is the very first edition of the Rewilder Weekly, so join me and feel free to comment and make suggestions! No doubt this newsletter will evolve - and with your help it'll do so in ways that are enriching to ever more readers. In advance, you have my thanks - and thanks for being here!
There's always a great deal happening in the world of rewilding. Rewilding is a relatively new science that tackles both the biodiversity and climate crises. Subscribe to this weekly newsletter to discover the stories of successes and challenges, to learn about the landscapes, the flora and fauna, and the rewilding principles, and finally - to realize that you are part of it. We can all do something and so I won't just be sharing the big stories, but the little ones, too.
Over the course of every week I'll curate stories I come across and will share a selection of them every Tuesday. To keep this from going overboard, I'll share no more than eight stories and will endeavor to always keep them diverse. If you come across stories you'd like feature in an upcoming edition, please never hesitate - just get in touch and I'll do what I can.
Alright then, without further ado - here are the eight stories I've found particularly interesting this past week. Enjoy and, again, thanks for being here, for reading and commenting and sharing.
Let's rewild!
1) What on Earth? 9 Questions for Frans Schepers
The intrepid Frans Schepers, he of Rewilding Europe , is always roaming, highlighting, nudging and pushing for an ever more rewilded Europe. In this 9-questions interview he shares his insights and, for anyone not up to rewilding speed, he lays it all out exceedingly well - as such, an excellent starter for anyone who wants to know more.
👉 Go here for his post and full interview.
The last question addresses the EU's Nature Restoration Law that currently is in limbo. Frans is, unsurprisingly so, a fervent proponent and says, "This is the only way that enables us to restore 20% of Europe’s land and seas, based on legally binding targets for member states. Each EU member state has to prepare national nature restoration plans, and we are ready to provide examples and inputs how this can be best done. In our view this is by ‘helping nature to restore itself’, as Sir David Attenborough said so well."
2) A visit to the French Alps to track wolves
Ecologist Padraic Fogarty went to the French Alps to track wolves and wrote about his experiences. It's a good story that highlights that there's a great deal of nature within easy reach (no need to travel to the Yellowstone Park!). Rewilding experts across Europe help to restore keystone species - and Rewilding organizations do a great job enabling people like you and me to experience nature in all its glory (and sometimes that means observing wolf poo - see Padraic's article. 😉)
👉 Go here for post and article.
A quick gander at the world wild web tells me that there are about 17'000 wolves across Europe these days, as well as about 9-10'000 lynx. Eastern Europe also boasts huge numbers of the golden jackal (somewhere plus minus 100'000, imagine that - a rare visitor has just recently been spotted in Switzerland). Oh, and did you know that we have the wolverine in Europe, too? About 1'000 of them live in Scandinavia.
3) Join the Rewilding Journey workshop from 11-18 May
The one and only Alan Watson Featherstone posted a shout-out about an upcoming weeklong rewilding workshop in Glen Affric, Scotland. Oh, my, if I were just a bit nearer, I'd jump at the chance to immerse myself like that - with such experienced folks, in such an incredible region. I'd say that, if you're anywhere in England, or Wales, or Ireland or - of course - Scotland - then you should jump at this incredible opportunity. I have a feeling this will prove to be a week that'll be full of impact and memories for life.
👉 Go here for Alan's post and the details about the workshop.
4) The 'Rewilding Hope - Land to Sea' conference will be virtual
Unfortunately, the in-person conference planned for 5-6 June won't be taking place, reports Sharon Lashley DipRSA Env, DipDEA CEO of Climate Action North. I had high hopes of making it to that conference, but as we all know, life happens while we're busy making other plans. Sharon shares that a virtual conference will likely still take place - so, for now, save the date, the 5th of June - and follow Sharon to ensure you won't miss out on this!
👉 Go here for Sharon's post and conference update.
On a personal note: Dear Sharon, all the very best to you and your loved ones. Your kindness, both for yourself and others, is healing balm all in itself. Wishing you time to breathe and embrace the moments.
5) Spend a bit of time with "Twig Poet" Maria Westerberg
This is a wonderful 18min film about Swedish artist Maria Westerberg - well worth your time to make you want to step into a forest right away! Rewilding efforts are often undertaken with a great deal of scientific insight and experience. But there are a great many non-experts, too! Maria Westerberg was nature-loving child - but was told to learn about all the things needed to live 'a normal life'. Before long, challenges and pressures and a distance from nature led to depression and a therapist suggested forest walks. Today, 25 years later, she has rewilded a diversty-poor forest and is a celebrated artist.
👉 Go here for the her story and video.
6) Dead wood is dead good!
Catchy title, right? It comes courtesy of the Beaver Trust. All too often woodland owners still remove dead wood (also because we've been taught to keep things neat). Luckily, more and more often the wisdom of leaving dead wood in place has been learned. Dead wood decomposes and delivers nutrients for new trees and creates habitats for for all sorts of flora and fauna. Beavers, as part of their daily business, increase the amount of dead wood.
👉 Go here for the Beaver Trust's post and research insights.
Come to think of it - maybe we should not call dead wood dead at all - after all, there just may be a great deal more life connected with that tree once its been delivered to its new purpose. By the way, on the subject of trees (and she has a lot to say about dead trees, too) read Suzanne Simard's Finding the Mother Tree, a truly mind-opening book.
7) Dealing with the increasing floods of recent years
Rewilding Britain's Sara King makes an excellent point about flooding. Extreme weather conditions will worsen - but we need not see as many floods as we have in recent years. Unproductive farmland could be rewilded - not only would be beneficial for biodiversity, but it would also create natural water reservoirs - place for excess water to be stored.
👉 Go here for Sara's post (features a BBC News article)
Very much on the same topic, Richard Lee (WWF Freshwater Comms Lead) highlights the amazing story of nearly 500 (!) dams removed from Europe's rivers in 2023 (he calls it the "riverlution" - nice!). As he rightly says, this dramatically enhances climate resilience and boosts biodiversity.
👉 Go here for Richard's post and the WWF article.
8) The European Bison: The return of a keystone species
WWF-Belgium delivers a succinct 8-pager and insights about the history of the European Bison and its successful return. The last wild bison was slaughtered in between WWI and WWII and the 1950s saw conversation efforts take hold. According to the post, there are now, once again, 8225 bison in Europe.
Some countries make tiny steps toward reintroducing this majestic creature to the wild (here in Switzerland it took years to even get a permit to allow them into a fenced environment) ... but in some places, like Poland, large herds are roaming free - check out this incredible clip clip - and
👉 go here for the European Bison success story.
And that's it for a gander and some of what's been happening over the course of last week in the fascinating field of rewilding. Thanks for being here and taking the time to read - and thanks for spreading the good word about the many tremendous efforts taking place around the world. Share the articles (and this newsletter, of course), with your circle of friends and connections and followers and may our our children and grandchildren get to enjoy biodiversity-rich nature in a healthy climate wherever they may be.
Cheers!
D