Rewilder Weekly #11
Welcome to the latest edition of the Rewilder Weekly! Before we jump into this week's eight selected rewilding stories, take a moment to enjoy the many images and posts from last Saturday's 'Nature Recovery Now" march in London. Sixty to eighty THOUSAND people came together to mark for nature - a sight to behold. Here's one of the many voices, Luke Steele, LLM, "Look at what happens when the nature movement pulls together. The next government must protect and restore nature. Your move, Westminster." Yes!
Now then, let's roll and let's rewild!
👉 As a reminder: If you come across stories you'd like to see featured in an upcoming edition, send them to me and I'll gladly do what I can.
1) This is the century of ecological restoration
Alan Watson Featherstone spoke at the recent 'Rewilding Hope - Land to Sea' conference - his words and his imagery were as sobering as they were inspiring. We have it in our hands, we can turn this nature-depleted ship around - and he highlighted how we, our species, can accomplish it. He also looked into the future and showed us positive visions of what will happen, IF we step up and make this the century of ecological restoration.
Do take the time, thirty minutes extremely well spent! You'll learn a great deal from this man who's lived it, seen it, engaged with it, fought it - and who isn't about to stop now. In his words, "Rewilding, ecological restoration, I believe has to become the essential work for all humanity in the 21st century."
👉 Go here for post, slides and presentation
2) A tale of (and fight about) rewilded gardens
By now you must have come across stories such as this one here and there: nature-loving people trying to do their bit for flora and fauna by rewilding their gardens - who then get pummeled by "tidy" and "neat"-loving neighbors. This is the story of Wolf Ruck, Canadian artist, film-maker and former Olympic canoeist. He began rewilding his garden a few years back - then trouble began.
The story in The Guardian is entitled "The gardener who took a Canadian city to court for the right to not mow his lawn." From what I read this is a fight that highlights a great deal about conformity and communication (let alone lack of understanding about nature!). Ruck says, “My property is not abandoned. It’s not a blight on the community. It simply seems to offend some neighbors who don’t like the look of it." Read the story and also check out Ruck's own website where he documents his trials.
👉 Go here for post and article
3) Rewilding Europe's latest beautiful rewilding video
If you don't know about Rewilding Europe and their impact with an ever growing number of projects and efforts across Europe - well then there's no better place to start - watch their latest video! Find out what passionate people do to create the wilder, more biodiversity-rich nature we need.
Oh, and since we're with Rewilding Europe right now, do yourself a favor and follow (or connect with) Daniel Allen, Rewilding Europe Lead Writer - you'll love his insightful posts, like this one about successful nature-based economies, or this one about the reintroduction of the sturgeon to Sweden.
4) What farmers think about the lynx, the wolf and the bear
Researcher Dr Jonny Hanson has looked into the reintroduction of lynx, bear and wolf in various regions across the globe - and wanted to find out what farmers in Ireland and the UK think about bringing back lynx and wolf. To explore different perspectives on this, he interviewed the five main farming unions across both nations, two key livestock organizations, as well as three rewilding organizations.
This study also explores examples of coexistence from over 40 interviews in and/or visits to Switzerland, France, Belgium the Netherlands and the USA, which are presented as case studies. Finally, it offers a "Reintroduction Coexistence Framework" to encapsulate and visualize the varied dimensions of this topic. The reintroduction of large carnivores will never by an easy journey - but we know that co-existence is a) possible and b) necessary for a return to a biodiversity-rich environment.
👉 Go here for post, article and report
5) 200'000 hectares' worth of good caribou news
A significant stretch of endangered caribou habitat in northeast British Columbia has been permanently protected in the newly expanded Klinse-Za / Twin Sisters Park. West Moberly First Nations, Saulteau First Nations and the provincial and federal governments agreed to work together four years ago to recover caribou herds teetering on the brink of extinction. The commitment to protect caribou habitat led to amazing results.
The park was just 2'700 hectares initially, then, two years ago, it was expanded to 30'000 hectares - and now it will be expanded once more - to 200'000 hectares! “We’re showing that when we work together collaboratively — not just say we’re going to work together, but we actually sit down and start applying the principles of working together — we can do some amazing things,” (Chief Roland Willson of West Moberly First Nations)
👉 Go here for post and article
6) Coexistence, not killing: Help Switzerland, sign the petition
Right at this moment there is an ongoing 'consultation' about Switzerland's hunting ordinance. The campaigners highlight that "other protected species such as the ibex, beaver, otters, lynxes and golden eagles can also be killed. These measures are not only disproportionate but unscientific and unethical too."
The campaigners call instead for the preservation of biodiversity and the use of non-lethal measures such as the use of livestock guard dogs. There is plentiful evidence that non-lethal methods work - and yes, there is a cost that comes with those methods. But, as they say, non-lethal measures would demonstrate the genuine desire to coexist with wildlife rather than the simplistic reaction of resorting to extreme lethal measures. "We owe this to the wildlife we share our planet with, and to honor Switzerland's international commitment to protect biodiversity and the health of the ecosystems these species play a key role in and we all ultimately depend on."
👉 Go here for post and petition (please do sign it!)
7) Tigers and people benefit from Nepal's restoration work
Nepal has doubled its forests, which now totals 45% of Nepal! This has resulted in the The World Bank's Global Tiger Initiative tripling the tiger population to over 355. All of this comes with direct benefits for local communities. Nepal's Chitwan National Park sees more than 300'000 visitors every year and that tourism has created 4'000 additional full-time jobs.
The article comes with a good video clip (just 4:26 min long) - and it isn't just gloss, it doesn't shy away from highlighting the challenges. This is a story worth examining and learning from by other countries with apex predator challenges!
👉 Go here for post and article and video
8) A birch has fallen into the river
A glimpse - with a small clip - a birch that fell into the River Feshie. As Peter Cairns highlights, "Such change is often translated as ‘damage’, but it’s a natural process, which brings significant benefits to the river and the life within it."
Just as the example of the rewilded garden, here, too, our first impulse would often be to step in and fix it, tidy it, clean it up, make it all look 'proper' again. Read the many comments to Peter's posts - more good insights, especially also with the comment by Jason Schoch.
And here's this week's art by Chilean science illustrator and painter Mauricio Alvarez (mauricio_alvarez_art on Instagram): Here's his beautiful rendering of a blue whale, the largest animal in the world, weighing nearly 200 tonnes and up to 33 meters (108 feet) long!
And that's it for this edition! For more rewilding insights and stories from around the globe, use the #rewilding hashtag and follow people, organizations and groups that are as passionate about rewilding as you are.
Have a good week!
Cheers,
D