Rewilder Weekly #17
Welcome to the latest edition of the Rewilder Weekly! Before we get into this week's stories, just a reminder that the 9th marks the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. There's a great deal of ancient nature-knowledge that's right there for us to learn from - we just have to take the time to listen with a gigantic dose of humility. Now then, let's do better, let's be better - 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) From an ecological desert to a massive, restored forest
I had heard the story of Sebastião Salgado and his wife Lélia before - how they returned to their native Brazil in the nineties and there began restoring the land - and on what scale! 555 acres of forest and THREE MILLION trees later, their project has become the Instituto Terra and UNESCO has designated it as part of the Reserva da Biosfera da Mata Atlântica.
I'm highlighting Oliver Bolton's post here, because he shares lots of insights about the projects - and because it also comes with a very personal 7min video by UNESCO, retelling the whole story, and interviewing Salgado. It is emotional, to say the least. I was particularly taken with his reasoning - after having lost hope in humanity, focusing on nature - and there finding joy and hope once more. It's just how I feel. And it is why I think nature recovery/rewilding (and ideally a Half-Earth scenario) is humanity's best hope.
2) Shout-Out to Chris D'Agorne - may he inspire you!
Chris D'Agorne was on my rewilding radar from the get-go. His inspiring journey has always been down-to-earth. A few years ago he re-mortgaged his house to buy a 3.5 acre plot of land and he's been rewilding it every since. By now he's become an expert who helps small landowners like himself look at nature differently - not as gardening, but as rewilding. And just now he's been given a 14-page spread in Ubuntu Magazine - check it out!
At the end of the article he highlights that people can do as he has done (and he'll support you along the way - check out How to Rewild), that you can "buy a field that's heavily degraded, that farmers are not interested in managing because it's got low yield, and you could put money into restoring it." Take a moment to learn about Chris' path - and consider it! If you can afford a big vacation or a new car - why not buy such a field? Check out his website and the Ubuntu article to find out just how much can happen in just a few years.
👉 Go here for post and article
3) Cornwall rewilding with ambitious "Tor to Shore" project
Super happy to see another Weald to Waves-like project taking off - this one in the beloved Cornwall. Cornwall Wildlife Trust has received £265,000 from The National Lottery The National Lottery Heritage Fund for the neatly named Tor to Shore (kudos to whomever had that spark) project.
Too much of nature remains disconnected because of human endeavor. And even though lots of people are passionately nature-engaged in their neck of the woods - those necks need to connect! What were those three original Rewilding Cs again? Cores, Corridors, Carnivores. Without those corridors, nature can't travel - if nature can't travel, you will always have diminished biodiversity.
👉 Go here for post and article
4) How to chip lynx cubs - and why it matters
The Swiss Stiftung KORA (a foundation focused on carnivore ecology and wildlife management) shared fascinating insights about the process and importance of chipping of young lynx cubs. To ensure that lynx populations don't begin to inbreed, they need to be able to travel - and to keep an eye on this very important cross-breeding, young ones are chipped when they're just four weeks old.
This may sound like a massively disruptive experience for both lynx mom and little ones. But the carnivore experts know exactly when to show up (to chip, photograph spot patterns, determine weight and health and take blood samples) - and be come and gone in a flash - at a time when the lynx mom has traditionally already selected her next abode. Truly insightful. This is story to show just how well co-existence can work ... unfortunately, the next story from the very same country recounts a very different tale when it comes to the wolf.
👉 Go here for post and articles
5) India to cull up to 70% of its tigers!
HOLD IT! The above headline is fictitious - but it makes a powerful point as Lucie Wuethrich illustrates in her post. She rightly suggests that most everyone would be outraged and it would inflame everyone the world over and engage them in a heated fight against India ... why is it then that there's very little condemnation when Switzerland announces that it will shoot up to 70% of its wolves - a protected keystone species of such essential importance for a biodiversity-rich future?
Read Lucie's in-depth post about the fearmongering and the actual facts about wolves in Switzerland. Says Lucie, "How can we in the west demand that countries in the global south protect their emblematic wildlife which cause a lot more damage when we cannot co-exist with a few wandering wolves?"
6) A personal shout-out to Rewilding Europe
This is just me being a fanboy of Rewilding Europe. Seriously - if nature restoration and rewilding are important to you - tune into Rewilding Europe at every level. The work they do across Europe is mind-blowing and exciting and so incredibly nature-positive that it cannot help but uplift you when you learn about it.
In my post I'm making the case that you might want to follow them (and I'm also suggesting a few of their fine folks you might want to consider following or connecting with) because you'll learn a great deal - and you're also bound to get a massive doses of rewilding hope for a future that sees all-encompassing biodiversity-rich nature everywhere.
👉 Go here for the post and suggestions
7) How does coal mining help nature recovery? (hint: it doesn't)
I had not heard about the Bedwas coal tip (didn't even know what a coal tip was), until noticing a mounting outcry by the local population about "rewilding concerns" (by now nearly 4'000 have signed the petition against the project). So of course I was intrigued - why such concern about rewilding? Turns out that rewilding is not the issue, at all. Turns out this is about a new form of coal mining.
I've looked at both sides, local concerns, the insights of the Coal Action Network, as well as the extensive material provided by project owner ERI Reclamation. This is a gargantuan project that, if realized, will impact health of people and nature, will pump insane amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere - and just may spark a whole new generation of a new type of coal mining across Wales - oh, yes, and once all profits have been raked in, they promise to make the site look nice by 'restoring nature'.
8) River restoration in the Southern Carpathians
Rewilding Romania has received funding from the Open Rivers Programme to kick off a new river restoration project. The project involves identifying and subsequently removing small, obsolete barriers in five key catchments of the Southern Carpathians.
Druga Marina, Team Leader of Rewilding Romania talks about the funding for river restoration in the Southern Carpathians: "Barriers along rivers disrupt aquatic ecosystems and fragment the natural habitats of several fish species, resulting in declining populations. Removing these small, obsolete barriers is crucial to restoring natural habitats. Increasing the length of free-flowing rivers is part of our long-term strategy to allow nature to recover on its own, ensuring a sustainable future for the region’s natural heritage.”
We end the newsletter as always with an artwork by Chilean science illustrator and painter Mauricio Alvarez (mauricio_alvarez_art on Instagram): Here's a watercolor rendering of - get this - the many-colored rush tyrant. Beautiful bird, beautiful name. The small bird lives in southern South America's marshlands and builds its nest on reed stems.
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