Welcome to the latest edition of the Rewilder Weekly!
So much has happened over the course of last week. All of the engagement on so many different levels makes it abundantly clear that the rewilding movement is on the right track and gaining ever more steam, thanks to you! Thanks for staying active, engaging others, sharing your stories, and for always being vocal about your rewilding passion! Alright then, let's go with this week's eight selected rewilding stories.
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. Thanks for being here, for reading and commenting and sharing.
1) The Scottish Rewilding Alliance's campaign success
The Scottish Rewilding Alliance writes, "We made it! In just six days, the Big Give Green Match Fund appeal to boost the Rewilding Nation campaign surpassed its £200k target. Thanks to your incredible support, we're able to do even more to propel us towards a nature-rich, climate-resilient future with benefits that will ripple across communities."
Leonardo DiCaprio's support for Scotland as a rewilding nation has been well-splattered across media channels and it undoubtedly helped. But frankly, rewilding has gone from niche to arriving in the sphere of public consciousness in the past, I'd say, two years. I think this movement would have reached the goals even without the famed actor's support - still, such public endorsements invariably help and will always be welcomed!
👉 Go here for post and article
2) The latest Rewild Podcast is out: Discover the Danube Delta
The Danube is Europe's second longest river and flows from Germany's Black Forest all the way into the Black Sea. There lies the Danube Delta, parts of which are in Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, encompassing estuary systems, grasslands, coastal lagoons, shallow lakes and riverine forests. This vast ecosystem has been challenged over the course of years by countless dykes, embankments, dams and weirs.
In his latest podcast, James Shooter, while wisely selecting to stay on the Romanian side of things, highlights the incredible work done by Ukrainian rewilders even during this horrific time of war. Join James for for a fascinating time and explore the wondrous Danube Delta where pelicans, beaver, feral horses and water buffalo roam.
👉Go here for James post and podcast
3) New study confirms that nature conservation works
The study's authors, Joe W Bull and Jake Bicknell come with good news. Their global study, they state, provides the strongest evidence to date that nature conservation efforts are not only effective, but that when they do work, they often work really well. Here's the full article with link to the study.
I particularly appreciated gaining additional insights about this with posts from two rewilding luminaries, Frans Schepers and Cain Blythe. As Frans writes, the study's results may not be a particularly big surprise for people already engaged in protecting, restoring and rewilding nature, but such confirmation is still greatly appreciated. In his post, Cain shares, "This comprehensive study, spearheaded by the dedicated teams at Re:wild, the universities of Oxford and Kent, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, offers robust evidence that our collective efforts to protect and restore nature are paying off and should act as a catalyst for further concerted action to ramp up investment in nature."
👉 Go here for Frans Schepers' post and 👉 here for Cain Blythe's post
4) Investing in Africa's wilderness communities
Rewilding Africa CIC makes the case that community conservancies (something they aim to achieve in every African country) are the 21st century's most important intervention to protect and rewild Africa's vast biodiversity, while at the same time creating livelihoods as the foundation of what they call an 'Africa Conservation Economy.' Visit Rewilding Africa to learn all about its work.
In his most recent LinkedIn article, James Arnott, Founder of Rewilding Africa, writes about how his own life changed and about how we can all contribute to Rewilding Africa's big plans. Says James, "I believe that rewilding at its very essence, is nature positive master land use planning that creates commercially viable and sustainable spatial development frameworks, and that every rewilding organization around the world needs to take the lead in their particular country or continent. Conservation starts with conversation. Let’s talk."
👉Go here for James' article 'Changing Lives'
5) For your next trip, dive into rewilding landscapes!
So, will your next vacation thrill be wandering the canyons of New York City? Or lounging at Sicilian beaches? While those sure are nothing to be sneezed at, I can guarantee you that a rewilding trip will have you invigorated and inspired ever so much more. Rewilding Europe offers you the opportunity to see some of Europe's wildest landscapes, rich with biodiversity, rich with nature's beauty - from Bulgaria to Italy and from Croatia to Scotland and more! Grab your chance to immerse yourself and learn ... and, of course, catch glimpses of everything from bear to bison!
👉 Go here for Rewilding Portugal's post about their packages for the Greater Côa Valley - and 👉 here for all of Rewilding Europe's offerings
6) Twenty-five rewilding/nature/climate books
Special thanks to Rosie Howell for her recent post on the occasion of World Book Day. She inspired me with her book selections, some of which I knew well, and some I'd never heard of. Then others added their own books to the post - and finally I included some of my own suggestions - it added up to the nicely round figure of the twenty-five books about rewilding, nature and climate. You're sure to find some fascinating reads among these!
7) Science exposes idiocy of wolf culling in Switzerland
An excellent post by Lucie Wuethrich that dives into this past winter's culling of 50 wolves in Switzerland. She exposes the hyperbole that led the Swiss government to fall into the trap of permitting the cull. Now scientists have investigated - and have come back with answers Here are the results scientists came back with: Not ONE of the 50 wolves killed was responsible for ANY of the sheep that had been killed.
Wolves are apex predators and they're smart and they do exactly what they're supposed to do - their role in nature is clear. In Switzerland there are less than 200 wolves and 1.8 million livestock. Livestock killed by wolves is largely livestock that was left unprotected. If we leave wolves alone and are respectful with nature (and that also means livestock), there is ample room for all to co-exist. May the loud truth of science drown out the cries of intractable fearmongers.
👉Go to Lucie's post and underlying article
8) Anonymous donation helps acquire Yosemite-sized lands
What a story from Down Under: An anonymous donation of A$ 21 million has made it possible to buy a Queensland cattle station the size of Yosemite National Park. The story made me wonder: There is an increasing number of philanthropists eager to help acquire lands for rewilding - but is there a global register? Is there a place where someone curates a list of available properties of abandoned rural lands, unproductive farms?
I'm asking because the aforementioned land has been available since 2016! If you know about such a register, or know someone who might, please forward the question and have them reach out to me. Many thanks!
👉Go here for post and article
And that's it for this edition. Of course there's a great deal more happening in and around the fascinating world of rewilding and this newsletter only offers a weekly glimpse. Fore more insights and stories, use the #rewilding hashtag and follow people, organizations and groups focused on and passionate about rewilding.
Have a good week and thanks for reading and liking and commenting and sharing and caring and reposting and all that jazz!
Cheers,
D