Start your rewilding journey

Learning outcomes

After completing this module, you will have:

• Reflected on the diverse experiences of others to determine ways that they can include rewilding in your own plans.
• Created a personal rewilding plan to use in the future.

1. Research & Planning

If there is a need to translocate an animal, there needs to be research and planning beforehand. Experts in ecology, animal behaviour and habitat requirements will conduct feasibility studies, while social scientists may lead a public consultation process. Fundraisers, legal experts and government agencies all have their role to play in this initial phase Good preparation will ensure a smooth process and for that a lot of different parties and roles are involved.

2. Management

Any initiative needs management. This most often requires managers to oversee the whole process supported by administrative staff to help with documentation and correspondence. Accountants or a finance team are responsible for budgeting, financial planning, tracking expenditure, ensuring compliance with financial regulations and providing financial analysis and reporting to support decision-making.

3. Communication

To create sufficient support (before, during and after the release), local communities, landowners and stakeholders need to be engaged. This is where different communication roles come into play. Community outreach specialists, public relations specialists, marketing professionals and social media managers are all needed. Environmental journalists, photographers/videographers, web designers and all sort of content creators are essential to help share information and build dialogue.

4. Pre-release preparation

Ahead of a release another set of roles come into play. Captive breeding experts may breed and raise lynx for reintroduction. Animal caretakers and veterinarians ensure the health and welfare of the lynx during captivity and transport. Roles vary from logisticians to drivers and they all contribute to the rewilding cause.

5. Release & Monitoring

Before the release there are many different roles involved. During and after the release, field biologists, wildlife technicians, data scientists and researchers may be needed too. Tasks range from monitoring the animals(s) by collecting data on movement, behaviour, survival and reproductive success to managing data collection, storage and analyses, and potentially writing scientific publications to inform future efforts.

As you can see, it is not necessary to own land to start rewilding. People without access to land can become active rewilders in many different ways:

• They can work for rewilding organisations and initiatives, in either a paid or voluntary capacity.
• They can participate in rewilding actions at a whole range of scales.
• They can act as advocates for rewilding by informing and motivating others through social media, networks an events.
• By staying informed about the latest developments in rewilding they can become thought leaders and ensure others are inspired by accurate and impactful communications.

1. Direct purchase of land by an individual, a single organisation, or a group.
2. Leasing land or purchasing the management rights for a piece of land.
3. Forming a collaborative partnership with a landowner or manager, to inspire them to engage in rewilding and give them advice and guidance as they move forward with their practical rewilding efforts.
4. Joining a working group, consultation or coalition that includes landowners, managers, users, and other local stakeholders to decide how an area of land or sea should be used and managed.

Georg Messerer (29 – Germany, Wilderness Guide & Tracker, WeWilder)

What do you do and how is that linked to rewilding?

My studies are helping me build up a good theoretical framework for rewilding work. I am a wilderness guide and guide trainer in a rewilding context, providing an opportunity for guests to experience wild nature in Europe while supporting rewilding progress. Wilderness guides act as a crucial link between wild nature and society, kickstarting many beneficial processes without exploiting nature. Practicing the ancient skill of tracking forces one not just to become a well-rounded naturalist, but from a rewilding perspective it is an unbelievably powerful skill to develop, ranging from personal development, and rewarding experiences, non-invasive data collection and monitoring, to community engagement – it also has the stuff to change people's perception of nature very quickly. In Europe, I think we as a tracking community are just scratching the surface of what is possible – exciting times ahead!

What is your background?

Initially, I qualified as a wilderness guide of walking safaris and a tracker in South Africa in 2012. Now I am enrolled in a masters in Biological Diversity, Ecology & Evolution.

When did you got involved in rewilding for the first time?

I got involved in the Bison Rewilding Project in Romania in the Southern Carpathians in early 2015 and ended up living there full time for 3.5 years. Together with the local team, I focused mainly on setting up sustainable ecotourism programmes that enable guests to have special and memorable experiences, and the local community to benefit from rewilding. With the recently built WeWilder campus we have reached a significant milestone in complementing the bison rewilding process.

Do you have any suggestions for anyone that wants to get involved with rewilding?

The simplest way to get involved is to start talking about it with others and I guess to follow the flow of opportunities. I don’t think there is a clear answer to this, since everyone is different and has a different path. But one thing is for sure, you don’t have to be an ecologist to be active in rewilding!

David Satori (28 – UK, Mycologist, RewildingMycology)

What do you do and how is that linked to rewilding?

I am a professional field mycologist specialising in the conservation of fungi, and I work as a self-employed consultant on a variety of rewilding projects across the UK. My role involves conduction fungal biodiversity surveys and monitoring, using field identification skills as well as DNA approaches to study how fungi are recovering as the rewilding process unfolds. Because fungi are highly interdependent with plants and animals and are dynamic in nature, traditional conservation measures that focus on preserving areas in which important fungi are found may not be sufficient to prevent their decline, especially if there are other missing elements of the ecosystem. I take my experience in fungal ecology to help rewilding projects develop strategies for preserving fungal diversity and help them understand how that fungal diversity in turn supports the rest of the ecosystem.

What is your background?

I studied for a MSc in Plant and Fungal Taxonomy, Diversity, and Conservation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Queen Mary University of London and have previously worked as a science teacher in a secondary school.

When and how did you got involved in rewilding for the first time?

Like many people, my initial inroad to rewilding was the book Feral by George Monbiot, which immediately resonated with me as a conservation paradigm fit for the 21st century. Coinciding with the time I read that book in my early twenties, I was involved with my university’s mountaineering society and one of our autumn trips had us visit Snowdonia in Wales. On a walk one evening, I found myself in a very peculiar woodland. It was rather damp, the field layer lush with ferns, mosses, and other herbaceous plants, and lichens draped the trees. I was captivated by this habitat which I’ve never experienced before, and it was many years before I realised I had entered a remnant of an Atlantic rainforest. Since then, the preservation and restoration of oceanic woodlands and their fungi has been the driving force behind my interest in rewilding, and I am now involved with multiple rainforest projects, studying their fungal diversity.

Do you have any suggestions for a young person that wants to get involved with rewilding?

My biggest piece of advice would be to consider rewilding like one would consider any ecosystem: as composed of numerous interacting and interrelated components that give rise to the whole. Oftentimes we may get sidetracked by assuming that rewilding work only involves the reintroduction of charismatic megafauna, or having to own land as a prerequisite, but the truth is that it is a holistic approach to nature recovery that needs multiple skillsets – including soft skills such as communication – and requires specialists with knowledge across many taxonomic groups, not just animals! It’s up to you to analyse the direction that rewilding is heading as a movement and figure out how your unique interests and skills can be of value to it.

Katarzyna Hajdas (30 – Poland, Rewilding Communicator expert, Rewilding.pl

What do you do and how is that linked to rewilding?

I am working for a government environmental institution where I cover environmental impact assessments. At the moment, I am mainly involved in rewilding voluntarily at EYR, in the past I had the chance to carry out a communication project about rewilding. In the future I would like to be involved on a larger scale as I believe that communication is the key to broadening the reach of rewilding.

What is your background?

I graduated with a master’s degree in Sustainable Development from the interdepartmental environmental studies at the University of Warsaw.

When did you get involved in rewilding for the first time?

It was during my studies that my passion for rewilding was born when, during class, Frank Vera’s publication ‘”Grazing ecology and a forest history” was mentioned.

I first became involved in rewilding when I carried out a project on communicating rewilding in Poland, thanks to a scholarship I received from the German foundation Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt. My project involved the preparation of a lecture on rewilding, which I had the opportunity to present in front of students at the University of Warsaw. It was a great experience and I hope to repeat on a larger scale in the future.

Do you have any suggestions for a young person that wants to get involved with rewilding?

Although full-time work in this area is still limited, there are many other opportunities, projects, grants and scholarships can allow you to use your skills and gain experience for the future. In addition, you don’t have to be a biology graduate to get involved in rewilding! We need all hands on deck! Maybe you feel comfortable as an educator, take beautiful photographs, or write articles – these could be your great strengths.

Noah Bennett & Jack Durant (25 & 27 – UK, Chief Technical Officer & Co-Founder)

What do you do and how is that linked to rewilding?

Noah is the Chief Technical Officer Noah is the technical lead at Youngwilders, responsible for the detailed design of our wilding projects as well as the behind the scenes mapping and calculations which support our work. Noah has a passion for improving watercourses as part of our projects, and believes that river restoration can be the cornerstone for connectivity between wild spaces.

Jack is the Co-founder and director of the organisation.

What is your background?

Noah has a background in Environmental Engineering, with a particular focus on hydro-morphology, flooding, and river restoration, and graduated with an MEng in The Environment, Energy and Sustainability in 2019. Jack studied Philosophy at undergraduate level before completing a Masters at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustinability at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

When did you get involved in rewilding for the first time?

We heard about rewilding mainly from books and the media. We started discussing it between ourselves and at some point we really decided to give it a go and try it out ourselves. We started Youngwilders from the vision that when we grow old we would like to walk through a singing landscape that has recovered on account of actions we had taken. Moving into the rewilding sphere, we felt that there were many small plots of land that had massive potential but were currently being ignored. At the same time there were masses of young people who were convinced of the worth of rewilding and who were really keen to act but had very few opportunities to do so.

Do you have any suggestions for a young person that wants to get involved with rewilding?

Do not be intimidated if you don’t have the technical or scientific knowledge. The basic ideas of rewilding are very intuitive and anyone can grasp them. Also, the rewilding movement is bigger than solely ecological ideas and there are lots of other transferable skills like writing and speaking that are vital for the movement. Believe in yourself because everyone brings something to the table-Message anyone you think might be able to help you do what you want to do.

Hanna Rasper (29 – Italy, Designer, Rewildfires)

What do you do and how is that linked to rewilding?

I work as a Project Coordinator for Rewildfires. The Rewildfires project aimed to research the potential for rewilding in Sicily and explore the links between fires, grazing and rewilding. After its completion our team moves forward to work on small scale projects centered around capacity building, community engagement and monitoring.

What is your background?

I come from a Design background with an MA in Design for Social Impact.

When did you get involved in rewilding for the first time?

Few years ago I came across a documentary about rewilding and wolves in Europe, which was an eye-opener. Rewilding is very catchy and it really stuck with me, so I started looking up different organisations and people. Another more solid step I took was that I participated in the Rewilding Tourism training provided by Rewilding Europe and got certified. That how it how it really began for me. After that I reached out to other Bosch alumni like myself and together we applied for funding to make a study about rewilding opportunities in Sicily.

Do you have any suggestions for a young person that wants to get involved with rewilding?

Reach out to people! This made rewilding much more approachable and tangible for me.

Don’t hesitate to get involved! The more different your background the more you enrich the filed of rewilding!

Don’t be scared to start, we had little experience with grant applications, but our efforts were successful. You will find that there are people who value what you do and are willing to finance it.

Start small: we work with small grants that are manageable but still have impact, allowing us to take action while leaving space for trial and error.

In summary: Do small projects, bring results and prove your concept

Søren Thomsen (25 – Denmark, Advisor and Planning)

What do you do and how is that linked to rewilding?

I am mainly involved through the rewilding project my family is running. It is a farm estate of about 26ha of which half is agriculture land and half pre-existing nature. We are trying to convert it all into one nature area by improving biodiversity in the pre-existing nature and converting the farmland back to nature using grazing of ponies and cattle in the process. I am essentially the academic advisor and planner for the project due to my biology background. In addition I also run a website called The Extinctions where I write scientific articles discussing the Quaternary Extinctions.

What is your background?

I have a MSc in Nature Management from Copenhagen University and BSc in Biology from the Imperial College of London.

When did you get involved in rewilding for the first time?

A friend initially introduced me to the idea years ago but it was only during my Bachelor studies that I started to really generate an interest. When you look back on what our diversity used to be you see that we have such an impoverished nature and I think people often do not seem to realize it. This led me to start the extinctions website. Another thing that inspired me was the book Wilding by Isabella Tree. Joining the European Young Rewilders and my family’s project have been a nice way to continue my involvement with rewilding.

Do you have any suggestions for a young person that wants to get involved with rewilding?

My main advice is to be proactive. Don’t wait for rewilding to come to you, come to rewilding! Get yourself out there! You can figure out for yourself which way suits you best, but there is always a way no matter who you are! You can always start your own initiatives. Although, starting initiatives of course depends on who you are, what is your skill-set and where the opportunities lie, there are many things you can do even if you don’t have a lot of opportunities. You can for instance, always start a blog, contact your local nature organisation and start getting involved in activism or finding a little plot in your garden or your parent’s garden and getting to work there.

Rewilding happens on many scales and there are a lot of avenues into the field. There is not just the management component, there is also getting the word out, starting a dialogue, pushing politicians, communicating information to the general public or starting the discussion with people who are already involved with rewilding. Although not all will guarantee you will be working full time, they can definitely get you involved and connected with the movement.

Hedda Werres (26 – Portugal, Co-founder and Head of Rewilding, Sylvester Rewilding)

What do you do and how is that linked to rewilding?

I work for Sylvester Rewilding, an organisation which aims to collectively create wilderness areas in Europe that are managed democratically. As their head of Rewilding I do everything that has to do with rewilding communications. This includes managing our SoMe channels, photography, writing blog posts. I am also a part of the Eco-team of Sylvester which focuses on the practical side of our rewild efforts. There I provide a link between the ecological team and the rest of the organisation.

What is your background?

I have a BSc in Psychology and I am currently doing an MSc in Cognitive Science.

When did you get involved in rewilding for the first time?

I heard about rewidling for the first time from our co-founder Julius. He gave me the book Feral by George Monbiot and bombarded me with articles and podcasts about it. From there we started to talk about rewilding and how it can be a great opportunity to actually restore ecosystems and help solve our environmental problems. That is how I really got into it. What really caught me about rewilding was that it included humans. This resonated with me, because as a phycologist I knew the importance of getting people on board for successful conservation efforts. Rewilding recognised how important it is for people to see nature restoration as their own mission. This was super inspiring for me and I wanted to be part of it. My active involvement came later with Sylvester. Our community made me feel like I can put our ideas through. I was surrounded by people who believed in our dream and were willing to put all in to make rewilding happen.

Do you have any suggestions for a young person that wants to get involved with rewilding?

My main advice is to just go for it! Do not be afraid to reach out to people and ask: ‘Can I help?’. Connect, talk to people and join a community. I had no clue about ecosystems and nature conservation when I started out, but got a very positive response from the rewilding movement. People took me seriously and I felt like they valued what I do. So don’t be afraid to reach out.

Noa Van Mulken (24 – The Netherlands, Policy Officer)

What do you do and how is that linked to rewilding?

As a policy officer in spatial planning, nature, and biodiversity, my role is to preserve and protect natural ecosystems through rewilding and nature-inclusive strategies. I advocate for the integration of natural processes into spatial planning, ensuring that economic developments, such as residential areas, are designed with ecological considerations in mind. This includes creating ecological corridors and safeguarding species migration patterns. Additionally, I lobby for the reintroduction of natural processes, such as species reintroduction or reducing human management of green spaces, to address environmental challenges like carbon dioxide levels, thereby promoting healthier, self-sustaining ecosystems.

What is your background?

I have a background in policy evaluation with a specific specialization in climatic risks. I in specifically studied the impact of global warming on several species, but also societal issues like the constant fight for space between humans and wildlife.

When did you get involved in rewilding for the first time?

During my internship in Canada, I was first introduced the concept of rewilding which I learned during another internship in Costa Rica is so much more than just the reintroduction of species. After my internships, I found the network of European Young Rewilders and decided to dedicate time as a volunteer to become more familiar with restoring ecological processes on a large scale with limited human intervention.

Do you have any suggestions for a young person that wants to get involved with rewilding?

If you’re passionate about rewilding and want to make it a part of your career, it’s important to be proactive and immerse yourself in the field. Start by volunteering for rewilding projects, joining youth boards, and attending conferences. These experiences will give you valuable insights and connections. While it might take time to see results, persistence is key. Building a network within the rewilding community is crucial - learning from others and collaborating with like-minded individuals can open doors to new opportunities.

In terms of making rewilding part of your job, consider how you can advocate for ecological connectivity and natural processes within your role, just as I do for example in spatial planning. You can always make a connection to the principles of rewilding. Push for designs that prioritize wildlife corridors if you are an engineer, lobby for the reintroduction of natural processes if you are a political scientist, and in general work to ensure that development and conservation go hand in hand. By integrating these principles into your work, you can help create a future where rewilding is a standard practice, not just an aspiration.

Write your choice, and/or your idea, as precisely as you can in your Personal Rewilding Plan.

Now that you have completed this module, you should be able to:

• Recognise the rewilding principles and how they are used on land, in freshwater systems, and in marine environments.
• Identify the different groups of people that are relevant to rewilding and plan how you would work with them in real life.
• Anticipate the potential contribution rewilding can make to rural communities, as well as people’s concerns, and select the best tools and approaches for the situation.
• Determine which rewilding models are most relevant to a particular place as we work to help nature restore itself.
• Identify the nature and natural processes that are missing from the European landscape and create your own bold vision of the future.
• Reflect on the experience of people leading the rewilding movement and make your own practical rewilding plan.