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Rewilding is about restoring broken ecosystems to the point where natural processes can resume and nature can thrive again without human management. Let's work to bring back native forests, reintroduce lost species, remove human infrastructure that fragments habitats, and restore soil health!
Rights of nature laws recognise ecosystems—like rivers, forests, or wetlands—as legal entities with the right to exist, thrive, and regenerate. This legal framework allows nature to be represented in court and protected from harm, just like a person or corporation. Campaigning for the legal personhood of wilderness or rewilded areas can shield them from future threats such as development, extraction, or pollution. It also redefines nature not as property, but as a stakeholder in legal and political systems. Countries like Ecuador, New Zealand, and Spain have already passed legislation recognising the rights of nature, setting a global precedent for long-term ecological protection.
Rewilding focuses on restoring the fundamental systemic processes and natural functions that allow ecosystems to thrive. By reinstating key ecological processes—such as predation, grazing, seed dispersal, and nutrient cycling—rewilding helps ecosystems regenerate naturally. These processes enable ecosystems to become self-sustaining and resilient, fostering biodiversity and enhancing the ability to adapt to environmental changes—without continuous human management. This includes removing barriers like fences or dams and allowing rivers to flow naturally, or reintroducing natural flooding events to wetlands, which can help maintain plant diversity and create habitats for waterfowl and other species. This approach ensures that nature can recover its balance, creating a healthy, dynamic, and thriving environment without ongoing human intervention.
Reforestation is the process of restoring forests that have been degraded or lost, helping to rebuild ecosystems, sequester carbon, and support biodiversity. Planting native trees in deforested areas can improve soil quality, regulate water cycles, and provide habitats for a wide range of species. And when done with a rewilding approach, reforestation goes beyond planting trees: it’s about creating functioning, self-sustaining native ecosystems. Rewilding-driven reforestation also focuses on native species, ensuring that the forest reflects the original biodiversity of the area. In contrast, traditional reforestation often prioritizes the quick regrowth of green cover with a focus on timber production or carbon sequestration, sometimes using non-native species or mono-culture plantations. While it helps restore tree cover, traditional reforestation does not always address the full ecological complexity needed for long-term resilience. Rewilding-driven reforestation, on the other hand, prioritizes ecological complexity, encouraging the return of vegetation and animal species that once thrived in the area, ensuring that forests become resilient biodiverse systems that can thrive in the face of climate change.
Fragmentation is one of the biggest barriers to thriving ecosystems. When habitats are broken up by roads, development, or farmland, it becomes harder for species to migrate, find mates, and access food—leading to population decline and reduced biodiversity. Wildlife corridors are a key rewilding strategy that reconnects these fragmented habitats, creating safe passageways across the landscape. For example, green bridges over motorways, tree-lined wildlife corridors along farmland, and buffers of vegetation along rivers help restore connectivity. These corridors are vital for species like hedgehogs, which often struggle to cross roads and other barriers. By re-establishing safe pathways, ecosystems become more resilient to human impact, turning isolated pockets of nature into dynamic, connected systems.
Keystone species are animals that have a disproportionately large influence on the ecosystems they inhabit. For example, the loss of apex predators like wolves can lead to overpopulation of prey species such as deer, which eat large numbers of tree saplings and prevent forests from regrowing. Other keystone species, like beavers, are ecosystem engineers that reshape landscapes by creating wetlands, while pollinators are essential to plant reproduction and the stability of entire food webs. When these critical species disappear, entire ecological networks can unravel. That’s why this approach is a key principle of rewilding: reintroducing keystone species helps restore natural population dynamics, reshape habitats, support wider biodiversity, and revive essential ecological functions.
Citizen science strengthens both ecological knowledge and community connection. By taking part in wildlife monitoring, habitat mapping, or seasonal data collection, people become active stewards of local nature. These networks link public participation with scientific research, creating large open datasets that can inform conservation policy and land use decisions. Crucially, citizen science builds long-term engagement by inviting people to see and shape ecological change firsthand. Whether organised through schools, local councils, or grassroots initiatives, these networks help embed nature restoration in everyday life—bridging the gap between data, decision-making, and collective care.
Land trusts are non-profit groups that buy or manage land to protect it for long-term community or environmental use. Community land trusts are a powerful tool for securing land for habitat restoration and rewilding, while also redistributing control over how that land is used. When land is held in trust and governed collectively, communities gain long-term access to green space—and a direct role in its care. In urban and suburban areas, this helps address stark inequalities in access to nature and builds local capacity for ecological stewardship. In rural areas, there is great potential for turning depleted land back into biodiverse ecosystems. Beyond conservation, land trust collectives can also support commons-based governance, equitable food growing, indigenous or place-based knowledge practices, making rewilded areas socially and ecologically rich.
Rights of nature laws recognise ecosystems—like rivers, forests, or wetlands—as legal entities with the right to exist, thrive, and regenerate. This legal framework allows nature to be represented in court and protected from harm, just like a person or corporation. Campaigning for the legal personhood of wilderness or rewilded areas can shield them from future threats such as development, extraction, or pollution. It also redefines nature not as property, but as a stakeholder in legal and political systems. Countries like Ecuador, New Zealand, and Spain have already passed legislation recognising the rights of nature, setting a global precedent for long-term ecological protection.
Rewilding focuses on restoring the fundamental systemic processes and natural functions that allow ecosystems to thrive. By reinstating key ecological processes—such as predation, grazing, seed dispersal, and nutrient cycling—rewilding helps ecosystems regenerate naturally. These processes enable ecosystems to become self-sustaining and resilient, fostering biodiversity and enhancing the ability to adapt to environmental changes—without continuous human management. This includes removing barriers like fences or dams and allowing rivers to flow naturally, or reintroducing natural flooding events to wetlands, which can help maintain plant diversity and create habitats for waterfowl and other species. This approach ensures that nature can recover its balance, creating a healthy, dynamic, and thriving environment without ongoing human intervention.
Reforestation is the process of restoring forests that have been degraded or lost, helping to rebuild ecosystems, sequester carbon, and support biodiversity. Planting native trees in deforested areas can improve soil quality, regulate water cycles, and provide habitats for a wide range of species. And when done with a rewilding approach, reforestation goes beyond planting trees: it’s about creating functioning, self-sustaining native ecosystems. Rewilding-driven reforestation also focuses on native species, ensuring that the forest reflects the original biodiversity of the area. In contrast, traditional reforestation often prioritizes the quick regrowth of green cover with a focus on timber production or carbon sequestration, sometimes using non-native species or mono-culture plantations. While it helps restore tree cover, traditional reforestation does not always address the full ecological complexity needed for long-term resilience. Rewilding-driven reforestation, on the other hand, prioritizes ecological complexity, encouraging the return of vegetation and animal species that once thrived in the area, ensuring that forests become resilient biodiverse systems that can thrive in the face of climate change.
Fragmentation is one of the biggest barriers to thriving ecosystems. When habitats are broken up by roads, development, or farmland, it becomes harder for species to migrate, find mates, and access food—leading to population decline and reduced biodiversity. Wildlife corridors are a key rewilding strategy that reconnects these fragmented habitats, creating safe passageways across the landscape. For example, green bridges over motorways, tree-lined wildlife corridors along farmland, and buffers of vegetation along rivers help restore connectivity. These corridors are vital for species like hedgehogs, which often struggle to cross roads and other barriers. By re-establishing safe pathways, ecosystems become more resilient to human impact, turning isolated pockets of nature into dynamic, connected systems.
Keystone species are animals that have a disproportionately large influence on the ecosystems they inhabit. For example, the loss of apex predators like wolves can lead to overpopulation of prey species such as deer, which eat large numbers of tree saplings and prevent forests from regrowing. Other keystone species, like beavers, are ecosystem engineers that reshape landscapes by creating wetlands, while pollinators are essential to plant reproduction and the stability of entire food webs. When these critical species disappear, entire ecological networks can unravel. That’s why this approach is a key principle of rewilding: reintroducing keystone species helps restore natural population dynamics, reshape habitats, support wider biodiversity, and revive essential ecological functions.
Citizen science strengthens both ecological knowledge and community connection. By taking part in wildlife monitoring, habitat mapping, or seasonal data collection, people become active stewards of local nature. These networks link public participation with scientific research, creating large open datasets that can inform conservation policy and land use decisions. Crucially, citizen science builds long-term engagement by inviting people to see and shape ecological change firsthand. Whether organised through schools, local councils, or grassroots initiatives, these networks help embed nature restoration in everyday life—bridging the gap between data, decision-making, and collective care.
Land trusts are non-profit groups that buy or manage land to protect it for long-term community or environmental use. Community land trusts are a powerful tool for securing land for habitat restoration and rewilding, while also redistributing control over how that land is used. When land is held in trust and governed collectively, communities gain long-term access to green space—and a direct role in its care. In urban and suburban areas, this helps address stark inequalities in access to nature and builds local capacity for ecological stewardship. In rural areas, there is great potential for turning depleted land back into biodiverse ecosystems. Beyond conservation, land trust collectives can also support commons-based governance, equitable food growing, indigenous or place-based knowledge practices, making rewilded areas socially and ecologically rich.
Rewilding isn’t just for remote conservation areas — it can begin in gardens, parks, schools, farms, and city rooftops. Whether you’re learning, lending support, or leading a project, there are powerful ways to help bring nature back.
Discover the “Affric Highlands” project by Trees for Life, the UK’s largest rewilding initiative. Spanning over 500,000 acres, it aims to restore native forests, peatlands, and wildlife across the Scottish Highlands—all led by local communities. It’s a bold vision for a wilder, more resilient future that puts people and nature at the heart of the landscape.
Books can spark imagination—and action. Whether you’re new to rewilding or deep into its debates, these titles explore how we reconnect people and ecosystems.
Get inspired by using Rewilding Britain’s interactive project map to see where rewilding is happening nearby. Discover who’s rewilding across Britain, from the coast of Cornwall right up to the Highlands of Scotland, and how they’re doing it.
Ask your workplace to offset its carbon emissions through organisations like Mossy Earth, which offer rewilding-based offsets that restore ecosystems, boost biodiversity, and support local communities. Choosing nature-led carbon projects allows your business to meaningfully contribute to long-term, holistic climate solutions.
Help make Scotland the world’s first rewilding nation. By signing the charter, you’ll back a bold vision for restoring nature at scale—bringing back missing species, expanding wild habitats, and supporting community-led rewilding. This campaign from Rewilding Britain and Scottish Rewilding Alliance aims to influence national policy and public support.
Trees for Life is a rewilding charity working to restore the Caledonian Forest and its wildlife in the Scottish Highlands. Your donation supports native tree planting, red squirrel reintroduction, and long-term plans to reintroduce lynx—helping revive a lost ecosystem and protect biodiversity for future generations.
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Even small city spaces can be transformed into wild havens. Use this practical guide by How to Rewild to identify opportunities in your neighbourhood—whether it’s joining as a volunteer to reclaim a vacant lot, or it's as simple as throwing "seed bombs" for wildflowers in post-industrial land. These overlooked places can become thriving ecosystems once again.
Help track biodiversity near you using platforms like iNaturalist or Zooniverse. Your sightings support research and policymaking while building public understanding of the need for rewilding and nature protection.
Even small outdoor spaces can support biodiversity. Letting a patch grow wild, adding native plants, or creating a mini pond can provide vital habitat for insects, birds, and amphibians. These practical guides from How to Rewild and Rewilding Britain will help you reimagine your garden as a thriving pocket of wild nature.
If you own an acre of land or more, think about partnering with a rewilding organisation to bring biodiversity and natural processes back into your land.
Map a wild path through your neighbourhood—link back gardens, street corners, and park fringes to create urban wildways. Rewild My Street’s step-by-step tools can help you turn overlooked spaces into a shared habitat network.
Schools and campuses often have underused green spaces perfect for rewilding. Transforming a lawn into a pollinator patch or creating wildlife corridors not only boosts biodiversity but also builds collective ownership and ecological awareness. With more space and community involvement, these projects can have outsized impact. Resources from Rewild My Street make it easy to start.
