Rewilding: Nature’s Comeback
Given humanity’s impact on the planet, the once-fringe concept of the Anthropocene is now more or less taken as a given. Our collective degradation of the landscapes and marine environments of the planet is undeniable. However, we know that Indigenous people have been “managing” landscapes in various ways for millennia, finding ways to support and respect the natural systems that we are very much a part of, not apart from. The late O.E. Wilson’s visionary “Half-Earth” movement proposes a goal of setting aside 50% of the planet for nature. How do we accomplish this equitably and ethically? We need to conserve what remains and work to restore the rest, and, as Dr. Carly Vynne reminds us, “huge efforts on both fronts will be necessary.”
This week, join us as we begin to explore the restoration side of this essential work. How do we reintegrate the idea of wild places into a transformed world? What is working right now? Are there strategies and models that fit the myriad situations in front of us?
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Rewilding Throughout Europe
Cities Across Europe Are Making Space for Nature
From London to Frankfurt to Barcelona, European cities are undertaking rewilding initiatives that are benefiting human and wild residents alike. Read more here.
Wild Mammals Are Making a Comeback in Europe Thanks to Conservation Efforts
In this story told by stats, Hannah Ritchie of Our World In Data explains how many European mammals — including beavers, bison, seals, and wolves — are experiencing population growth as a result of conservation and rewilding efforts. Read more here.
Rewilding Europe: Letting Nature Take the Lead
Rewilding Europe, a nonprofit organization based in the Netherlands, is working to make Europe a wilder place, with more space for wildlife, wilderness, and wild values. Read more here.
Restoration in Practice: Making a Mini-Forest with the Miyawaki Method
The Miyawaki Method is unique in that it re-creates the conditions for a mature natural forest to arise within decades rather than centuries. At the heart of the method is the identification of a combination of native plant species best suited to the specific conditions at any given planting site.
“The final thing I’ll say is – and I know this is within the ethos of Bioneers – we are so bombarded by negative, depressing environmental news, and it’s understandable. We’re in a dark place as a global civilization. But the beavers are an amazing ray of light in some ways. They are one of history’s great conservation success stories. The species was basically on the brink of extinction, certainly in the continental United States around the turn of the century, and now there are 15 million of them. They are proof that species can recover.” — Journalist Ben Goldfarb
Rewilding in the News:
- From High Country News: Returning sea otters to Oregon could revive kelp forests | Reintroduction of the marine mammals may restore coastal ecosystems but also threatens shellfish industries and tribal self-governance.
- From Berkeleyside: Berkeley science teacher wins Time magazine innovative teaching award | Neelam Patil is one of 10 teachers chosen by Time for her work using “pocket forests” to help students see they can make a difference in climate change.
- From ABC10: Here is how beavers are helping in California’s firefight | Climate scientists are finding that working with what nature provides could be more effective than our synthetic solutions.
