Rewilding Britain

4 June 2025

Big, bold and community-led – £100k boost for community led marine rewilding 🌊 🧵1/3

We need to calm the flood-drought climate whiplash 🌦️ In the national conversation around climate resilience, Britain’s water crisis is almost always framed as two separate emergencies. [Continued👇] Images: [1]-Cerib/Adobe Stock, [2]-Andee/Pexels/Canva

Yet one of the most powerful, cost-effective defences we have is nature itself. Rewilding can re-establish spongy peatlands, wet woodlands and free-flowing rivers, which in turn can repair landscapes, help secure our water future and build our long-term climate resilience.

f.mtr.coolThe Wild View: Calming the flood-drought climate whiplashWe cannot concrete our way out of climate extremes; turning our countryside back into a natural sponge is the key to escaping the flood-drought whiplash.

In her latest Wild View opinion piece our Co-founder and Chief Exec Rebecca Wrigley delves into how turning our countryside back into a natural sponge is the key to escaping this flood-drought whiplash👇

In the summer, reservoirs drain, cracked earth threatens farming and flames increasingly threaten people and nature. Just months later, the narrative flips: autumn storms inundate towns, wash away topsoil, and prompt calls for higher concrete walls, deeper dredging and emergency pumping stations.

Can we bring back the giants? 🦬 Britain once had many more large herbivores, including aurochs, wild horses, wild boar, red deer, roe deer, elk (or moose) and the steppe bison. Image: Szymon Bartosz/iStock 1/4

This September marked a significant moment for large herbivores in Britain. Nearly 120 delegates from mainland Europe and the UK gathered in Kent at the Large Herbivore Working Group conference to talk about one thing: how to restore more large herbivores to our landscapes. 3/4

f.mtr.coolBringing back the giants: a turning point for Britain’s lost…Britain’s countryside needs the heavy grazers that once shaped it. We report back from a landmark conference on how we can bring them home.

Our Rewilding Manager Sara King reports back from this landmark summit in our latest blog👇 https://f.mtr.cool/cvnanyamom 4/4

Today, rewilding projects look to restore herbivores wherever possible, so that these ecosystem engineers can play their vital role in shaping dynamic, resilient landscapes that support other species. 2/4

We’re fresh back from a couple of days at the SNP Annual National Conference in Aberdeen, helping anchor rewilding at the core of the Scottish Government's nature recovery conversation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Images: Daniel Hale/Marine Conservation Society

To make that happen, we’re urging the Scottish Government to: Deliver real marine protection: Take rapid, ambitious action following the ongoing fisheries consultation to ensure 30% of our inshore waters are truly protected from damaging practices 🌊

Align offshore wind with nature: Integrate climate adaptation, nature recovery, and coastal community regeneration into the rollout of Scotland’s 40GW offshore wind commitment 💨

Our Marine Rewilding Lead, Jacques Villemot, brought the rewilding perspective to a panel on ‘Heat, Fire, Flood: Is Scotland ready for what comes next?’ — alongside Cabinet Secretary Gillian Martin MSP and partners like @scotlink.bsky.social, @mcsuk.bsky.social and @thesoilassociation.bsky.social.

His core message? Meeting Scotland's climate adaptation targets means moving swiftly from policy promises to immediate action across our land and seas.

Natural regeneration & free-roaming herbivores – in London? 🐄 🌳 Wild Tolworth (@citizenzoo.bsky.social ) shows what happens when we let nature lead in our cities. Thanks for showing us this incredible urban rewilding site ⬇️ https://f.mtr.cool/23teng3mv9

We’re in Westminster 📢 calling for evidence-led, inclusive & responsible species restoration with the Missing Lynx Project 🐾 Restoring species like Eurasian lynx must involve rigorous scientific research, working with communities & land managers & putting robust ecological frameworks in place.

See you at the Blue Earth Summit? 🌊 Kate, Sophie and Hanah will be in London this October, joining innovators, investors, businesses and changemakers from around the world to explore ideas for a more sustainable future. If you’re heading there too, come and say hello @blueearthsummit.bsky.social

f.mtr.coolReport: Rewilding and climate resilience: wildfiresExploring the important contribution that rewilding plays in reducing wildfire risk in a heating climate. Read our comprehensive report.

In 2025 alone, wildfires burned ~ 47,000 hectares of land. Britain needs to Rewild to Recover from worsening future wildfire threat, says our new report published today: Rewilding and climate resilience: reducing wildfire risk in a heating climate. 🔥 Read the full report:

We're celebrating! 🎉 Our brand new Impact report is out, an inspiring snapshot of the vital progress and real-world impact we've made together for rewilding in Britain. Read the report: https://f.mtr.cool/nix1f7nfe1

Bright and early start to the second day of @greenparty.org.uk conference in Brighton, with a beach clean and comb 🏖️ with @mcsuk.bsky.social @sascampaigns.bsky.social and Leave No Trace Brighton

We collected over 10kg of rubbish from the beach and discovered some encouraging signs of coastal recovery thanks to efforts of @sussexbay.bsky.social 🌊 Thanks to everyone who joined us!

Meet Áine, who's leading a project on Arran that's bringing people together to protect the island’s rich marine heritage through the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST). COAST is also one of a handful of ambitious large-scale projects backed by our £100,000 Rewilding Challenge Fund.

f.mtr.coolRewilding Challenge FundA £100,000 funding opportunity awarded by Rewilding Britain to one large-scale rewilding project every year.

If you’re part of a seascape or landscape-scale project in Britain, you could receive £100,000 to let nature lead, help people prosper and move up the rewilding spectrum. Applications close 9 October.

f.mtr.coolf.mtr.coolEnjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

And you can watch the full film featuring Áine and other inspiring projects via our YouTube channel.

We’re here at Green Party Conference to share the power of rewilding with Green MPs and party members - for a wilder, healthier and more resilient Britain 🌊 If you’re here, come say hello at stand 12! @greenparty.org.uk @zackpolanski.bsky.social #Rewilding #GreenPartyConference #ThinkBigActWild

Wednesday's debate in the Scottish Parliament on rewilding 👇 Ariane Burgess MSP led calls for a Climate Shock Fund and a Landscape Resilience Summit, framing healthy peatlands and wetlands as vital natural infrastructure against extreme weather. Huge thanks to everyone who came down.

Looking for some positive nature news? You’re in the right place📍 Welcome to #RewildingWins, our monthly series where we put a spotlight on some of the month’s incredible rewilding achievements. Here's what we're celebrating this September👇 1/6

A new network dedicated to rewilding and nature recovery has launched in Lincolnshire. It’s aim is to bring together people, projects and communities with an interest in rewilding across the county to share knowledge and practical action🤝 5/6

Reshare this post to spread the positivity. And make sure to follow us for your monthly dose of #RewildingHope 💚 Images: [1]-Matthew Gibson/Canva, [2]-Sergey Uryadnikov/Shutterstock, [3]-Martin Prochazkacz/Shutterstock, [4]-Seawilding, [5]-mirceax/Getty Images/Canva 6/6

Bridges have opened in a woodland in Kent, doubling the area available to a herd of free-roaming European bison which were introduced in 2022 as part of Kent Wildlife Trust’s and Wildwood Trust’s Wilder Blean project. The crossings have given the animals access to a total of 100 hectares🦬 3/6

About 1,000 mature native oysters and 15,000 juveniles have been released at a nursery at South Tyneside in the final stages of a 6-year-long restoration project by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Groundwork. The oysters are reportedly thriving🦪 4/6

White-tailed eagle chicks have fledged from wild nests in England for the fourth year in a row. Two out of five pairs released by a Forestry England and Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation reintroduction project successfully raised young, with one chick fledging in Dorset and two in Sussex🦅 2/6

f.mtr.coolIt's a crucial week in the Scottish Parliament for rewildingCOMMUNITIES across Scotland are directly in the path of violent, relentless climate shocks.

“Rewilding is not here to replace other ways of managing land. It is an essential tool to safeguard it.” @ariane-burgess.bsky.social on how rewilding can help tackle climate shocks facing Scotland:

Some rewilding can only happen at scale. Our Rewilding Challenge Fund backs one ambitious, landscape- or seascape-scale project each year with £100,000, proving what’s possible, and inspiring others across Britain to follow. 🧵1/5

🌊 COAST to begin an exciting new chapter for marine restoration on the island, working with the community to survey habitats and embed community-led stewardship into Scotland’s long-term marine conservation strategy. 🧵4/5

f.mtr.coolRewilding Challenge FundA £100,000 funding opportunity awarded by Rewilding Britain to one large-scale rewilding project every year.

We're looking for the next big project to fund — could it be yours? Find out more about the Fund and how to complete an Expression of Interest👇 https://f.mtr.cool/2nte30mnds Applications close 9 October. 🧵5/5

We've already helped projects like: 🦬 Wilder Blean with their bold aim to rewild tens of thousands of hectares across southeast England, helping them create a shared vision with neighbouring landowners and the local community, catalyse a green economy and re-establish natural grazing. 🧵2/5

🪸 Sussex Bay build the foundations for an ambitious, collaborative approach to restoring nature, supporting communities and creating a thriving blue economy across 100 miles of Sussex coastline. 🧵3/5

This is now our new normal says the panel at ‘return of the wild’ speaking about the climate emergency. They each say we need to wake up to prioritise rewilding and the role species reintroduction has in creating a more resilient Britian. #lLab26 #HopeAgain #Rewilding @tobyperkinsmp.bsky.social

We’re set up and ready to go at Stand H12 in Liverpool for the Labour Party Conference! Stop by our stand and say ‘yes’ to rewilding. Let’s bring back Britain’s wild hero’s - the engineers, architects and champions of our natural world. #Lab26 #Rewilding #HopeAgain

Tomorrow we’re heading to #Lab26 in Liverpool! 🌊🐾 Britain needs a strategic approach to nature recovery. Join our panel with Chester Zoo and @tobyperkinsmp.bsky.social @metecoban92.bsky.social @joshnewburymp.bsky.social: Sun 27 Sep, 11am 🗓️ Arena Room Tyne 📍 Or visit us at Stand H12! 👇

f.mtr.coolDemand action on climate shocks: rally outside the Scottish ParliamentExtreme weather is no longer a future threat in Scotland — it’s here. From severe wildfires burning through much-loved landscapes, to streets under water and rivers running dry, our communities are paying the price for political gridlock. On Wednesday, MSPs are gathering at Holyrood for a debate on Scotland's climate defences — and we need your local representatives to show up. Government policy has spent years avoiding difficult choices. We are calling on the Scottish Government to back a national Landscape Resilience Summit and a dedicated UK Climate Shock Fund to scale up nature-based solutions that protect our homes from fire, flood and drought before disasters strike. Your MSPs need to hear directly from the people they represent before they walk into the Scottish Parliament. Join us outside the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 3 - 5pm to show support for the debate.

The first-ever rewilding debate in the Scottish parliament is next Weds 30 September. Join us at 3pm outside Holyrood to demand action on climate shocks 🌍⚡ Sign up & call for your MSP to sign :

The inaugural Large Herbivore Working Group (LHWG) Conference took place this week 🦬🐴 It’s been so exciting to help bring people together to learn about wild and semi-wild herbivores and how we can apply this knowledge to rewilding in Britain. Find out more: https://f.mtr.cool/muwjm3a15t

21 Sept

Meet Rebecca Howard, the artist putting rewilding landscapes on canvas 🎨 Rebecca travelled across Britain — from the saltmarshes of Lancashire to an ancient temperate rainforest in Cornwall — visiting and painting nine independent Rewilding Network sites. Image credits: Rebecca Howard 🧵1/2

f.mtr.coolPainting the wild: a Q&A with artist Rebecca HowardMeet Rebecca Howard, the artist who spent two years travelling Britain to paint nine rewilding sites — from rainforest in Cornwall to saltmarsh in…

21 Sept

The result is A Year in the Wild, an exhibition running at Knepp until 18 October. The sale of prints and cards is raising funds for Rewilding Britain. Read more in our blog👇 https://f.mtr.cool/uvnjmi7rvd 🧵2/2

16 Sept

Rewilding is about connecting land, seas, and communities to help nature recover. 🌿 This new video shows what’s possible when we work together, through an incredible Network of rewilding practitioners restoring ecosystems in Britain. 🎬 Watch the film: https://f.mtr.cool/tmow7h2urr

11 Sept

The role lynx can play in woodland regeneration and ecosystem repair should be a key consideration for the UK Government's ambitions for nature. Thanks to @joshnewburymp.bsky.social for raising this issue: https://f.mtr.cool/uqz0sqdcdt