Sometimes, fighting for nature works
How to feed wild birds, the value of urban rewilding and what it's really like to live alongside wolves.
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Putting cities at the heart of rewilding
Urban rewilding doesn't just help cities and their residents. It's good for the rest of nature, too.
We need to rethink how we feed wild birds
Birdseed has its place, but what threatened wild birds really need is more natural sources of food – in your backyard and beyond.
These farms are changing back to grassland and forest
Just 90 minutes from Montreal, one group is rewilding a pair of flood-prone river islands into biodiverse habitat where wildlife can thrive – and visitors are welcome.
The truth about living alongside wolves
Wolf restoration in Colorado shows how humans are rethinking their relationships with wild animals – and the ways we can make this coexistence work.
Little birds, big impact
Saving superb fairywrens, restoring the soil and gardening the forest, plus a book packed with inspiring stories of wildlife recovery.
Learning how to garden a forest
An outdated land management ideology with roots in colonialism is keeping California and the America West from taking essential steps toward mitigating increasingly destructive wildfires.
These tiny birds need more habitat. Can urban rewilding help?
In Sydney and Melbourne, a coalition of residents, officials and researchers is working to find ways to build more habitat for the superb fairywren and other threatened birds.
The world’s first rewilding centre is open for visitors
Deep in the Scottish Highlands at the Dundreggan Rewilding Centre, UK charity Trees for Life is showcasing how rewilding works and what it could mean for the future of the region.
Restoring the soil beneath our feet
On one Vancouver street, lifeless soil is being revived thanks to a neighbour's diligent efforts – and a little help from the fairies and gnomes.
Our origin story – and a gift from Wales
Celebrating rewilding heroes, how to fight extinction and a return to the place where our journey began.
The solution to extinction is you
Every crisis is connected. We must address the biodiversity crisis, the climate emergency, and poverty and injustice at the same time.
3 things to avoid when rewilding your garden
These products and ideas might sound good, but there are cheaper and more wildlife-friendly alternatives.
The community beating drought with tree-based farming
Smallholder farmers in southern India have suffered from devastating droughts linked to deforestation. With regenerative organic agriculture, they're working to bring back yields while healing the land, too.
“They do incredible, heroic work”: Q&A with author Millie Kerr
In her recent book Wilder, Millie Kerr surveys projects around the globe that are advancing rewilding goals large and small – and creating building blocks of hope.
“We had enough to share”
Saving trees in South Africa, growing gardens for resilience and an artist who wants us to really see the plants we're surrounded by.
The artist rekindling our relationship with flora
Laara Cerman creates photos, sculptures and interactive experiences to help people get past their plant blindness and learn to really see.
Can a community nursery save this South African cedar?
The Clanwilliam cedar is critically endangered. But a new partnership is trying to turn things around – and build a stronger community in the process.
“How I'm restoring native bush to boost biodiversity – and hope”
Silvia Pinca is removing invasive species and replanting native trees on her New Zealand land. Kiwi and other birds are already making themselves at home.
“I grew a native forest and found peace – and survival”
Aimee Milne started reforesting her New Zealand yard for the sake of climate action. Turns out, she was boosting resilience too – for both herself and her community.
Small is beautiful
How to boost butterflies, the value of invertebrates and a new book on what really makes people change their minds.
How (and why) to photograph butterflies
This new book gets you closer to butterflies than you've ever been before.
Want to help save monarchs? Here are 5 things you can do
The iconic North American butterfly is under threat – but it doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s how you can take action to help save it and its other insect cousins.
This armchair is a symbol of interconnectedness
As both an artist and amateur lichenologist, Natasha Lavdovsky works with the natural world to explore reciprocity and humanity's role as caretakers.
The right stuff: How resistance breeding aims to save endangered trees
The American beech, American elm and many other tree species have been disappearing due to invasive pests and disease. Could these breeding programs save them?
Why rewilders need to think about invertebrates, too
Invertebrates are the bulk of terrestrial diversity and the backbone for proper ecosystem functioning. We need to start putting them at the centre of rewilding projects.
One yard at a time
How to welcome insects to your garden, tips on creating a meadow, and two more Rewilding Arts Prize winners.
6 tips to turn your yard into a meadow
In this excerpt from his book Lawns into Meadows, landscape designer Owen Wormser shares some secrets to creating a meadow you'll love.
Can farmers and rewilders get along? This Welsh group thinks they must
Tir Natur wants to help combat the biodiversity crisis by creating spaces where nature, farmers’ livelihoods and Welsh culture can thrive – together.
The theatre group turning environmental grief into hope – and change
For B.C.'s The Only Animal, all the world's a stage – and we need to act together to create the future we want.
The performance artist who finds hope in plants
For Montreal-based artist Khadija Baker, everything is connected: nature, our humanity, and all the things in-between.
How (and why) to welcome insects to your garden
Amidst a global biodiversity crisis, insects need all the help they can get. Here's how to make your yard part of a more resilient ecosystem.
Don't rewild alone
A new memoir for bird-lovers, an ode to rodents and a heartening story on the right to rewild.
This couple had to fight for their right to rewild
What it's like to battle city council on naturalizing your yard – and to win.
The Land Back bag isn't just a purse – it's a relationship
For Anishinaabe artist Amber Sandy, honourable harvesting and hide tanning are a tool for conservation – and for strengthening her connection to the land and her community.
Don't hate on rodents. Our ecosystems need them
These diverse animals make up a surprising percentage of all mammal species, and play important roles in Earth's ecosystems. Here's why that matters.
The textile artist who embroidered a prairie
How Rewilding Arts Prize winner Amanda McCavour reimagined native plants for an exhibit designed to bring people closer to nature.
Are non-native species always bad?
Many conservation and rewilding efforts aim to eradicate so-called invasive species and replace them with natives. But is this the right approach in every case?
“Now, more than ever, we need the power of art”
Biophilia vs. biophobia, a captivating book about squirrels and introducing the winners of the Rewilding Arts Prize.
“How I turned my suburban yard into a wildlife habitat”
Some 30 years ago, Dana Benner's property featured packed grass and a few lone pines. Now it welcomes insects, birds and mammals to visit, live and feed.
From wading pool to wetland: the transformation of Terra Cotta
At this Ontario conservation area, restoring wetlands and forests goes hand in hand with building a green space for people to enjoy.
5 ways to help stop biodiversity loss
Around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction. Here are some actions you can take now to help turn the tide.
A scaffolding for nature to live and grow on
Rewilding Arts Prize winner Justin Tyler Tate's post-Anthropocene architecture aims to serve nature while inspiring empathy for the non-human world.
Are wild boar good or bad? The devil is in the details
In an ever-globalized world, it’s easy to fall for the convenience of one-fits-all solutions. But from dandelions to wild boar, we need stories – and actions – that are grounded in place.
The Rewilding Arts Prize showed us there's always more to see – and to share
The movement for a wilder world needs everyone on board. These artists and Rewilding Arts Prize winners are among those leading the way.
The Inuit artist bridging past and present
Inez Shiwak combines traditional materials and methods with new perspectives to create artwork that speaks up for her community and what they have lost.
Settlers hunted Tasmanian emus to extinction. Is it time to bring them back?
Reintroducing these iconic large herbivores could help make local landscapes healthier and more resilient to climate change. Here's how – and why.
The multimedia artist recording our relationship with the Earth
Alison Beaumont wants us to learn to appreciate the smaller things in nature, so we can figure out how to deal with climate change together.
“With rewilding, I feel like I've learned hopefulness”
The importance of Indigenous-managed forests, youth in the UK stepping up to rewild, and art that's making a difference.
The UK group pushing for youth-led rewilding
Young people around the world often feel powerless in the face of environmental challenges. Jack Durant and Youngwilders are aiming to channel their eco-anxiety into hope – and action.
The New Brunswick man who weaves the wild
Ralph Simpson’s baskets, tapestries and sculptures turn foraged materials into artworks inspired by the natural world.
The world’s healthiest forests are on Indigenous land. Here’s why
A new report finds Indigenous land rights are key to preserving biodiversity.
The circus act that puts climate action front and centre
This Montreal troupe uses the outdoors as both stage and props to inspire audiences to discuss the climate crisis and find ways to make change.
It shouldn’t be illegal to rewild your yard
Replacing lawn with native plants is an important way to take action against biodiversity loss and spread the word about the value of nature. Here are some tips to get your neighbourhood and municipality on board.
It's time to share the love with fungi
Biodiversity includes fungi, too. Here's why healthy ecosystems need these fascinating life forms that we're only just starting to understand.
Our most popular stories of 2022
Urban rewilding, replacing lawns, the importance of art and the trouble with monocultures: our top stories of the year cover the gamut.
All the books we recommended in 2022
Some of them were new this year, some of them are oldies-but-goodies. All 16 are worthy additions to your rewilding-adjacent bookshelf or your gift-giving list.
How to protect biodiversity
To convince more people that biodiversity is important, we need to tap into all the reasons they might care. Here are some places to start.
When fire is a sign of hope
On using fire to save a butterfly (and countless other species), plus artists fighting for nature and a book to warm the spirit.
The butterfly that saved an ecosystem
The revival of Fender’s blue illustrates the collaborative nature of survival.
The mural artist boosting awareness of urban ecology
In the streets and alleys of Canada’s biggest city, Nick Sweetman, aka “the bee guy,” has covered doors and walls with striking images of nature.
Two Canadian scientists on why rewilding matters
In a conversation hosted by the Royal Botanical Gardens, a pair of connectivity experts share their thoughts on what rewilding means, the tricks to finding common ground with partners and how taking action can help mitigate climate grief.
These oversize bee sculptures help us see what’s really there
For Charmaine Lurch, rewilding starts with paying attention to the natural world around us – and learning how to listen.
How to design a forest fit to heal the planet
Reforestation and planting trees are crucial steps in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. But how do we do it the right way?
This printmaker uses plants as inspiration – and as ink
B.C. artist Edward Fu-Chen Juan creates silkscreened works of art that are rooted in both place and time and give a voice to nature.
“Art can engage people on an emotional level”
Beavers, hedgehogs, wolves and big urban trees – and announcing the new Rewilding Arts Prize.
The painter raising awareness of our connection with nature
Christi Belcourt creates art to help us rebuild our relationship with the Earth – so we can fight for a better future.
What beavers can teach us about managing water
Beaver dams and ponds help maintain water when there's too little and slow it when there's too much. Here's why these industrious rodents are the climate resilience heroes we need.
Why the rewilding movement needs art
Art has the power to make us think, fill our lives with colour and beauty and inspire us to make impactful choices for the future of our planet.
How to rewild: 10 ways to take action
From writing letters to supporting wildlife corridors, these ideas will help you make a difference in ways both large and small.
Why large trees are essential for healthy cities
Trees make cities a better place to live. Here's why large ones deliver the best benefits, and how to help them grow and survive.
Why wild bees matter, and how we can all help save them
To make our ecosystems as resilient as possible, we need species diversity – and that includes bees. Here, conservation biologist Sheila Colla explains their main threats and what we need to do.
Want hedgehogs to nest in your garden? Here are some tips
New research gives insight into how best to set up hedgehog houses in your garden to help protect this endangered UK species.
Rewild and carry on
One group saving trees in a tree museum, the reality TV show on a rewilding mission, and tips on coping with eco-anxiety.
This tree museum looks to the future, not the past
Kenya’s Miti Alliance is growing a living seed bank to help counteract deforestation, preserve indigenous tree species and boost knowledge of local ecosystems.
4 ways to cope with eco-anxiety
Anxious about the state of the planet? Welcome to the club. Here's what you need to know about why it happens and what might help.
Trees That Count has planted one million trees – and they’re just getting started
This reforestation project is helping New Zealanders plant native trees across Aotearoa to support biodiversity and the fight against climate change. Here’s how they’re doing it.
Wolverine populations are declining. To protect them, we need better habitat
The one-two punch of landscape change and climate change are making matters worse for wolverines. Here's how we can make a difference.
The best (and fastest) ways to replace your lawn with native plants
So you're ready to start rewilding your yard. But how do you get rid of the grass? Here are three top options.
Ecological restoration’s surprising history: A Q&A with Laura J. Martin
A new book uncovers the development of the world’s most widespread environmental management practice.
“My former horse paddock now welcomes 49 bird species”
Oliver Clanford has spent the past eight years rewilding a piece of his land. Now, he wants other small landowners to join in.
The reality TV show making Florida yards friendlier to nature
One way to encourage people to grow wildlife-safe, low-water gardens that feature native plants? Give them the HGTV treatment.
“The effort is heroic”
The forgotten hero of climate change and one project that's tripled a caribou herd. Plus, how even small green spaces help cool cities.
Green spaces really do make cities cooler. Here's how
Heat waves hit cities hard – and with climate change, they're only getting worse. Here's how even small gardens, parks and treed areas can make a difference.
Let's hear it for the bogs
The UK's peatlands hold billions of tonnes of carbon – far more than its woodlands. Which is why the 12,000-year-old Border Mires of northern England are finally getting the restoration attention they're due.
Pleistocene Park, the film: A Q&A with director Luke Griswold-Tergis
A new documentary on the famous Siberian rewilding initiative shows the people behind the project – and the challenges facing their ambitions.
Indigenous knowledge and science team up to triple a caribou herd
In one project in British Columbia's Rocky Mountains, expanding caribou populations and habitats starts with protecting mothers and their calves.
5 new(ish) books about forests and trees
Trees and forests are important to humanity in basically every way you can think of. These books explore that relationship and give us goals – both personal and global – to strive for.
Is passive rewilding the best way to plant forests?
Forests will grow back by themselves if we let them. Here's how a passive rewilding strategy could be the most cost-effective – and also effective – reforestation tool we have.
Planting the seeds of rewilding
Is celebrity attention helping the cause? Plus, how one woman is turning her lawn into a forest, and how to co-exist with coyotes.
Invasive species as a metaphor for colonization
In this excerpt from her book Fresh Banana Leaves, Indigenous scientist and author Jessica Hernandez explores how restoration work in the Americas must include building relationships with the lands' original inhabitants.
Why I'm killing my lawn to plant a forest
How one New Zealand woman is reforesting her yard as a personal act against climate change that will support native biodiversity, too.
How the Miyawaki Method can help us restore forests faster
In this excerpt from her book Mini-Forest Revolution, Hannah Lewis explains how the Miyawaki Method works and what you need to know to plant your own mini-forest.
Here are some ways the world’s cities are rewilding
Urban nature matters, and municipalities are taking notice. From ending the battle with weeds to reconstructing wetlands, here’s how five cities and regions are making a difference.
What coyotes really want
Coyotes have a bad reputation that's entirely undeserved. Here's what really motivates them – and how we can co-exist in peace.
“What we need to be doing is stewardship”
The low-down on bees and dandelions, some questions about tree planting and an essay on rewilding for the future.
Rewilding isn’t about recreating the past. It’s about shaping a better future
The ecology of the past is useful inspiration, but it shouldn’t be a blueprint for restoration. Here’s what to focus on instead.
The surprising downside of #NoMowMay
Not cutting your lawn and letting dandelions grow for a month is touted as an easy way to help bees. But one-size-fits-all solutions don't work for conservation.
Does planting trees actually help the climate? Here’s what we know.
Trees are great at capturing warming gases, but mass-planting efforts tell a tricky story.
Rebuilding Canada's forgotten forests
Prince Edward Island used to be home to a rich variety of trees. Then agriculture took over. Here's how one project is working to bring back the woods.
Data from thousands of surveillance cameras confirms that protected areas safeguard species diversity
How do we know that protected areas are really helping wildife thrive? An analysis of data from more than 8,600 camera traps has the answer.
Springtime is rewilding time
Tips and inspiration for rewilding at home, new hope for L.A.'s cougars, and a South African wilderness guide's new memoir.
A new bridge will help cougars survive life in L.A.
To help its iconic mountain lions and other wildlife navigate the city, Los Angeles is breaking new ground.
6 steps to rewilding at home
Rewilding the spaces around us doesn’t need to be complicated. We can start small, make mistakes and learn a lot along the way.
Hope for coral reefs: A Q&A with Juli Berwald
A new book tracks scientific research and restoration efforts around the world that are focused on saving this critical ocean ecosystem.
How one Vancouver resident replaced his lawn and built an ecosystem
Stephane Laroye built a meadow for the bees. Turns out, he and his neighbours might be enjoying it even more.
In Corsica, oysters prove to be a pearl for ocean restoration
From picturesque Mediterranean isles to New York’s bustling harbour, strategically placed oyster colonies are depolluting the sea with ease.
Here's your antidote to hopelessness
How you can help rewilders in Ukraine, the next young conservationist to know, and a tome for regenerative gardeners.
Rewilding Ukraine has restored thousands of hectares of wetlands. Now, they need our help
Team members are used to protecting the land – but that has taken on new meaning. The supplies they need now include telescopes and night-vision visors to watch for troops.
How this Kenyan student stays motivated to fight for a better future
Lamech Opiyo believes co-operation is what will save us from the worst of climate change. Good thing he has the power to move people to action with his words.
In Wyoming, fences are coming down to make way for wildlife
More than 600,000 miles of fences crisscross the American West, blocking animal migration. Outside Yellowstone last summer, volunteers dismantled a few.
“There is an eerie silence sweeping across the land”
The trouble with Ireland's forests, restoring a creek in West Virginia, and a guide to reconnecting with nature.
The troubling truth about Ireland’s forests
Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle, but among all that green is a surprising reality: Native trees are being pushed out, creating ecological dead zones.
For 30 years, this creek was dead. Now, it supports three kinds of trout – and a web of aquatic life.
For decades, toxic runoff from abandoned coal mines has left streams and rivers lifeless in West Virginia. Here's how two men decided to reverse the damage taking place in their own backyards.
Our most popular stories of 2021
Urban beavers, nature books, rewilding heroes and redefining wilderness: our top stories of the year cover the gamut.
“It’s a human-centred initiative”
Life next door to jaguars, ecological restoration in the heart of the city, and our best books of 2021.
All the books we recommended in 2021
Some of them were new this year, some of them are oldies-but-goodies. All 15 are worthy additions to your rewilding-adjacent bookshelf or your gift-giving list.
Jaguars are returning to the U.S. Here's what we need to make coexistence work.
We can live and even raise livestock successfully in a landscape with jaguars – if we do it right. In 25 years of jaguar-related work, this is what I've learned.
How we’re rewilding: Peter Ewins, Project Swallowtail
How do you get city dwellers to care about biodiverse, nature-led ecosystems? According to this former WWF staffer, urban naturalization projects can be an important first step.
What will it take to bring back Oregon's kelp forests?
Kelp forests are critical ecosystems and effective carbon sinks, too – but they're under threat around the world. This team of free divers and scientists is trying to make a difference, one purple urchin at a time.
"They act wild and they survive in the wild"
An inside look at Scottish wildcats, author Emma Marris on humility and climate action, and a must-read book on what we can learn from the forest.
How we're rewilding: Paul Lister, Alladale Wilderness Reserve
This massive reserve in the Scottish Highlands has numerous rewilding projects on the go. But the cutest and most ferocious residents have to be the Scottish wildcats.
Q&A with Emma Marris: "I’m really ready to leave this wilderness worshipping behind"
The author of new book Wild Souls shares her thoughts on what we owe our non-human neighbours on this planet, what rewilding really means and why everyone needs to become a bit of an activist.
Can beavers make our cities better?
For six decades, beavers were unwelcome in Vancouver. Now, they’re taking up residence across the urban core. But can we make this relationship work?
“If you take care of nature, it gives you back manifold”
An Indian rewilding project that's brought a village back to life, plus a book that will bring back hope for nature's resilience.
How an Indian village saved itself from droughts
A doctor facing his own near-death experience heard that his homeland was dying. Once he was well, he set to work healing the land.
How private landowners are rewilding Australia, one property at a time
Australia’s native species are being driven to extinction – and habitat loss is a major factor. Here’s how one group is working with volunteers to help restore the land.
“Food forests are a cushion to hunger”
Our interview with Shamiso Mupara of Environmental Buddies Zimbabwe, plus a guide to starting a nature journal.
How we’re rewilding: Shamiso Mupara, Environmental Buddies Zimbabwe
Deforestation has brought drought and hunger to Zimbabwe’s Marange district. Here’s how one activist is planting food forests to change things for the better.
“Until people are healed, the water won't change”
Our interview with Shannon Te Huia of Pūniu River Care in New Zealand, plus a book on how you can get closer to nature.
How we’re rewilding: Shannon Te Huia, Pūniu River Care
Shannon Te Huia knew that restoring New Zealand’s Pūniu River would mean restoring the relationship between nature and people, too. Here, he shares some key steps along his journey.
"Sowing a seed can make a magnitude of difference"
Our interview with Victoria Hillsdon of the UK's Venn Nurseries, plus a review of book Wilding and some recommended reads.
How we’re rewilding: Victoria Hillsdon, Venn Nurseries
Some people have a signature dish. Victoria Hillsdon, founder of what just might be Britain’s first dedicated rewilding nursery, has a signature plant.
“We didn't really treat the forest as an ecosystem”
Our interview with Limbi Blessing Tata of Cameroonian NGO Ecological Balance, plus a review of book The Future We Choose and some recommended reads.
How we’re rewilding: Limbi Blessing Tata, Ecological Balance
Conservationist Limbi Blessing Tata had an “overambitious goal” — to rewild five water catchments in her region in Cameroon. With two Miyawaki forests already planted and a third in fundraising mode, you could say she’s halfway there.
"There's this giant ray of hope"
Our interview with Jacob Murray of Canada's Topsy Farms, plus a review of book The Nature Fix and some recommended reads.
How we’re rewilding: Jacob Murray, Topsy Farms
How do you launch a rewilding project on a small Canadian farm? It takes community support, inspiration from Attenborough — and local gym rats ready for true functional fitness.
What is rewilding?
At its core, rewilding is a conservation movement. It’s a recognition that the human relationship with nature is out of balance, and that the consequences of this imbalance are threatening life on this planet.