Rewilding Europe

09/06/2026

🌱 What does healthy soil look like? More than what we walk on, 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱.

🍄 Fungi link plant roots, trading minerals and water for sugars while locking carbon into the soil.
🪱 Earthworms and burrowing animals move organic matter through the ground, letting in air and water.
🐜 Microbes, beetles and ants break down dead material and return nutrients to the cycle.

Above ground, these processes stay tightly linked.
🦬 Grazing animals keep these processes going, stimulating roots to feed soil fungi, which in turn support plant growth.

As spring peaks across Europe, this system is running at full speed beneath every meadow and woodland.
In many landscapes, intensive land use has simplified or broken these cycles.
🌎 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘅 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻.

🎨 Jeroen Helmer / ARK Rewilding Nederland
📷 Ricardo Ferreira / Nelleke de Weerd / Cătălin Josan

05/06/2026

This World Environment Day 🌍 we want to highlight rewilding as a response to climate change, as it helps make ecosystems more resilient.

Resilience in ecology refers to the capacity of ecosystems to absorb change and reorganise while keeping their core functions and identity.

🕸️ It comes from complexity: the diversity of species, interactions, and natural processes that keep landscapes connected and adaptive. Rewilding supports this by restoring space for those processes to return and interact again.

A landscape where species like griffon vulture, native trout, or freshwater crayfish are present and connected is better able to respond to change.🐟🦞🦅

The answer is rewilding, because it strengthens resilience through living, functioning ecosystems 🌿

04/06/2026

🇫🇷 In the 𝗗𝗮𝘂𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲́ 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝘀, new steps are being taken to support the return of the Eurasian lynx 🐾

Release testing could begin in 2027, as part of broader reflections on how to support a small and genetically vulnerable lynx population in the region.

🤝 To support coexistence, Rewilding France recently organised lynx awareness events, including discussions bringing together local residents, farmers, foresters, and naturalists, alongside school activities, guided walks focused on tracking lynx signs, a photo exhibition, and documentary screenings.

🌿 These exchanges help create space for dialogue and shared understanding around living alongside wildlife in the Dauphiné Alps.

Find out more about coexistence across Europe https://loom.ly/gKr8-2s
And keep an eye on Rewilding France for updates 👀



📸 Staffan Widstrand / Aurélien Giraud

02/06/2026

🌾 On , we're celebrating one of nature's most underrated superstars.

Sphagnum moss is the foundation of healthy peatlands. It can hold up to 20 times its own weight in water. Peat forms at just 1mm per year, making what lies beneath our feet the result of thousands of years of slow, patient accumulation.

Healthy peatlands don't just store carbon. It filters water, reduces flooding, resists wildfire, shelters unique species, some of which fully dependent on this remarkable habitat. 🦋🌸

Rewilding Affric Highlands leads an initiative where three neighbouring land owners have joined forces to restore over 1,000 hectares of this irreplaceable ecosystem — for nature, for climate, and for communities.

🎥 Watch the video to see peatland restoration in action and discover why these landscapes are so important.

Rewilding Affric Highlands is restoring peatlands that were damaged...

28/05/2026

Next week, we are heading into the forests and waters of Västerbotten in Northern Sweden for something new.

This is the first step in a new collaboration between WildSweden , Rewilding Sweden and Rewilding Europe.

Together, we want to explore how small-group nature travel can help more people understand, support and take part in rewilding.

During this pilot trip, we will hike, packraft and camp along a tributary of the Vindelälven River. The plan is also to help release 60,000 young trout and restore spawning habitat.

This is not a finished travel product. It is a first trial, created to learn what works, what people value and what this could become in the coming years.

Joining the trip are:

Daniel Allen-Hörnfeldt – Rewilding Sweden
Marcus Eldh – WildSweden
Philip Kjellström – Rewilding Sweden
Amanda Lund – Rewilding Sweden
James Shooter – Rewilding Europe & Rewild Podcast
Andréa Gay – Rewilding Europe
Benjamin Barca – ReWild.org
Carl Jansson – Naturskyddsföreningen
Maxim Vlasov – researcher at SLU
Toby Cowern – HelloNature.se
Chris Doyle – coOwn
Kim Ross – regenerative tourism ambassador
Dylan Stiegemeier – educator in sustainable development

A small group, a living river and the beginning of something we hope can grow into more rewilding journeys in Sweden.

A special thanks to Kiparapackraft.com for providing packrafts.

28/05/2026

Rewilding only works when people are part of the story. 🦬

In Romania's Southern Carpathians, the return of the European bison is reshaping not just the landscape — but how local communities relate to wild nature. And three newly appointed Bison Ambassadors are helping to bring that relationship front and center.

Actress Dana Rogoz, regenerative farmer Roxana Zaha — who lives within the rewilding landscape itself — and biologist Alexandru Stermin will engage with local communities, join bison releases, and share what coexistence really looks like on the ground: for people, for wildlife, and for the future of the region.

Because the goal isn't just a growing bison population. It's bison-smart communities where people and wildlife flourish side by side.

Read the full story 👉 https://rewildingeurope.com/news/bison-ambassadors-to-champion-wildlife-comeback-in-the-southern-carpathians/

Rewilding Romania WWF Romania WeWilder by WWF

25/05/2026

In 2025, a beaver was recorded in Portugal for the first time in over five centuries. It reflects wider changes taking place in the Greater Côa Valley.

Some of our rewilding landscapes publish their own annual reviews. Rewilding Portugal’s 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 is one of them, and this edition brings together what happened across the landscape.

🦫 The return of the beaver, after more than five centuries, marks the reappearance of a key river process.
🔥 Tauros returned to the valley, joining Sorraia horses already influencing the landscape through natural grazing. When wildfires swept through the region in summer, grazed areas responded differently, with flames moving more slowly through lower, more varied vegetation.
🤝 At the same time, local initiatives, tourism, and nature-based businesses are gaining ground across the landscape.

📖 Inside a year of rewilding in the Greater Côa Valley. Order your copy 👉 https://loom.ly/odflvnk

📸 Solvin Zankl / Rewilding Europe, Marcus Westberg, Staffan Widstrand

21/05/2026

🌊 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲’𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.

This year, at least 603 river barriers were removed across Europe, setting a new record for the fifth consecutive year. That's over 3,740 km of rivers reconnected, with huge gains for biodiversity, climate resilience, and freshwater ecosystems, as stated in the newest Dam Removal Europe 2025 report!

Our rewilding teams are proud to be part of this movement. 💪

🇮🇹 In the Central Apennines, the Rewilding Apennines team removed a 30-metre dam on the Liri River, freeing over 11 km of waterway and reopening migration routes for Mediterranean trout and white-clawed crayfish. The team also released around four-thousand juvenile Mediterranean trout into the Romito river this year.

"In the face of climate change, we must treat free-flowing freshwater as a precious resource to be cherished," says Mario Cipollone, the team leader at Rewilding Apennines.

🇸🇪 In the Nordic Taiga, the Rewilding Sweden team removed three dams in the Vindel River catchment, restoring more than hundred km of free-flowing waterway. The team also restored stretches of four rivers, and supported the release of 125 thousand juvenile brown trout into tributaries of the River Rickleå.

This is what rewilding rivers looks like: dam by dam, fish by fish, river by river. 🌿

👉 Read the full Dam Removal Europe 2025 report out now: https://loom.ly/QAyqp08

20/05/2026

Protected areas cannot function in isolation. 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲.🌍

Across Europe, rewilding is helping reconnect landscapes through wildlife corridors, restored rivers, natural grazing, healthier forests, wetlands, and the comeback of wildlife. Together with growing network of Wilder Parks, we are showing how ecological connectivity can help recover nature at scale.

Around the European Day of Parks, whose theme this year is connectivity, many events are taking place across our rewilding landscapes and protected areas community — from nature fairs and excursions to film screenings and knowledge exchanges. We warmly invite you to join and reconnect with nature in your own way. 💚

Don’t miss our joint webinar with The EUROPARC Federation:
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 — 22 May.

Discover more and explore the events 👉 https://loom.ly/Oyq5MSQ

📸 Frans Schepers, Deli Saavedra, Marcus Westberg, Bruno D'Amicis, Umberto Esposito

18/05/2026

This September, the Central Apennines become a meeting point for the global bear conservation community. 🐻

Set in the home of the Marsican brown bear, the 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 will bring together scientists, practitioners, and decision-makers to exchange knowledge and experiences from bear landscapes across the world.

🗓️ 20–25 September 2026
📍 Pescasseroli, Central Apennines, Italy
⏳ Early bird pricing closes on 1 June (midnight UTC).
Planning to join? 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿.

💰 Discounted rates for IBA members and students. Places are limited.
Find the programme and register 👉 https://loom.ly/PNErsHA

This conference is made possible by: International Association for Bear Research & Management, Rewilding Apennines, Rewilding Europe, Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo Lazio e Molise, Salviamo l'Orso, LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors.

📸 Angelina Iannarelli - PNALM / Bruno D’Amicis - Rewilding Europe