10 things you can do to make the world wilder
The world’s ecosystems are under threat. To protect and restore them, we need to put nature back in charge. It’s called rewilding. Here’s what you can do to help.
1. Call on your leaders to restore nature
We can’t restore nature alone. We have to do it together. Demand that your representatives make ecological restoration a top priority. Join the Wild Foundation’s Survival Revolution campaign, calling on world leaders to protect and restore half the earth’s land and seas.
Faia Brava in Portugal is one of the locations you can visit with the European Safari Company. Photo: Juan Carlos Muñoz / Rewilding Europe.
2. Get out and enjoy the wild
Helping make the world wilder is as easy as taking a holiday. Why not include a visit to a rewilding area in your next trip (or even better, enter our competition and win a trip)? European Safari Company offers unforgettable experiences in Italy, Portugal, Romania and more, where you can encounter bison, bears, vultures, eagles, chamois and wild horses. You’ll be helping fund rewilding and supporting the nature-based economies that make it all possible.
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3. Become a zoologist – on your phone
Download the ZSL Instant Wild app and start helping scientists right now, by identifying animals caught on camera in the wild. New photos are coming in all the time from sites around the world, showing everything from iguanas to ocelots and jaguars to giraffes. Anyone can help: just look through the latest photos and match what you see to the correct species using the examples provided. Don’t worry about making mistakes – every image gets tagged by multiple users, so the “wisdom of the crowd” wins out. Just dive in and go with your best guess!
Volunteers with Rewilding Apennines remove barbed wire from a wildlife corridor in Italy. Photo: Bruno D’Amicis / Rewilding Europe.
4. Volunteer
Get involved in an organisation that supports rewilding. Get in touch with a rewilding project in your area, submit your details to Rewilding Europe’s volunteer database or join the Young Rewilders Community, Europe’s next generation of conservationists.
Flowers at Uppark House and Garden, England. Photo: Annie Spratt
5. Make your world wilder
Even on a small scale, you can encourage nature to thrive. Learn how to let nature go crazy in your own garden, courtyard or balcony. If you have a larger area of land, maybe you can become part of a true rewilding project by joining the European Rewilding Network or one of the various local networks.
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6. Give
By donating to Rewilding Europe you can support the return of animals like lynx and bears, by helping create “corridors” for them to move safely between wild areas, or creating the right conditions for smaller animals they prey on.
What you buy makes a difference. Photo: The Creative Exchange IG / Unsplash
7. Make restoration-friendly choices
The products and services we choose every day can contribute to deforestation, the depletion of fish stocks or the degradation of agricultural soils. Find out about the origin and impact of what you buy, and make choices that are in line with the restoration of nature.
8. Spread the word
Help get the word out about the importance of restoring nature, and the great work being done to make it happen. Share Rewilding Europe’s call to action for a wilder Europe. Follow organisations like @WildFoundation, @RewildingEurope and @Rewilding on social media for great #rewilding stories.
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The work of rewilding organisations supports species such as the red deer. Photo: Bruno D’Amicis / Rewilding Europe
9. Partner with a rewilding organisation
Businesses that share the principles of rewilding can become part of the European Rewilding Network, connecting rewilding-related initiatives and helping them exchange information, expertise and resources. And any business can become a corporate partner to a rewilding organisation.
Canoeing in the Oder Delta – just one of the experiences offered by the European Safari Company. Solvin Zankl / Rewilding Europe.
10. Build rewilding into your business
If your business works with nature tourism, learn how to make the most of it, and ensure that your activities heal nature instead of harming it. Nature-based tourism is a key piece of the rewilding puzzle, and Rewilding Europe runs training for everyone from nature managers, architects, designers, salespeople and educators.
Source: fivemedia.com
