Today, rewilding is inspiring an ever-growing number of people to support and practice nature recovery. With the theme #RewildingHope, this year’s World Rewilding Day focuses on rewilding’s beneficial impact and uplifting vision. The Rewilding Ukraine team together with local partners has organized several events for World Rewilding Day 2023.
#RewildingHope
Rewilding is characterised by its inspirational narrative, which is one of the main reasons why it is capturing hearts and minds on an ever-increasing scale. All those involved with European rewilding are motivated by the conviction that giving nature the space and capacity to heal itself is the best way to simultaneously address climate change, enhance biodiversity, and deliver a sustainable and prosperous future for all.
Today, on the third World Rewilding Day – which was launched in 2021 by the Global Rewilding Alliance – rewilding initiatives and people from six continents will come together to celebrate rewilding and raise awareness of the need for nature recovery around the globe. World Rewilding Day 2023, which has the theme #RewildingHope, will focus on rewilding as an uplifting, energising and inclusive force for good. With events, activities and publications around the world promoting the positive story of nature recovery, it is designed to encourage even more people, organisations and businesses to support and participate in practical rewilding, thereby amplifying the benefits of rewilding.
Demonstrating and catalysing
Over the last 10 years, Rewilding Europe has worked hard to demonstrate the beneficial impact of rewilding – for both people and nature – across its growing portfolio of rewilding landscapes. Complementing the efforts of other rewilding initiatives across the world, these practical showcases are essential because they prove rewilding is our best hope for realising a world where people and wildlife can thrive alongside each other. Underpinning rewilding’s inspirational message, they show exactly what is possible if we take positive steps to scale up nature recovery now.
This World Rewilding Day, Rewilding Europe is working to bring together all European rewilding initiatives, including our local landscape teams, in order to spread the word and take action. In addition to providing background information, and free guidelines and resources for rewilding initiatives, our dedicated World Rewilding Day page features a map showing what events and actions are planned for the day across Europe. As World Rewilding Day continues to take off in future years, the aim is for this map to become increasingly well populated.
In Ukraine, the Rewilding Ukraine team, together with local partners, has also organized several events for World Rewilding Day 2023. Children from the Borodino community will visit the Tarutino Steppe Landscape Reserve to see firsthand the results of rewilding activities: restoration of steppe areas and the comeback of key species to the region, such as kulan, European fallow deer, steppe marmot and others. The Danube Biosphere Reserve’s Visitor Center will host a video screening and thematic games to introduce children to rewilding in their region. Also, today Rewilding Ukraine launches online video “Rewilding in the Danube Delta” in Ukrainian, English and Romanian.
Generation Rewilding to the fore
Young people are the future of rewilding, which is why it is particularly important to reach out and harness their energy, creativity, and desire to do things differently. By inspiring and enabling young people, Rewilding Europe’s European Young Rewilders, which now has over 300 members across Europe, is working to create a wilder Europe by uniting and empowering young professionals and nature enthusiasts from across the continent.
The European Young Rewilders is holding a competition for the best youth-led event to celebrate World Rewilding Day 2023, and members of the network are planning to organize various activities.
“This is a day centred on hope, which is one of the things that really attracts young people to rewilding,” says European Young Rewilders Coordinator Giulia Testa. “Rewilding is positive, practical and exciting. It’s about changing the narrative to bring about a better future and working towards a more ambitious baseline for wild nature. Today, on World Rewilding Day 2023, I call on all young European to join the rewilding movement, because, with our skills and enthusiasm, we can turn hopes into reality.”
How can you support rewilding?
Are you inspired by rewilding’s message of hope? There’s never been a better time to get involved. The rewilding movement is about co-creating a wilder, better future – so whether you’re a citizen, entrepreneur, land manager, policymaker or scientist, please get in touch to find out how you can help to scale up nature recovery across Europe.
Today, Rewilding Europe asks all fellow rewilders to show and share why rewilding gives you hope: #RewildingHope.