SCIENCE OF REWILDING
FUNDAMENTAL INTERACTIONS
The practice and the science of rewilding mutually support and enhance each other
Rewilding means to restore networks of interactions between communities of organisms and their physical environment, along with the ecological processes that emerge from these interactions.
Restoring such complexity creates healthier, more functional and resilient ecosystems that are better able to provide people with a wide range of benefits – from clean air and water, right through to the locking up of atmospheric carbon, new enterprise opportunities and enhanced health and wellbeing.
Practical rewilding
Trophic complexity
A measure of the complexity of relationships in a food web.
Random natural disturbance
Caused by natural events such as flooding or natural grazing.
Dispersal
How easy it is for species to spread out across landscapes. However, practical constraints mean this is not always possible, which means humans have to creatively mimic some ecological functions.
How rewilding has grown.
Rewilding has only emerged as a new and exciting approach to conservation over the last 30 years, which means rewilding practice is still developing.
Connecting rewilding science and practice was the topic of a hugely popular online rewilding symposium, which took place at the end of 2020. The enormous interest in the event, which attracted over 2,000 participants, was a clear demonstration of how rewilding is capturing hearts and minds across all sectors of society.
It featured presentations from a range of highly regarded rewilding scientists and experts, including Ecosulis Nature Recovery Lead Dr Paul Jepson, who posited that in rewilding we are seeing a new and empowering environmental narrative for the 21st century.
“Rewilding practice and rewilding science are already benefitting from a rapidly developing interaction.”
This synergy is generating new knowledge and partnerships in the ecosystem restoration space, underpinning the return of nature as an asset for economic and cultural innovation.
Rewilding
The Radical New Science of Ecological Recovery
In 2020 Paul Jepson & Cain Blythe launched their first book.
We received overwhelmingly positive mentions from the Financial times, Publishers weekly, Isabella Tree (author of "Wilding") and many more.
You can learn more or get a copy from the link below.
