World Rewilding Day
#RewildingTogether
World Rewilding Day is an annual event that brings together conservationists, environmental groups, scientists, and nature advocates from around the world to focus on restoring wild spaces. It is a day dedicated to sharing success stories about restoring natural habitats and inspiring more efforts to heal damaged landscapes. By highlighting these achievements, the event encourages individuals, communities, and governments to take part in restoring ecosystems on both land and sea.
Rewilding is the process of giving space back to wildlife and allowing natural processes to return. It is more than just protecting what remains—it is about helping degraded habitats recover so they can once again support thriving wildlife and healthy ecosystems. This can involve reintroducing species that once lived in an area, protecting large sections of land or ocean from human disturbance, or removing barriers so rivers can flow freely. The goal is the large-scale recovery of ecosystems and the essential life-supporting functions they provide, such as clean air, fresh water, fertile soil, and climate stability.
In recent years, rewilding has gained global attention as scientists warn of a worsening biodiversity crisis. Many species are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss, climate change, and human activity. Restoring wild areas is one of the most effective ways to address these threats. Healthy ecosystems are more resilient, store more carbon, and support greater biodiversity. Rewilding also helps reconnect people with nature, showing the value of wild places not only for wildlife but also for human wellbeing.
The first World Rewilding Day was held on March 20, 2021. It was founded by the Global Rewilding Alliance, an international network of organizations working to restore nature on a large scale. The date was chosen to coincide with the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, symbolizing renewal and balance. The event was created to raise public awareness about the urgent need for nature conservation and to inspire action for restoring ecosystems worldwide.
Since its launch, World Rewilding Day has grown into a global movement. Every year, participants share examples of successful rewilding projects, from the return of large mammals to European landscapes, to the recovery of coastal habitats in Asia, to the restoration of prairies and wetlands in North America. These projects prove that when given the opportunity, nature can recover, and that human intervention can play a key role in that process.
Many of these efforts focus on large-scale, long-term change. Protecting and connecting wide areas of land and sea gives species more space to roam and allows ecosystems to function naturally. Rewilding projects often work alongside local communities to ensure that conservation provides benefits for people too, such as improved livelihoods, eco-tourism opportunities, and better protection against climate impacts.
Support for rewilding continues to grow as its benefits become better understood. Governments, NGOs, scientists, and community groups are increasingly joining forces to fund and carry out projects. The Global Rewilding Alliance believes that restoring ecosystems on a large scale can help reverse biodiversity loss, slow climate change, and protect natural resources for future generations.
World Rewilding Day serves as a reminder that the loss of nature is not permanent. With dedication and collaboration, degraded landscapes can be brought back to life.
How to celebrate:
- Start rewilding in your garden or areas in your community
- Donate to a rewilding organization/charity
- Host a rewilding event
- Visit a rewilding landscape or other wild areas
- Contact decision makers to call for more rewilding
- Purchase a piece of land for rewilding
Fun Facts:
- Rewilded areas can encourage an immersion in nature and can improve mental health.
- Some communities host “rewilding feasts,” serving locally sourced wild foods like berries and game.
- Healthy wildlife populations can enhance the Earth’s carbon storage capacity by up to 125 times.
- The reintroduction of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park is one of the greatest rewilding stories in recent times.
- Rewilding can happen in the forests, oceans and even your garden and includes both plants and animals.
