The rewilding movement can often feel beyond our reach. It’s usually associated with vast landscapes of remote wilderness and large carnivores. While this is often the case, we can apply rewilding principles to our own lives. By rewilding your garden, balcony, or window boxes, you can help native plants and animals, no matter how small the area. Here, we’ve put together a list of things you can do to rewild your outdoor space.

Let your outdoor space get a little wild. We’re often used to the idea of tidy gardens but too much manicuring can strip your garden of its ecological value. Letting nature take its course in your garden space can provide food and habitat for a variety of species. 

If you have an area of grass, let it grow fairly tall before you cut it to provide shelter for wildlife. Let native flowers self seed on your lawn to provide pollinators with food, in turn attracting birds and other predators to your garden. 

Leaving piles of wood and leaves to rot provides habitat for an abundance of invertebrates, fungi, and moss and can provide a sustainable source of compost.

Garden centres will often advertise which species are good for bees, butterflies and other native insects. Providing food for pollinators will attract birds and other predators and create a thriving ecosystem in your backyard.  If you live in a flat, fill a window box with insect friendly plants to attract bees and butterflies. 

Non-native plants that are closely related to our native species can provide a wealth of benefits to local wildlife. Planting native species, however, will avoid problems with non-natives becoming invasive and will improve that chances that your garden will thrive in the local climate. If you decide to plant native species, make sure they are of genuine native stock and sourced legally.

Areas of concrete and short grass represent a barrier to wildlife movement. Plant borders and pathways to create a wildlife corridor for small mammals like hedgehogs. 

Encourage birds into your garden with feeders and boxes to nest in. Also consider planting fruit bearing trees to attract birds and squirrels. Install a bug hotel where native insects can lay their eggs. If you’re in an area with hedgehogs, you could also install a hedgehog hut.

If you have an area large enough, consider rewilding your garden with a water feature. A pond can provide habitat for a variety of amphibians and invertebrates. It’s also a source of water for small mammals and birds. You can create a pond with as little as a bucket and a few aquatic plants. 

Think Sustainably When You Rewild Your Garden

To create a sustainable outdoor area, recycle where possible, collect rainwater to use in place of tap water, and ensure your compost is peat-free. If you can, consider making your own compost. Propagate your own plants by buying seed packets or taking cuttings to avoid buying unnecessary plastic pots. Consider the 'no-dig method' of gardening that relies on the natural processes taking place within undisturbed soil. Proponents claim that by avoiding disrupting the soil life, beneficial organisms and microbes are able to provide nutrients and moisture to the growing plants. Our actions can have an impact on the natural world beyond our garden. These tips are designed to help you not just minimise your negative impact on the planet, but make positive impact on the world's flora and fauna right in your back garden.  

Buy a box of wildflowers to get you started

Our pursuit at Mossy Earth isn't only to rewild entire landscapes but also our own backyards! Paul Cox, our newest team member, who holds the fancy title of Chief Technology Officer comes with a strong rewilding game! His recent investment in a variety of wildflowers for his garden has inspired the rest of the Mossy Earth team to rewild their outside spaces.

"I had started some small vegetable patches in the garden, but I wasn't really making use of them, and so I thought nature could make more use of them than me! So I invested in a box of different wildflower plants that will attract more wildlife to my garden and help support our important pollinators. I've also been leaving the garden to grow a bit, to see what comes through naturally." Paul Cox.

Ecological Value: From a given area, these values are determined to what the area benefits humans or animals. It is what the natural spaces provide and how we prosper from them. These values could include, clean air, clean water and good soil.

Invasive Species: Any foreign species of plant or animal that do not naturally occur in the ecosystem. Most often transferred by humans who release them unknowingly into an ecosystem they were not meant to be in and can cause ecological chaos.

Native Plants: Plant species that evolved and naturally adapted to an ecosystem. They are what many native animal species rely on for food as well as most suited for the local soil. 

Pollinators: Any animal species that carry pollen from one plant, to another, thus transferring the male gamete, to the female plant, ensuring fertilization. Bees are most commonly associated with being pollinators however they are also, moths, flies, beetles, birds and over 1,500 vertebrate species.

 Wildlife Corridors: The construction of safe passageways for animals to cross without being endangered by human activity. They are essential at providing a safe passage for animals who are migrating as well as to ensure wildlife populations can move freely between habitats without harm.

Rewilding your garden, balcony or window boxes, will help native plants & wildlife, no matter how small an area. Here's a how to guide to rewild your garden.

Rewild Your Garden

Rewilding your green space, will help native plants & wildlife

For anyone unfamiliar with the term ‘rewilding’ you’re likely to hazard a well educated guess that it’s an environmental movement aimed at reintroducing native flora and fauna. And yes, in terms of its benefits to wildlife conservation, you’d be right. However, as well as environmental stewardship, rewilding offers an abundance of not so obvious, but equally as important ecological, social and economic benefits. Here are five reasons why rewilding is so important. 

A trophic cascade takes place when animals at the top of a food chain change the numbers not just of their prey, but also of those species with which they have no direct connection. Their impacts cascade down the food chain, in some cases radically changing the ecosystem, the landscape and even the chemical composition of the soil and the atmosphere.

Take the classic rewilding case of how wolves changed rivers in Yellowstone National Park. After being hunted to extinction in the early 20th century, the wolves absence led to an imbalance in the food chain, setting off a trophic cascade in which elk (the wolves’ natural prey) multiplied. The phenomenon occurred again in reverse, when 15 wolves were reintroduced in 1994 and the natural balance was restored.

When reintroduced, the wolves not only preyed on the elk, reducing their numbers, but also changed the elk’s behavioural patterns. The elk began avoiding exposed areas like valleys and gorges where they could easily be hunted. As a result, those areas started to regenerate, and species such as birds, beavers, mice and bears returned. Plant life once again thrived along the riverbanks and erosion decreased significantly. The stabilization of the riverbanks actually made the rivers and streams change course.

Some critics of rewilding argue that we should not seek to re-establish missing species until we’ve protected existing wildlife. But nothing better protects our ecosystems than keystone species. Beaver dams provide habitats for fish, water voles, otters and frogs, while protecting local towns and villages from flooding. In Ireland, the resurgence of the pine marten has pushed back the grey squirrel, allowing red squirrels to recolonise. 

Naturally functioning ecosystems do not only provide us with clean air and water, sequestrate & store carbon but they also prevent soil erosion and provide natural breaks against forest fires. Another key service they provide is preventing flooding. A forest’s tree canopy delays the rate at which rainwater reaches the forest floor and the tree roots act as channels to draw rainwater deeper underground. This means rainwater doesn’t run overland into watercourses, streams or rivers. Rainwater is absorbed into tree-covered soil at 67 times the rate at which it is absorbed into grass-covered soil. Trees can also stop soil particles washing into waterways and forming sediment build-up, which can cause additional flooding downstream. Tree roots also act as anchors as they hold soil together and prevent erosion and dangerous landslides in times of heavy rain and flooding.

Enhancing Local Communities through Rewilding Tourism

By increasing the value of wilderness, rewilding offers a new set of options in places where traditional sectors such as farming, which is highly subsidised and painfully unprofitable, can no longer keep communities alive. Schools, shops and pubs are closing with gay abandon in rural areas as the young seek an elusive pot of gold in the city.

In the hills of southern Norway, the return of trees has been accompanied by a diversification and enrichment of the local economy. There, the marginal income from farming is supplemented with nature based tourism, forest products, hunting, fishing, outdoor education, snow sports, and hiking.

The development of wild nature through rewilding is an opportunity for a new economy

Rewilding can play a huge role in reversing climate change. Global warming is the result of an increase in greenhouse gases, such as CO2 in the atmosphere. In one year the world emits 33 billion tons of CO2 and it is estimated by 2030, our emissions could rise to 40 billion tons.

Forests are natural carbon sinks that play a hugely important role in sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere. The carbon is removed through photosynthesis and is absorbed in the wood, leaves and soil, and thus remains in the forest ecosystem. 

According to a recent study in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a “biological annihilation” of wildlife means that a sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history is already underway. Nearly half of all mammal species surveyed had lost more than 80% of their distribution between 1900 and 2015. Scientists concluded that unless monumental changes are made to reverse this decimation of wildlife there would be serious ecological, economic and social consequences.

Rewilding is that monumental change. With large-scale rewilding projects involving government, universities and enterprise, which advocate the reintroduction of large predators and keystone species to restore trophic levels and reconstruct food chains, this sixth mass extinction can be upturned.

It may seem daunting but there are some simple steps we can all take to help boost local and global biodiversity.

Rewild your own garden: choosing to have native wildflowers in your garden will attract a range of species, providing them with habitats as well as being a source of food for species. Learn more on how to rewild your garden and enjoy nature from the comfort of your own home.

Contact your local council: make your voice heard and matter by informing local authorities of your views on rewilding topics. Whether they are large or small-scale rewilding interventions, such as the reintroduction of keystone species (i.e beavers in the UK) or simply requesting roadside verges to be left uncut, your concern raises awareness between policymakers. Find out why writing to your local representative is an effective method plus more strategies for change in our Climate Action guide.

Volunteer/Support your local wildlife trust or conservation organisations: become involved in community initiatives that invest in native plants and trees to encourage local wildlife to return. Further afield, you can contribute to organisations fighting to protect and restore areas of habitation loss for wildlife.

Become a Mossy Earth member: if you want to support our projects that are solely dedicated to seeing the return of flora and fauna and ensuring it’s protection, become a member and start funding rewilding interventions around the world today. From the protection of Slovakia’s turtles to helping human-wolf coexistence in Portugal, learn more about our rewilding projects as well as our many large-scale reforestation projects.

Rewilding is a progressive approach to conservation, offering important ecological, social & economic benefits. Here are 5 reasons why rewilding is so important

Reasons For Rewilding - 5 Reasons Rewilding Is So Important

Our thirst for development over the past few centuries has left little of the planet’s land surface untouched by humankind. The effects of our presence have fragmented natural landscapes and impacted the habitats of the wildlife that live and depend on it. Wildlife Corridors offer the chance for wildlife and nature to reconnect and reestablish. Where Wildlife Corridors work, the benefits are vitally important and where they are suffering, the consequences are grave.

Habitat fragmentation is specific to the breaking up of a natural environment or patches of vegetation into smaller, disconnected sections. It is generally a consequence of agricultural activities, road building or housing developments. A complex web of flora and fauna requires an abundance of resources: food, air, water, sunlight, and the right habitat to survive.  Devastation, degradation, and fragmentation of ecosystems caused by human development means that natural habitats, resources, and species are becoming highly limited and cut off from each other. For a species to sustain themselves successful breeding must take place. But when there is nowhere to live, resources are scarce and mates are difficult to find, they need to adapt or face the possibility of dying out.

The 2019 Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services reports that human impact is responsible for the current 1 million plant and animal species facing extinction (ISPBES, 2019). The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is the most comprehensive report ever completed, building on the landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005, and introducing innovative ways of evaluating evidence.  It found:

The average abundance of native species in most major land-based habitats has fallen by at least 20%, mostly since 1900.

Three-quarters of the land-based environment have been significantly altered by human actions.

68%: global forest area today compared with the estimated pre-industrial level.

Urban areas have more than doubled since 1992.

 The Report assesses changes over the past five decades and is compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries, including Prof. Settele who states:

“Ecosystems, species, wild populations, local varieties and breeds of domesticated plants and animals are shrinking, deteriorating, or vanishing.  This loss is a direct result of human activity and constitutes a direct threat to human well-being in all regions of the world.”

How much habitat fragmentation has happened?

The UN also released the fifth Global Biodiversity Outlook report in 2020, recalling Aichi targets set back in 2010 with respect to biodiversity goals. Its results are bleak: Governments failed to meet a single target to slow the loss of the natural world. It is the second consecutive decade that targets were missed. Whilst some goals were partially fulfilled with 44% of vital biodiverse areas now under protection (an increase from 29% in 2000); others, such as a leading target to halve the loss of natural habitats, were not met.

Where is habitat fragmentation happening and what are its effects?

The effects of habitat fragmentation are varied throughout the globe, yet they impact a wide range of natural habitats and species.  Here are some examples:

Natural Parks are abundant in Italy with over 20 National Parks and about 140 regional parks covering 10% of the land surface.  However, Cinque Terre, Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Parks are where the natural habitat fragmentation, due to transportation infrastructures, is much higher.

In the Brazilian Amazon, research has shown that fragmentation within Amazonia has led to changes in forest dynamics, structure, composition, and microclimate, making remaining spaces highly vulnerable to droughts and fires; not to mention intensive hunting within fragmentation further threatening wildlife populations.

Intertidal wetlands and mangrove forest habitats are also at risk. In Southeast Asia, a global hotspot of mangrove loss, research found conversion to aquaculture and rice plantations the biggest drivers of loss and fragmentation.

Ecologist Jodi Hilty, president and chief scientist of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y), on the animals most at risk from habitat fragmentation

The first is migratory animals — these need to move seasonally to obtain resources.  Second are animals that are fewer in number and require large home ranges, such as grizzly bears and tigers.  And third are specialist animals that have very specific needs and don’t do well in altered environments — animals like orangutans, tigers and salamanders.

Wildlife corridors are one strategy designed to help nature deal with fragmentation. With habitat range size a strong predictor of species’ vulnerability to extinction, wildlife corridors help to link areas of wilderness together, thus creating larger spaces overall (Beyer and Manica, 2020). They assist in retaining, restoring, and managing natural connections and interactions across landscapes, whilst providing vital spaces for plant species to reside in and animal species to move through, find food, or shelter within.

Wildlife corridors are also known as biological corridors, green corridors, or habitat corridors. We can think of them as belonging to two main categories:

Naturally established corridors have been created by natural circumstances and may have specific geographical features such as mountains and dense forests. They might be entire expanses of land like plains or prairies; specific forest ecosystems such as tropical, temperate, and boreal forests; or even a flowing water habitat which includes a river and its banks, also known as a riparian ribbon.

Man-made corridors have been established by humans for supporting and maintaining biodiversity across many different environments.  The most common man-made corridors are the over and underpasses that were invented to avoid animal and human collisions via roads, but they also include smaller versions such as hedgerows on the edge of rural farmland.

There are two specific types of wildlife corridors:

Continuous corridors are large, unbroken strips of green corridor that lead to another habitat.

Stepping stone corridors are small patches of habitat that are connected by smaller wildlife corridors.

Wildlife corridors have three main purposes/effects in order to stabilise populations of species within local environments: 

Colonisation: species are able to move and occupy new areas in search of resources such as food, water and shelter.

Migration: species that relocate seasonally can do so safely, effectively and without humans impeding their pathway (or vice versa).

Genetic diversity: species have more mating options, which strengthens the overall population and reduces inter-breeding.

There are three types of corridor according to their size:

Regional (>500m wide): connecting major land masses such as migratory pathways.

Sub-regional (>300m wide): connecting larger vegetated landscape features such as ridgelines and valleys.

Local (some <50m): connecting remnant patches of woodland, marshes, and wetlands.

In general, a corridor needs a minimum width of 15m to provide adequate habitat for species to use as a travel lane or for food, nesting or escape cover. Yet some species may stay longer than others as there are different users of wildlife corridors: passage users and corridor dwellers. This indicates how long it takes a species to move through a corridor and sometimes (depending on their size and needs) certain species will make it their permanent home.

The benefits of Wildlife Corridors in action

Species known to use wildlife corridors include deer, elk, moose, bears, mountain goats, lizards, tortoises, sheep, wolves, big cats, and elephants.  From the smallest insects to the largest land mammals, the meekest prey to the most cunning of predators; wildlife corridors can help species find food, sanctuary, and safe passage to a new home.  Here’s just a few examples of wildlife corridors in action:   

The Bee Highway in Norway was constructed in 2014 by the urban guild of beekeepers: ByBi. The “pollinator passage” stretches from Holmenkollen in the north west, to Lake Nøkkelvann in the south east. This project initiated measures such as green roofs, flower-emblazoned cemeteries and strategically placed beehives to make it possible for the bees to find resting places and food almost anywhere in Oslo.

The American Flyways signify the 4 unique aviation routes of migratory birds across the whole of the United States: the Pacific, Central, Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways. Birdlife International is working to help the 350 migrant species that breed in North America and head south for winter by creating lasting conservation partnerships across national borders.

In Australia in 2017, the Rainforest Trust established a 173.5 acre called the Misty Mountain Nature Refuge.  The corridor is vital for animals (such as the near threatened Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo) to move freely between two large expanses of World Heritage rainforest. The trust is currently installing 17,000 locally sourced plants over the next two years to widen the corridor.

Some scientists have argued that there is insufficient data on corridor use by animals to conclude on their benefits and the current evidence is inadequate to say whether wildlife corridors serve to increase biodiversity.

One negative aspect, potentially overlooked, is that corridors often allow for the passage of invasive species which can drastically change the ecosystem of a nearby area that was once inaccessible.

Also, wildlife ecologists need to consider “The Edge Effect” - a phenomenon which occurs around the edges of ecosystems, where more light can reach and as a result enables more photosynthesis and plant growth.  Border animal and plant species thrive here, and yet, when more edges are created, more changes occur.  This can be interpreted as positive or negative, one such negative impact of the edge effect is more competition between species.

One of the biggest success stories of wildlife corridors has to be the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y). This impressive 2,000 mile (3,200 kilometre) stretch connects Canada’s Yukon Territory to the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem via North America's Rocky Mountains.  More than 450 partner groups have joined forces since 1993 to support the shared mission and vision of creating an interconnected system of wild lands and waters, harmonizing the needs of people with those of nature.

This ambitious cross border corridor features several natural ecosystems; housing wolves, wolverines, lynx, cougars, golden eagles, and bull trout; with one of the connections allowing grizzly bears to naturally re-occupy the Salmon-Selway wildland complex in central Idaho. Saving wildlife and humans from road collisions is a key part of the project as the region already has more than 100 under and overpasses.  

As well as protecting the area to maintain and restore habitat integrity, Y2Y seeks to support environmental and social justice and oppose actions and policies that undermine human diversity, equity, and inclusion principles.

When wildlife corridors become so minimised they are no able longer to support the passage of animals. This is the case for Florida’s wild spaces. This is a state known to be the origin of the Walt Disney empire: an empire which has pushed the natural environment to almost breaking point. The Florida Wildlife Corridor organisation is on a mission to accelerate conservation in Florida by 10% annually to protect 300,000 acres within the corridor by the end of 2020.[1]

Every day 1,000 new residents move to Florida and each hour 20 acres are lost to development. The roads that are built, like Interstate 4, block wildlife and water. For creatures such as the Florida black bear and the Florida panther, soon there will be nowhere to go. Without long-term protection, significant portions of the Florida Wildlife Corridor are at risk of further fragmentation – either by roads or other development - and will prove detrimental to Florida’s freshwater resources and ultimately harmful to plant and animal communities.

The ‘Last Green Thread’ is a powerful short film following three friends as they set out on an expedition into the most rapidly developing landscape in Central Florida, traveling the most vulnerable wildlife corridor in the state. 

Although public opinion, conservation groups and conservation policy may appear supportive of wildlife corridors, biological scientists have long argued the pros and cons.  Whilst this has already wasted precious time, especially at the rate we are losing habitats and species, a recent study which concludes 18 years of research, could serve to end the argument once and for all.

Using long-term data from a large, replicated experiment, Damschen et al. (2019) show quantitatively how corridors reduced the likelihood of plant extinction in patches by about 2% per year and increased the likelihood of patch colonization by about 5% per year.  Connected patches had 14% more species than unconnected patches. The study concludes: “Restoring habitat connectivity may thus be a powerful technique for conserving biodiversity, and investment in connections can be expected to magnify conservation benefit.”

With robust science backing up the notion that connectivity is key in ecosystem health and biological diversity: what lies ahead?  Typically, investment in wildlife corridors has been minimal, yet when we think about the future, we must consider the increasing pressures climate change will have on our Earth’s biodiversity. Wildlife corridors have been suggested by the Australian government as a strategy to contribute to the resilience of the landscape in a changing climate and help to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions by storing carbon in native vegetation. Not only could more wildlife corridors help strengthen biodiversity, but they could be an important part of climate change mitigation.

Find out where your local wildlife corridors are, what purpose they serve and how you can protect them. Local conservation organisations should be able to help.

Turn your garden into a miniature wildlife corridor. Providing hedgehogs hostels, bee hotels and bird houses can support migratory and stationary local species.

What local ecosystems could be connected in the areas you live in? Are roads nearby responsible for killing wildlife? Are species you’re used to seeing starting to be less visible? Could you help local conservationists to identify and preserve passages for wildlife? Finally, could you help increase biodiversity in your local area by fostering design principles of wildlife corridors?

Habitat fragmentation is having a devastating effect on wildlife and biodiversity. This article discusses the issue and how wildlife corridors provide solutions.

Wildlife Corridors

The effects of habitat fragmentation and how Wildlife Corridors are helping

The image of bison herds roaming vast open grasslands might immediately make you think of Yellowstone National Park or the prairies of Montana and Canada. Lesser known, is the fact that Europe’s landscapes were once home to large herds of the European bison (Bison bonasus), a cousin to the North American bison (Bison bison), or ‘buffalo’. It too has a troubling past, and by the early 1920's European bison were extinct in the wild.

The European bison, or wisent, is very similar to the North American bison, but there are some notable differences in both appearance and behaviour. The European bison is less hairy, has a slimmer build and longer legs. Its horns are more curved, an adaptation that enables them to fight by locking horns as opposed to butting. They do, however, share a sad history. The North American bison declined to around 300 individuals after the arrival of Europeans. Their prairie habitat was converted to ranches for cattle farming and they were victims of a vicious slaughter. Settlers hunted them for food and hides but also in an attempt to devastate the Indigenous people of Turtle Island, many of whom relied on bison for food, clothing and housing. During 1871 and 1872, an average of 5,000 bison were killed every day. 

European bison also suffered a drastic decline at the hands of humans. By the 20th century, only two populations survived in Europe after decades of over-hunting and habitat loss. One, in the remote Northern Caucasus Mountains of Russia, and a more viable population in Poland’s Białowieża Forest, where a herd of around 600 bison remained. By the 1920's, European bison were hunted to extinction in the wild. 

From a mere 12 individuals, surviving in zoos and private collections, captive breeding programmes began and, thanks to ambitious reintroduction projects, there are now around 6,000 wild and semi-wild bison in Europe (Poland, Germany, France, Spain and elsewhere). Our partners at El Encinarejo and the European Bison Conservation Center of Spain are among the organisations working to reintroduce bison to the wild, having reintroduced 18 bison to southern Spain.

Tracking Europe's most southerly population of Bison

Part of the drive to reintroduce bison in Europe stems from their role as a ‘keystone’ species. Just like the American bison have played a role in grassland management, European bison can help create and maintain open grasslands and meadows, supporting a wealth of insects and birds. They can also help spread seeds through their dung, as well as fertilize and break up the soil to enable vegetation to grow. 

However, since biologists have only been able to study the most adaptable of the species, those that have successfully clung on and survived in relatively safe refuges, there is still a lot about European bison we don’t know. Given its relative success in the Bialowieża forest, European bison are typically thought of as a forest species. However, being a large grazing bovid, its evolutionary background, dental morphology, neonatal behaviour, diet and microhabitat selection is characteristic of a grazing species inhabiting open, grass‐rich habitats. The European bison we know today might be an example of a refugee species, one that can no longer access optimal habitat, confined to suboptimal habitats, with consequences for fitness and density. Whether bison in Europe prefer open grasslands, woodlands or a combination of the two remains uncertain. As we continue to find more room to live alongside Europe’s largest land animal once again, we can make space for them to roam in their preferred habitat, enabling us to better understand and conserve this charismatic species. 

Much like the North American bison, European bison have been important to human culture for millennia, featuring in the cave art of pre-historic people as far back as 20,000 years ago. Today, they have captured our attention once again. With continued conservation and reintroduction efforts, this Pleistocene beast might once again roam free across much of Europe’s grasslands and woodlands.

Adaptation: In an evolutionary sense, this is the direct result of evolution and natural selection, where animals become adapted to their environments by means of changes to their behaviour or physically to their body.  

Morphology: When people refer to the shape, size or structure, they are referring to its morphology. This is the study of these areas and much attention goes into learning about the morphology of plants and animals, and how they are adapted to deal with their environments.

Neonatal Behaviour: Neonatal itself, refers to something that is very recently born. Neonatal behaviour is thus the behaviour that a new-born exhibits.

Pleistocene: Referring to the epoch of time which began c.2.6 million years ago up until around 10,000 years ago. It featured many important changes to the world we know today as well as giving rise to many of the plant and animal species we are familiar with, as well as our own species, homo sapiens.

Rewilding: Rewilding is the reintroduction of native tree and animal species to an area where they were once present, but now absent. These areas are managed at the beginning until they are able to look after themselves and regenerate naturally. It is attempting to return the natural balance to landscapes as well as a valuable tool in the fight against climate change. 

Europe’s landscapes were once home to large herds of bison. Part of the drive for the return of the European bison stems from their role as a ‘keystone’ species.

The Return of European Bison

A single bee colony can pollinate 300 million flowers each day. Grains are primarily pollinated by the wind, but fruits, nuts, and vegetables are pollinated by bees. Seventy out of the top 100 crops that humans consume, which supplies up to 90% of the world’s nutrition, are pollinated by bees! No bees, no food, it’s that simple. We need to save the bees from bee extinction!

Why are bees under threat of extinction? 

Bee communities, both wild and managed, have been declining over the last half-century. Scientists have found that bees are dying from a variety of factors; pesticides, drought, habitat destruction, nutrition deficit, air pollution, and climate change.

Though many of these causes are interrelated, the bottom line is that humans are largely responsible for the two most prominent causes: pesticides and habitat loss.

Let's look at seven ways we can help reverse the bee's recent demise and prevent a bee extinction. 

Honeybees feed on the flowers from nearby crops and ornamental plants, and it is vital that these are not coated in pesticides that could weaken the hive. Organic farming is the overarching new policy trend that will stabilize human food production, preserve wild habitats, and protect the bees. The nation of Bhutan has led the world in adopting a 100% organic farming policy, while eight European countries have followed suit and banned particular pesticides and genetically modified crops to help revive bee numbers.

Ensure your fruit and vegetables are organically and locally grown if possible, and that you are not using any pesticides in your own garden …even if those weeds do look unsightly on the driveway!

Like human hotels, by building a bee hotel, you’ll be supplying accommodation, refreshment, and even breakfast for bees. Building a bee hotel is an easy way to save your local bees. Follow this step-by-step guide on how to build and where to put a bee hotel.

If possible, recycle and reuse scrap pieces of wood or furniture, plastic bottles, and old garden canes for your bee hotel. If you have nothing at home, visit your local waste tip to source your materials. 

Planting for pollinators and rewild your garden, allotment, or even balcony will help honeybees immensely. Bees forage from flowers rich in nectar and pollen, the former contains the sugar they require for energy while the latter provides them essential proteins and oils. When flowers are scarce, bees can starve. Use this plant for pollinators guide to discover which plants (flowers, herbs, shrubs, and trees) to grow, and when they flower. Different bees are active throughout the year, so you’ll need flowering plants from spring to winter.

You can make a huge impact on the health of your local ecosystem by starting a beehive. Having your own beehive can help you learn about bee biology, bee ecosystems, and improve the environment around you. Plus, you get the added benefits of bee products such as raw honey and beeswax, as well as the satisfaction and joy derived from working with a hive. Contact your local beekeeping club for more information.

If you’re not ready for a hive of your own, you can indirectly help bees by supporting your local beekeeper. These keepers work hard to nurture their bees and better the local community for bees and humans alike. The easiest way to do this is to buy locally-made honey and beeswax products. Such as soaps, lotions, and candles.

If you’d like a hive but don’t have the time nor space, why not help fund new hive installations? The Honeybee Conservancy in the U.S. and The British Beekeeping Association are working to install stocked honeybee hives and solitary bee homes in communities across the United States and the UK respectively. By sponsoring/adopting a beehive, you aren’t only helping to save the bees, but improving communities – beehives provide training and learning opportunities for both young and old, and the bees can help improve the local ecosystem. Such sponsorship programs provide bees and equipment to help people safely set up, maintain and observe such on-site bee sanctuaries at schools, community gardens, and green spaces.

Rewilding is vital for pollinator conservation and the conservation of pollinators is vital for the survival of wild plants that support a diversity of wildlife. Unfortunately, three bumblebee species have become extinct in recent decades and the recent European Red List for Bees reports that almost one in ten species of wild bee face extinction. This is due to a combination of agricultural intensification, habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as pesticides and herbicide use. Wildflower meadows, a prime pollinator habitat, have declined by around 97% in the UK since the 1930s. Rewilding can help restore these vital wildflower meadows and support the conservation of bees and other pollinators. Similarly, by supporting populations of pollinators, we can support the reproduction of native wildflowers and help restore this vital habitat. Learn more about Mossy Earth's rewilding projects and the positive impacts our members are making.

Fast, Furry and (not so) Furious Bee Facts

There are 20,000 species of bees, In Europe there are around 2,000 bee species with 276 being recorded in the UK alone. 

90% of bees are solitary bees and live underground. Some are called “Mining bees” for how they burrow to build their underground nests. 

Honeybees along with other social bees have a special place on their legs to hold pollen, known as pollen baskets. Solitary bees do not have this morphological trait so when they fly pollen falls from their legs, pollinating as they go. 

Bees, only sting if they feel threatened and it’s only the female who can sting. The ‘sting’ is really an ovipositor that has seen modification thanks to evolution. Approximately 500 bee species don’t even have a sting. 

Some solitary bees take one year to complete their life cycle. The larva cocoons in the nest over winter eating pollen left by the mother. For the complete picture, see the life cycle of a solitary bee via www.biodiversityireland.ie 

It is estimated that one third of bee populations are at risk of extinction as a direct result of human activity.

If you’d like to learn more about bees and/or beekeeping we can recommend the following titles:

The Bee Book: Discover the Wonder of Bees and How to Protect Them for Generations to Come (2016) by DK

Beekeeping: Inspiration and Practical Advice for Beginners (National Trust Home & Garden) (2017) by Andrew T. Davies

A World Without Bees (2009) by Alison Benjamin & Brian McCallum

The bee Manual: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Keeping Bees (2015) by Claire Waring & Adrain Waring

Want to learn more about bees & beekeeping? 

Bee engaged: build Back Better for Bees is the theme of the fourth United Nations designated World Bee Day and event hosted by FAO on 20 May 2021. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has raised concerns over food security, global communities are being called to action to raise awareness of the threats. Join the event to learn more about what is being done to protect our precious pollinators on a global scale. 

Up to 90% of our nutrition is reliant on pollination by bees. Learn why they face extinction and 7 easy ways to help save the bees.

Save The Bees

7 ways to reverse their demise & prevent a bee extinction.

Rewilding can help create a healthier, more resilient natural world. As we become ever more aware of the threats to our planet and the need to safeguard its future, rewilding offers us a crucial opportunity. But what do we mean by rewilding? The term is controversial and often misunderstood. It's frequently thought to refer to the reintroduction of apex predators, like wolves, to a landscape. Though this is often a piece of the puzzle, rewilding is about much more. Here we answer the question "What is Rewilding?"

For thousands of years, humans have changed landscapes and disrupted natural ecosystems. We've cleared large swathes of forest for agriculture, removed large carnivores from much of their range and changed the course of rivers. We're the ultimate ecosystem engineers and the natural world has suffered at our hands. In the face of climate breakdown and global extinctions, it’s now more urgent than ever that we not only protect what we have left but also restore and rewild the ecosystems that we have destroyed.

This is where rewilding comes in. Rewilding is based on the premise that nature knows best how to take care of itself. We can give it a helping hand and create the right conditions by restoring vital ecosystem processes like predation, grazing, regeneration and decomposition. For example, carnivores like wolves and lynx shape ecosystems in their role as top predators. They affect the numbers and behaviour of prey species and this has a knock-on effect on the other species in the ecosystem. The impacts of these carnivores can be felt as far down the food chain as the plant species, a phenomenon known as a trophic cascade. Today, initiatives across the globe are bringing these top predators back and restoring the species and natural processes that keep the Earth’s ecosystems healthy.

Ultimately, within a rewilded landscape there shouldn’t be much need for active management. Nature can look after itself better and more cost-effectively than we can. Rewilding is therefore about reducing human control over the land. It does not mean removing people from the land entirely. In fact, in these wilder landscapes, people and planet can flourish together.

Much of the bad attention that rewilding has seen has come from it being misunderstood and negative connotations attached to it. Our disconnect from nature certainly plays a role too. It’s easy to see rewilding as a scary, dangerous venture with wolf packs to be soon roaming through our streets. However, these are truly far-fetched notions. Learning more about how ecosystems work, the need for biodiversity, and the actual behaviour of animals, are the best ways to put an end to these damaging ideas. 

This is why significant effort must be invested in implementing rewilding projects so locals in close proximity are promised the security of their livelihoods. For farmers who already have financial burdens, an influx of top predators which could kill livestock would come as unwelcome news. Education and communication are absolute paramount to ensure those who may be affected, are given necessary resources and can mitigate against any potential impacts. Our project supporting livestock guarding dogs is designed to address one such issue.

When nature is healthy, it can provide us with abundant products and services, from food and medicine to flood defences and cool air. It offers rural communities economic opportunities through things like wildlife-based tourism. It makes us feel better too. Connecting with nature is good for our mental and physical health. Of course, it's good for the non-human animals that inhabit our earth too. Top predators and grazers are reclaiming lost ground across the globe while rare plants and insects are making a comeback in regenerating forests. These healthier, more intact ecosystems can also help us fight against climate breakdown by keep carbon stored in plants and soil.

To learn more about the benefits of rewilding, we also recommend reading our Reasons For Rewilding and Trophic Cascades articles. 

There are lots of opportunities for you to personally engage in rewilding, whether it is rewilding your garden into a wildlife-friendly zone of native wildflowers, writing to local councils to leave roadside verges uncut, or volunteering at your local wildlife trust or green space. You could also support one of the many conservation organizations working to restore the world's degraded habitats and protect endangered wildlife. Alternatively, you could sign up as a Mossy Earth member to contribute to monthly rewilding interventions across the globe. 

Rewilding can take on other forms too and by looking at the city of Singapore (the Garden City), we see their green initiatives and active encouragement of nature as true potential of what rewilding plans can look like.

Since the 1960’s, the city-state Singapore has been implementing strategies to ensure that they maintain and increase green spaces, despite the continued and unavoidable urban expansion. With a focus on improving living standards and welfare of its population, laws and strategies were put into effect which made property planners required to replant the same amount of green space as they remove for building. This has spurred a spectacular movement of green buildings and a lush verdant cityscape with forest cover actually increasing in stride with the city. 

Local areas of biodiversity have too been protected. Even on a simple walk around the city you can spot magnificent wildlife from giant otters to endangered langur monkeys or the unusual hornbill.

Rewilding focuses on restoring ecosystem processes. Landscapes are not restored with a fixed set of end goals in mind. It’s not about rebuilding what once was, but about supporting a constantly evolving, ecologically dynamic landscape. Through rewilding, we can create a future in which our natural world is allowed to work without interruption to shape our landscapes. In doing so, we can help bring wilderness back from the brink.

Climate Breakdown: Referring to the irreversible changes to the climate that are a direct result of human activity. It is a term that moves away from global warming and highlighting the urgency of action as unpredictable weather changes will become more common place. 

Decomposition: This is a state where organic matter decays, rots and is then turned into simpler matter which is transferred to its surroundings. This process is aided by microorganisms as well as fungi and bacteria which help disintegrate the decomposing matter.

Predation: The act of one species killing another as a food source. This interspecific relationship occurs when one species from a higher trophic level, preys on the species from a lower level of the food chain.

Prey Species: These are the species of lower trophic levels that are hunted by predator species for food.

Regeneration: When we talk about regeneration, we refer to the natural (or sometimes artificial) replanting of native forests. It is the re-growing of trees, where trees used to be. It’s preferable to stand back and let nature take its course although if the area has been heavily exploited, manual planting and extra care will be necessary to ensure growth

Rewilding is a positive approach to conservation based on that premise that nature knows best. Read on to discover the intricacies of what is rewilding.

What is Rewilding?

How Can It Help Create A Healthier Natural World?

In this article, we’d like to showcase some of the amazing wildlife in Ireland, discuss their characteristics, their threats and their importance in an ecosystem, while also investigating whether there really is room for a return of wolves in Ireland.

The Great Irish Elk, an animal that has stood out in history for its towering size and unique morphology has been much lamented for its extinction. Although as it turns out it’s not actually uniquely Irish (or even an elk!) but found across continental Europe and Asia. So, 1) don’t tell anyone and 2) it might as well be, for this enchanting and mystical creature embodies the zoological wonders that Ireland once saw roaming throughout its ancient forests.

80% of the land on this small island in the North Atlantic was once covered in temperate deciduous forest. If we walked through these native woodlands, we could chance a sighting of brown bears, grey wolves, Eurasian Lynx and Wildcats. But it’s not just the megafauna that Ireland could boast about; but 450 bird species; a native lizard; and a myriad of fascinating insects. These animals highlight the range of biodiversity Ireland supported and hopefully can lead us to celebrate the species we still have and some that are starting to make a comeback.

A hen harrier has recently been spotted close to our Irish reforestation project for the first time in 20 years, rousing hopes that the native raptor will return indefinitely to this area of Ireland. A spectacular bird of prey, famed for the differences between male and female, the former is slim, streamlined and mainly silver-grey and white, except for black wing tips while his better half is larger, predominantly brown with fine black markings.

Hen harriers are also notorious for flying very low when hunting, flickering wing-beats followed by short glides and “quartering” systematically back and forth and across its territory in pursuit of small birds and rodents. Harriers are also an indicator species that tells us whether the ecosystem they hunt over is healthy.

Pine Marten – Ireland’s Rarest Native Mammal

The pine marten is Ireland’s rarest native mammal, with just 2,700 individuals remaining. They like to roam well wooded areas with plenty of cover while their dens are commonly found in hollow trees or fallen root masses. Though excellent climbers they prefer to hunt on the ground preying on small rodents, birds, carrion, beetles, eggs fungi and berries.

The greatest threat to wildlife in Ireland, and no more so to the pine marten, has been humans. The loss of woodlands and the persecution of hunters who fear they take eggs and kill game birds have led to the pine marten's demise. Despite years of persecution, numbers in Ireland are fortunately recovering, coinciding with their new-found value as a rewilding species. The resurgent pine martens appear to have rolled back the grey squirrel population, allowing red squirrels to recolonise much of their old territory. Unlike reds, grey squirrels appear to be easy meat for the pine marten.

The hare is an inherent part of Ireland’s culture and wildlife in Ireland, it is as mystical and mythical as Ireland itself. The hare has graced Ireland’s green fields for 20,000 years, making the hare the nation’s oldest mammal.

Hares rely on high-speed endurance running to escape predation, having distinctive long hind legs and large nostrils to do so. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly on grasses, field crops, buds, and herbs. While rabbits gather in social groups called ‘herds’ and nest underground in warrens, hares are solitary for most of their lives and sleep above ground in their grassland habitats. Generally nocturnal and shy in nature, hares change their behaviour in the spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around in fields.

Once the revered animal of the Saxon goddess of dawn and a sacred creature in Gael mythology, the hare is facing her biggest challenge yet, modern Ireland. Farmers argue hares strip the fields of good grass leaving little for the dairy cows to eat. Though numbers are in decline due to snares, agricultural chemicals, and habit loss, there are some signs of hope …at Ireland’s airports, where they are free from predators and farmers.

One can not discuss wildlife in Ireland without mentioning the misconceived badger. The European badger is a powerfully built black, white, and grey animal. It is a nocturnal, social, burrowing animal that sleeps during the day in one of several setts in its territorial range. These burrows, which may house several badger families, have extensive systems of underground passages and chambers and have multiple entrances. Some setts have been in use for decades. Badgers are very fussy over the cleanliness of their burrow, carrying in fresh bedding and removing soiled material, and they defecate in latrines strategically situated around their territory. Moreover, they are known to even share their burrow with other species such as rabbits and foxes.

Their greatest threat is the controversial government program which culls 7000 badgers a year to minimise the spreading of Bovine tuberculosis, costing the country 3.6 million a year. Despite the lack of any verifiable statistical data linking TB from badgers to cattle, the culling continues with inhumane snares. 80% of badgers caught are not even carrying TB, and when a lactating female is caught her young are left to starve.

In the spring and summer months, Ireland is home to the Atlantic puffin. They’re found mainly on the west coast, and a few locations along the east coast. Great Saltee, The cliffs of Moher (close to our Foraois reforesting Ireland project) and Horn Head are good places to see puffins. The Skellig islands off County Kerry are internationally renowned as one of the most important sites for puffins and other breeding seabirds in Ireland. The remainder of the year, Ireland’s puffins migrate to the open ocean of the cold northern seas, before returning again to breed and raise chicks in the safety of Ireland’s cliffs and sea-stacks.

Coming as a surprise to some, Ireland's coastal waters are one of the major spots for whales in Europe. Up to 25 species of cetaceans have been spotted around Irish coasts which include minke, fin, blue and sperm whales. Some residential, some following their annual migration and others, such as the beluga and orca, making a chance encounter on exceedingly rare occasions. 

Minke (mink-ee) whales are Ireland's most sighted cetacean and are regularly seen by whale watching tours along the west and southern coasts. Minke whales are the smallest species of the 13 “great whales”, a name given to some of the largest species of whales. Despite this title, they can weight up to 10 tonnes. 

For centuries whale populations globally have seen devastating effects due to whaling and being caught as bycatch, but slowly and thankfully the animals are recovering. One of the most serious threats to whales and dolphins today are the high level of pollutants coming from landfills, agriculture and septic tanks that find their way into rivers and seas.

Before becoming extinct in 1786, wolves were once an integral part of wildlife in Ireland and Irish culture, and up until the Middle Ages Ireland was often referred to as Wolfland because of the high number of wolves in Ireland. The Irish landscape was the perfect environment for wolves, with mountains, forests, and tundra to roam, and an abundance of deer and wild boar.

In recent years there has been a call, by various groups, for the reintroduction of wolves in Ireland. But just how realistic is this romantic rewilding Ireland idea? On the one hand, a re-introduction could help manage deer overpopulation, decrease tree damage from grazing, and boost eco-tourism in such areas as wolf watching in Ireland. However, Ireland is a country with a huge agriculture industry, where livestock can be found everywhere. Though wolves pose no danger to humans, the damage to livestock would present huge problems. Furthermore, as there is not enough wild territory nor corridors in Ireland to accommodate a successful wolf pack, only a small number of wolves can be reintroduced and this small population would have to be extensively managed and artificially controlled.

Carrion: It is the rotting flesh or the carcass of an animal that has died. It is often mentioned when referring to scavenging species such as vultures or raccoons who, due to special bacteria in their stomachs, can eat and digest it without becoming sick.

Ecosystem: A community of biological organisms such as animals, plants, fungi and how they interact with one other and the environment they live in. An ecosystem has biological, physical and chemical components and come in endless forms. 

Migrate: A journey often undertaken annually by a species, moving from one area to another. Migrations range from short to long distances, following food sources or milder climates. Animals might migrate to avoid particularly harsh winters and then return in summer to mate. The migration of some bar-tailed godwit is an 8 day, 11,000km trip from Alaska to New Zealand. 

Reintroduction: Attempts to re-establish animal or plant populations that have disappeared or disappearing, in a bid to strengthen the populations and lead to an overall benefit for the local environments. 

Discover wildlife in Ireland, their characteristics, threats, and importance in an ecosystem. Also, find out whether there is room for wolves in Ireland.

Wildlife in Ireland

Being out of sight for most of us, the subterranean world is a mysterious place that has always captured our imagination. Caves have featured in human folklore since the earliest times. However few stories are as surprising or exciting as the discoveries that are being made by the field of biospeleology which focuses on the creatures that inhabit them. 

From the United States to Mexico, South Africa to Vietnam, caves have developed their fascinating designs across the entire world. They are the result of processes that in some cases, have taken millions of years to form and now stand as not only an insight into geological functions but serve as an important ecosystem to various, and often unusual organisms.  

In Slovenia, the Postojna cave system, although it is the second biggest in the country, it is effectively the home of the field of biospeleology as well as the region where the etymology of the word “karst” can be traced to. Through its 24-kilometre underground passages and caverns (as old as three million years) impressive geological creations developed that home over 150 different types of fauna.

Karst caves, the most common type, form through the gradual dissolution of limestone or dolomite bedrock caused by running water over thousands of years. The chambers and tunnels that result are characterised by environmental conditions that are nothing like those of the above ground world which they are so close to. Low light or complete darkness and a dearth of nutrients makes them seem rather inhospitable to life. However, even in these obscure corners of our planet, there are lifeforms such as the elusive olm 'dragon' that live and thrive. 

An evolutionary experiment in bizarreness 

If there is one feature that many cave-dwelling animals seem to share it is that they are utterly bizarre to the human eye. This is particularly true for troglobites which are the species that are strictly bound to underground habitats. Millions of years of evolution in this unique environment led to stunning and strange adaptations. Species that once saw daylight have lost many anatomical features. Eyes and skin pigment are of little use in the pitch black so there is nothing preventing the genes behind them from being lost from the population. 

The olm, Proteus anguinus, is one of the most peculiar troglobites we know of and is also one of the most well studied. The first records of the olm salamander come from 1689 in present-day Slovenia when a naturalist called Valvasor found them washing up from underground waters after heavy rains. The local people believed them to be the babies of a cave dragon which is understandable given their appearance.

With a slender body of up to 40 cm the olm salamander swims with an eel-like motion through the well oxygenated underground water it inhabits. Unlike many other salamanders the olm has remained aquatic and relies on external gills to breathe. Generations of natural selection in the dark left the olm salamander blind with underdeveloped and skin-covered eyes. To hunt the crustaceans, insects and snails that make up its diet it relies instead on an acute sense of smell and sound, an ability to sense weak electrical signals and even magnetic fields. Surprisingly though, olms can survive without eating for an entire decade, a feat that seems useful given that food in these caves can often become scarce.  The average lifespan of an olm is estimated to be 58 years and it is thought that some individuals may survive for a century or more. This makes this species a complete outlier in the animal world because it lives much longer than expected for its body size. 

The glowworms of New Zealand, Arachnocampa luminosa, are another fascinating cave dweller. They are not actually worms but fungus-eating flies that have a peculiar hunting strategy during their larval stage. After hatching, the larvae find a good spot on the cave walls from which to hunt. They secrete several threads of sticky web that hang from the ceiling. Each worm is equipped with a specialised organ that uses a chemical reaction to generate blue light. Small flying insects are attracted to the light and are then trapped by the sticky threads. The larvae then start to consume the thread thus pulling the trapped insects and essentially “fishing” them upwards before eating them alive. In caves where glowworms are common, the walls can be seen glowing with dots of blue – a spectacular and strange sight indeed. 

Rewilding Blog

Rewild Your Garden

Reasons for Rewilding

Wildlife Corridors

The Return of European Bison

Save The Bees

What is Rewilding?

Wildlife in Ireland

Cave-dwelling animals and their conservation

Romania's Brown Bears

What Is The Sixth Mass Extinction?

Trophic Cascades

World Rewilding Day - 20th March

The 5 Best Rewilding Podcasts

Rewilding In Britain

Birds of Prey in Ireland & the UK

Vultures in the Douro Valley

Nature-Based Tourism

Wild Boar

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Tree Extinction

Rewilding Scotland

Rewilding In North America

A Review of George Monbiot's Feral

Tracking Eurasian Lynx

Lynx in Britain

Aurochs and their role in rewilding

What is Climate Change?

Rewilding Romania

Rewilding Ireland

Saving Scotland's Wildcats

Deforestation

What is Biodiversity?