Rewilding hope conference celebrates World Environment Day and World Oceans Day
A two-day online conference to share hopeful rewilding stories marked this year’s World Environment Day and World Oceans Day.
An online audience experienced a wealth of inspirational talks from leading rewilders and seawilders on 5 and 6 June. The event was hosted by Climate Action North, sponsored by Rewilding Britain, and supported by Northumberland Wildlife Trust.
Designed to share inspiring stories about rewilding the land and sea, ‘Rewilding Hope - Land to Sea’ included talks by rewilders and conservationists, plus music from composer and recording artist Richard Durrant’s Rewilding album.
The keynote speakers were Alan Watson Featherstone who shared his journey of rewilding and hope for the future, and Sacha Dench who spoke about her personal experiences of human resilience, rewilding and climate hope and her new expedition Flight of the Vultures.
Climate Action North’s Chief Executive Officer, Sharon Lashley, said: “This is our most ambitious conference yet and by gathering rewilders from across the UK we hope we have ignited more passion and action for rewilding.
"We've been championing rewilding since 2018 by sharing stories of resilience and hope and highlighting how rewilding is a crucial solution in solving the climate crisis, restoring ecosystems, and safeguarding key species and biodiversity."
Other speakers were Sara King of Rewilding Britain; David Hetherington of Cairngorms National Park; Jenny Barlow of Tarras Valley Nature Reserve; Libby Drew of Knepp Wildland; Graham Holyoak of Wilder Northumberland; Peter Cairns of Scotland the Big Picture; Amelia Newman of Ocean Conservation Trust; Ailsa McLellan of Seawilding; James Shooter of The Rewild Podcast’ Judy Power of Tees Rivers Trust; Ben Coppin of Groundwork North East; and Sandra King of Beaver Trust.
Sara King, Rewilding Manager for Rewilding Britain said: “We were delighted to sponsor this very exciting online event bringing together rewilders and experts from across the UK sharing their stories of rewilding hope and inspiring project connections from land to sea.”
Sharon concluded: “Our amazing line-up of contributors showcased incredible conservation and rewilding taking place in the country. Thank you to all our speakers, who joined us for these very special two days of rewilding hope.”
View the full videos of Rewilding Hope on the Climate Action North Youtube channel.
The time for talking is over. Today we need to act.