MAKING EUROPE A WILDER PLACE
The European countryside is changing rapidly: young people travel to the city on a large scale in search of a modern life, traditional agriculture is no longer lucrative in many areas and older generations are the only ones who stay in the countryside. Millions of hectares of land are therefore no longer used. In 2020 eighty percent of Europeans live in urban areas. Villages empty and the land grows densely with forest. Thousands of plants and animal species that depend on open and semi-open landscapes are in danger of distinction. It appears to be a tragic development, but at the same time it is a historic opportunity to make more room for wild European nature. This wilderness nature can offer a new future in these areas, as we know from large nature reserves in Africa and North America.
Rewilding Europe is a new European initiative to make more space for wild nature, wilderness and wild animals. Rewilding Europe aims to create one million hectares in Europe, in at least ten different areas. It's not mankind who forms the landscape, but nature itself. Disappeared but crucial animal species are brought back where necessary, especially large grazers such as wild horses, European bisons, primordial cattle and deer. Ten European top nature areas will thus emerge in international allure. Wilderness and wild animals form the basis for new economic activities in these areas. A step back to the original wild nature in Europe, but in modern times.
In the meantime, eight major areas have already been selected where the rewilding principles are applied. Discover the Rewilding Areas and you might discover this beautiful nature on your next trip.
One of the main building blocks of Rewilding Europe is encouraging companies that are grafted towards sustainable use of this new wilderness landscape; so-called conservation enterprises. Such companies show the economic value of wilderness nature in the form of employment and income. Wilderness tourism and the sale of local services and products are important potential sources of income. In short, a switch from marginal, subsidized agriculture to a more sustainable and service-friendly wilderness economy. Besides this, Rewilding Europe is committed to a European Rewilding Network , a European Wildlife Database , a European Safari Company and new nature policy.
WHY DO WE SUPPORT REWILDING EUROPE?
Our next adventure, Self Supported through North America, is full of wilderness. Two years ago we left with an open idea on our world trip. We would learn along the way and contribute to projects that are close to our hearts. We worked together with Sail & Whale to visualize the whale and dolphin populations, recorded road kills for Adventure Scientists and stood with our feet in the earth in permaculture projects. We learned what gave us energy, that the wilderness are the most beautiful places on earth and we learned to appreciate the beauty of Europe more than ever before. With WeLeaf we want to inspire other people to travel on their own and to discover nature. If that beautiful nature is close to us in Europe, wilderness and adventure comes closer and we can travel with a smaller ecological footprint. Rewilding Europe is committed to this and we are committed to achieving this goal.
PROJECT REWILD WITH US
Together with Rewilding Europe we want to contribute to the naturalization of Europe. After an earlier introduction to Rewilding Europe, we have set up our own project with them. We want to save an amount together with you to release one bison in one of the rewilding areas. Our bison is already in the breeding program, it's ready to be born! To raise the animal, prepare it for its wild life and organize its transport to its future habitat in the Romanian Carpathians, Rewilding Europe needs an amount of 3,500 euros. That's a lot! But that is also the reality. We want to see "our" bison playing around. Make it a bit of your bison and help us save the amount! In the Donate meter you can see what amount we still need to release our baby bison. .
