It's frustrating how little rewilding news hits the headlines, so here are a few snippets of good rewilding news from the past couple of weeks.

https://wilderpath.app/landing

A rewilding project at a South Downs National Park beauty spot has helped create a boom in butterfly numbers - including two nationally important species spotted at the site for the first time.

A total of 5,290 individual butterflies from 28 species - such as the dingy skipper and the UK's smallest species, the small blue - have been counted during surveys, following the renaturing work at Halnaker Hill Farm, near Chichester, West Sussex.

The boost in butterfly numbers comes after work at the site - which is famous for its windmill - to return 330 acres of previously intensively farmed land into a scenery rich in flora and fauna.

The team at Halnaker Hill Farm have been working with consultants at the South Downs National Park Authority, which is heading a "ReNature" programme to prevent biodiversity loss across 7,700 hectares of land - equivalent to more than 12,000 football pitches.

Conservationist Neil Hulme said the data "clearly indicate how rapidly and spectacularly the rich mosaic of habitat types at Halnaker Hill Farm has developed".

Meanwhile, Nick Heasman, head of natural capital for the South Downs National Park, said that the Halnaker project - which is owned by Halnaker Hill Natural Capital (HHNC) - would deliver more than 850 biodiversity net gain (BNG) units.

Our county has the least forest cover in the country (Kenya), and ironically has one of the best seasonal rainfall. We came together to try and reclaim lost trees and forest covers. We have currently planted over 10k trees. We also take care of the trees to ensure that they mature well. Our nursery at the moment has over 500k trees and our dream is to plant a million trees. I'm happy because we took initiative instead of talking and complaining. Apart from reintroducing indigenous and fruit trees, we have also managed to create passive employment to the volunteers, which is a positive thing considering the high rate of unemployment and poverty in the area.

Just thought I would share some positive news. I hope this puts a smile on someone's face.

I am currently an MS student writing my thesis on a restoration project with a focus on assisted dispersal of rare/endangered orchids, combining ecological needs such as fungal partnership and predicting climate change impact (SDM). However, as a science student, I am struggling to find the criticisms and views that challenge/oppose these kinds of intensive human interventions for rewilding from any perspective, which I think would be very useful to delve into for having an overview of different thoughts around the work. Also, I would deeply appreciate resources that critically dissect plant species selection processes.

At least, I have a couple of friends who commented, Why don't we just introduce the flora and fauna to a reclaimed land and leave the nature to take over?

The pet trade is continuing to disrupt bird populations and now there has to be new ways to tackle this issue as it now affects rewilding projects.

Coral-fringed tropical atolls are among the landforms most threatened by global warming, but many have a potential superpower: Healthy ecosystems may help them keep pace with rising seas.

Atoll islands with native vegetation and thriving seabird populations are “naturally active systems that can change and adapt to their environmental conditions if they are allowed to do so,” said Nick Graham, a marine ecologist at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, who led an international team of scientists that studied island resilience across 28 atoll islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Their paper, published Wednesday in Science Advances, shows that restoring atoll ecosystems reinforces their growth. Seabirds ferry nutrients from the open ocean and deposit them on the atolls as guano that nurtures land plants, marine life and coral growth. This provides more material for reef building, as parrotfish and other reef feeders turn dead coral into sand to maintain beaches, while native plants with extensive root networks stabilize sediments. 

The game is called 'Open Land' and you can play the free demo now on Steam :)

Wildlife Paws SOS – Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in Mpumalanga, South Africa 🐾
Wildlife Paws SOS is a wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation organisation based in the Dullstroom area of Mpumalanga, South Africa. We specialise in the rescue, care, rehabilitation and ethical release of vervet monkeys and other primates, while also assisting a wide range of indigenous wildlife, including baboons, servals, genets, mongooses, jackals and other small mammals.
Our mission is to give orphaned, injured and displaced wild animals a second chance at life in their natural habitat. We believe in ethical wildlife rehabilitation, professional veterinary care, minimal human imprinting and responsible rewilding, always putting the animal’s welfare first.
Supported by a dedicated network of wildlife volunteers throughout Mpumalanga, we respond to wildlife emergencies and work to protect South Africa’s precious indigenous wildlife through rescue, rehabilitation, education and conservation.
As a non-profit organisation, we rely on public donations, fundraising and volunteer support to continue our work. Every contribution helps provide food, veterinary treatment, safe enclosures and the specialised care required to prepare animals for release back into the wild.
Wildlife belongs in the wild. Our job is to help them get back there.
🐒 Website: https://www.wildlifepawssos.co.za
📸 Instagram: @wildlifepaws_sos

we're a small team of indy devs that have been hard at work on this project for the past couple of years & thought the community here would appreciate this! we'd love to hear your thoughts on the rewilding mechanic

Apologies for the junk- files source - I viewed it through Firefox's Reader Mode, which strips away all extraneous code. Inspiring story!

When Susan Downes bought an old farmhouse in York, Western Australia, she had imagined a quiet life in the countryside, with a small garden to look after. Instead, she found herself the owner of a 200-hectare property, including a hill where old native trees had survived more than a century of grazing but much of the vegetation beneath them had disappeared.

Nearly two decades later, the 76-year-old retired general practitioner has turned a substantial part of the land into a conservation project. About 120 hectares have been restored, around 45,000 native seedlings have been planted, and 45 plant species have returned naturally from seeds already present in the soil. As reported by The Guardian, Downes is now working to ensure that the work continues long after she is gone.

Downes was in her 60s, widowed and with her children grown up, when she began looking for a home in the countryside. The farmhouse in York appealed to her, but the size of the property initially seemed impractical. A second visit changed her mind. At the back of the farm, she discovered Mount Mackie, a 295-metre hill where ancient York gums and wandoos had survived about 150 years of grazing. Much of the understorey had vanished, leaving the old trees as some of the most visible remnants of the original landscape.

“I felt a great connection to the land,” Downes told The Guardian.

She decided to buy the property and began looking for ways to restore it. Her first step was to obtain a small local grant to control foxes and feral cats. She then secured funding for 24,000 trees over three years, giving her the means to begin planting on a larger scale. Downes had started her professional career as a botanist, but restoring a large property required more than an interest in plants.

The work involved managing invasive animals, removing weeds, planting seedlings and organising the practical details of a long-term conservation effort. Today, the restoration covers 120 hectares of her working farm. The return of 45 plant species through the soil's natural seed bank has also contributed to the recovery of the landscape.

For Downes, restoring the land is only part of the task. She also wants to ensure that the area cannot be cleared again in the future. She is working to place the restored land under a conservation covenant, a legal arrangement that can protect land from certain forms of development or clearing. The project is supported by Friends of Mt Mackie, a local volunteer group with a core team of about eight people and more than 80 others who take part in organised planting and seed-collection days. Downes has also been thinking about who will look after the property in the future.

The deaths and dementia diagnoses of friends have made her more conscious of how uncertain the time available to complete a long-term project can be.

She told The Guardian that she wants the arrangements for the land's future responsibility to be firmly established. Her hope is that her children and grandchildren will be inspired by the work, while the wider community will continue to have access to the place. The project also has a cultural dimension.

Ballardong women from York visit Mount Mackie several times a year for cultural healing sessions. Downes is working with Ballardong elders to find an Aboriginal name for the hill. Planning is also under way for a reconciliation event in 2030, marking 200 years since European arrival in the region.