Rewilding the world

As part of working on the Amazônia exhibition at the Science Museum, I was lucky to speak to an inspiring range of people about how rewilding and reforesting our planet can become our greatest ally against climate change. My post for the museum blog cross-posted below.

—

In September 2020, Sir David Attenborough called on us to ‘rewild the world’ in a year that saw many of us reconnect with local nature throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Rewilding is the restoration of ecosystems to the point where nature is allowed to take care of itself. It can help to reverse species extinction, tackle climate change and improve our overall health and wellbeing. Rewilding requires a rebalancing of nature and people. 

One particular focus for rewilding is planting trees or the reforestation of threatened ecosystems. Forests provide the oxygen we breathe, absorb carbon emissions, and provide crucial habitats. 

In the Science Museum’s latest exhibition Amazônia, Sebastião Salgado’s photographs show us one of the ecosystems most in need of reforesting – the Brazilian Amazon – alongside his revolutionary work regrowing Brazil’s Atlantic Forest at the Instituto Terra. 

But rewilding can also be smaller scale and urban, working to make cityscapes a space for species diversity. Below we hear from three projects working to rewild the world, from the Brazilian Amazon to the UK’s London Bridge.  

Read the contributions here