THE REWILDING INSTITUTE - IT’S WORTH.A READ

REWILDING EARTH JOURNAL | May 8, 2026 Photo by Kenyon Fields Rewilding Isn’t About Saving Nature. It’s About Letting Go of Control Rewilding is often mischaracterized as nostalgia — a sentimental longing for some imagined pre-human wilderness, or a technical conservation strategy dressed up in romance. That framing misses what rewilding actually disrupts. Rewilding isn’t a return. It’s a refusal. A refusal of the extraction-first worldview that treats land as inert matter, animals as units of production, and ecosystems as systems that must be optimized, managed, or corrected. Rewilding asks us to reconsider the stories we’ve inherited about land, ownership, and human centrality. The emphasis on cores, corridors, carnivores, compassion, and coexistence isn’t a checklist or a branding exercise — it’s a challenge to the deeper cultural logic that produced ecological collapse in the first place. And for those looking to engage, rewilding offers tangible entry points. READ MORE Photo by Mariano Rodriguez Chile’s Vast Kelp Forests Promise Climate Refuge, with a Warning An interdisciplinary team led by Rewilding Chile has completed the first phase of the Patagonia Megatransect — an ambitious, multi-stage underwater journey spanning 745 miles from the Gulf of Corcovado to Cape Horn. The project documents one of the planet’s largest intact kelp forests and uses advanced technology to advocate for their protection. The expedition ventures into a little-known ecosystem of monumental scale: the forests of Macrocystis pyrifera, giant kelp that reach lengths up to 260 feet. One of Earth’s most efficient natural carbon sinks, giant kelp are able to absorb up to 20 times the amount of carbon as forests on land. By measuring their precise capacity, the new data could position Chile as a leading planetary reservoir of blue carbon. READ MORE Photo by Kenyon Fields LISTEN / WATCH Laiken Jordahl on the battle for Big Bend (Rewilding Earth podcast) Wild beyond borders with Kris Tompkins (The Explorers Club) TAKE ACTION Stop attack on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (Wilderness Society) READ A time to rally: When Ted Turner gave Jacques Cousteau an end-of-life pep talk (Yellowstonian) Voyageurs Wolf Project captures first evidence in a century of cougars reproducing in Minnesota (WDIO News) Trump administration moves to push bison off Montana land (USA Today) The strange reason why wildlife agencies want Americans to buy more guns (Vox) Immaculate wilderness, uncertain future: Paddling the Boundary Waters (New York Times) UPCOMING DONATE NOW GET INVOLVED WITH REWILDING This is a place for writers and photographers to share your work and reach a wide audience of committed rewilders. Check out our Rewilding Earth Submission Guidelines. For more ways to become involved, contact us at volunteer@rewilding.org. SUBSCRIBE Facebook icon Instagram icon Spotify icon YouTube icon Adirondack Park and bighorn photos by Kenyon Fields, giant kelp by Mariano Rodriguez View email in browser REWILDING INSTITUTE, PO BOX 13768, ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87192 update your preferences or unsubscribe

SWIFT NESTING SITE ‘BLOCKED’ BY A PIPE. IS THIS REALLY REAL?

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more URGENT: Help save a Swift nesting site PROTECT THE WILD MAY 12 READ IN APP A long-established swift nesting site is at risk and we urgently need your help. At the Pound Road (Banstead) swift colony, a newly installed flue pipe has been positioned directly in front of an active swift nesting entrance, blocking access to a site these incredible birds have reportedly used successfully for many years. This issue was identified and raised by the brilliant local conservation group Banstead Swifts, whose dedicated volunteers have worked tirelessly to monitor, protect, and advocate for swifts in the area. Without groups like Banstead Swifts, many nesting sites - and the birds that depend on them —- would simply go unnoticed and unprotected. Swifts are one of Britain’s fastest declining birds. They travel thousands of miles from Africa every year to return to the exact same nesting sites - only to increasingly find them gone, blocked, or destroyed. The loss of nesting spaces is one of the main reasons their populations are collapsing across the UK. And now it is happening again. Banstead Swifts said on Sunday they saw a Swift collide with the pipe, fall, then return and try to access the nest between the pipe and brickwork. They’ve seen no nest entries since. What makes this especially frustrating is that this situation appears entirely avoidable. The flue pipe could reportedly be repositioned relatively easily, restoring access to the nest and protecting this important breeding site. Sign the petition We are urging Raven Housing Trust to act immediately and demonstrate genuine commitment to wildlife protection and biodiversity by moving the flue pipe before this nesting site is lost. Please take a moment to sign our petition to Raven Housing Trust politely and respectfully asking them to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Every nesting site matters. Every pair matters. And if we continue allowing sites like this to disappear, we will continue watching swifts vanish from our skies. Thank you for standing up for swifts. Sign the petition SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

RIGHT TO ROAM - THE RIGHT TO HAVE ACCESS WERE LANDOWNERS DON’T WANT YOU TO GO

WHY WON'T YOU PAY! Dear Roamers, The reviews are in, and OUR LAND is proving a hit, with packed-out screenings and an extensive national release. The film has launched to a flurry of media interest. Channel 4 produced this report covering the film and the recent Kinder mass swim trespass. Meanwhile, a short clip featuring Guy’s, um, ‘interesting’ encounter with aristocratic landowner Francis Fulford has found one and a half million eyeballs and counting. “WHY WON’T YOU PAY” jabs Francis, who seems to believe every countryside walk should start with a BACS transfer to the landed elite. (How much did you pay, Francis?) The Guardian published this feature on the film and delivered a strong four-star review, hailing the “simple, reasonable aim” of the campaign: that England and Wales should follow Scotland in introducing a proper right to roam. Little White Lies gave four stars too, describing the film as "superb" and noting that while it "takes great pains to give both sides of the debate an equal platform” it is nonetheless “clear what side is the one of rational common sense, empathy and creativity”. We quite agree… Time Out found the campaign made its point with “passion and clarity”… but didn’t think much of our fireside singing (fair enough – three stars). The Islington Tribune / Camden New Journal also gave a four-star verdict, describing the film as “excellent” and a “careful polemic”. They found sympathy with the idea “that England should adopt the same laws as Scotland, where land ownership doesn’t mean you can ban people from responsibly accessing it”. The Conversation doesn’t indulge in star ratings, but reflected that “many of the featured landowners and access campaigners agree on the artificial nature of landownership, their individual powerlessness to effect change and on the social and legal constructs that trap us all in an uncomfortable standoff.” We’re not so sure about the powerless bit! You can check the full list of screenings and dates on the distributor’s website here. More are added every week. Please continue sharing the trailer with friends and family to help us reach as wide an audience as possible. And if your local cinema isn’t showing the film, drop them a line and ask why! Politics being what it is, there's no better time to spend an hour and a half in a dark room gazing at a slow-mo advert for a free countryside, while Nadia riffs on justice and belonging in mellifluous Geordie tones. Political turmoil. Again. It won’t have escaped you that the UK government has entered yet another phase of turmoil. All other issues aside, for campaigns like ours, such moments bring upsides and downsides. Downside: the more the government is embroiled in drama, the less attention it gives to the things we care about. Leadership contests, even where the leader survives, trigger reshuffles, which means any work building relationships with ministerial teams is undone. Upside: the government has so far been disappointing on access. It’s possible a change of guard could produce a more engaged set of ministers who are willing to drive the access agenda forward. It remains the case that access reform is popular, affordable, easy to implement, and strongly within the tradition of the Labour party. The greater the need to mash a giant button labelled RESET within the current fiscal and political constraints, the more sweet the sound of the piper may be… Campaign funds We have a favour to ask. We try to avoid coming cap in hand to supporters too often. We know finances are strained and many causes are asking for help. However, if you can afford to donate a fiver a month to the campaign (or whatever is affordable for you) to keep us going we’d be grateful. Around a quarter of the funds we need to continue our current work haven’t materialised this year and we’re working out how to plug the gap. We’re a lean machine, currently sharing around two and half full-time salaries across six members of the team. With that level of resource, we think we do a good job punching above our weight! A few hundred more supporters will help supercharge our work during a crucial year before the King’s Speech in 2027 – which may well be our final shot this parliamentary term. Quick explainer here on how we spend our resources. We’ll continue to keep you updated with our honest assessment of the prospects for achieving concrete political change. The garlic may be on the turn. But the orchids are still to come. Keep roaming, Jon, on behalf of the Right to Roam team ---------- Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky. Want to get involved? Visit our website here. This campaign is made possible through small monthly donations from supporters like you. We are currently relying on only 500 monthly subscribers. Without growing that number, our work is at risk. Can you help keep us going by becoming a monthly subscriber? £5 / Month £10 / Month £15 / Month £20 / Month OUR LAND has officially launched nationwide this week. Take Action Visit our social accounts Check out our site This email was sent from this site. If you no longer wish to receive this email, change your email preferences here.

PROTECT THE WILD - GIANT ROB POWNALL’S GANNET GRABS THE HEADLINES IN SCOTTISH POLITICS

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more We Didn’t Win the Election - But We Changed the Conversation How a giant Gannet running for parliament forced Scotland to talk about the Guga hunt. DEVON DOCHERTY MAY 9 READ IN APP Yesterday, we lost the election. But we won the moment. Because as millions of eyes across the country watched the results being announced, they saw a massive Gannet seabird on stage, unfurling a placard that read “END THE GUGA HUNT.” A few months ago, the idea sounded ridiculous. Run for Scottish Parliament dressed as a giant Gannet? But sometimes the only way to force people to confront an uncomfortable truth is to make it impossible to ignore. And that’s exactly what we did. Over the course of this election campaign, our founder Rob stood as an independent candidate in Edinburgh Central - the seat of power in Scotland, home to the Scottish Parliament itself to demand an end to the Guga hunt. If you didn’t know already, the Guga hunt is an annual tradition where ten men travel to the remote island of Sula Sgeir in northern Scotland, take baby gannets from their nests and bludgeon them to death for a local delicacy. Hundreds of years ago, this practice began as a matter of survival in times of food scarcity. Today, it survives only because of tradition - protected by a special exemption buried within Section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. A single sentence in law which we are determined to change. Out of the shadows, and into the headlines Only a few months ago, it felt like hardly anyone knew that the Guga hunt was happening in Scotland. But our elections campaign has received widespread media coverage that has propelled it into the spotlight. From the original articles announcing that a man dressed as a giant seabird was running for parliament, to coverage of our attempted gatecrash of the Scottish Tory manifesto launch (apparently they weren’t interested in our “Ganifesto”) and then Have I Got News For You featured us on a segment, putting the campaign in front of over four million average viewers. We then made headlines again as Scots “flocked to the polls” on elections day, including front page coverage in the Edinburgh news. Then came the moment we had been waiting for. As millions watched the election results coming in live, they saw a Gannet standing on stage unfurling a placard reading: END THE GUGA HUNT. That message was broadcast on BBC News at Six. It appeared again on BBC News at Ten and also a ITV News at Ten. It was seen by millions of people across the UK and beyond. And the next morning, it was splashed across newspapers, websites and social media pages all around the country. To be honest, there’s now almost too much media coverage to keep track of. But perhaps the most extraordinary part was how perfectly everything aligned. Edinburgh Central became one of the most closely watched seats in Scotland after SNP veteran Angus Robertson lost his seat to Scottish Greens candidate Lorna Slater - making history as the first Scottish Greens MSP ever to win a constituency seat. And because candidates stand alphabetically on stage, Rob - whose surname begins with “P” - ended up positioned directly beside them both, which meant when the placard came out, it was directly in frame at the centre of one of the biggest moments of the night. This campaign was never about getting votes. It was about putting the Guga hunt into the public eye and onto the political agenda. And we believe we’ve achieved that. We’re delighted that Lorna Slater won the seat, with the Scottish Greens currently the only mainstream political party to have publicly committed to ending the Guga hunt. We hope to work with Lorna and other MSPs on this issue in the coming months. The public is paying attention Since yesterday’s coverage, Google searches for “End the Guga Hunt” have surged. Our petition calling on NatureScot not to issue this year’s licence is climbing rapidly - now surpassing 166,000 signatures and continuing to grow. SIGN THE PETITION A campaign with a tiny budget and only two people working on it managed to put a centuries-old hunt onto front pages, prime-time television, and in front of a nation’s eyes. What’s next? The election may be over, but the real work starts now. The new Scottish Parliament has formed, and we’ll soon be meeting with MSPs and stepping up direct political campaigning to put an end to this outdated activity once and for all. Our ask is clear: Remove the exemption from the Wildlife and Countryside Act that allows the Guga hunt to continue. The government petition to end the Guga hunt received more than 100,000 signatures and is expected to be revisited by parliament shortly. Combined with the growing national attention around the issue, we’re entering this next phase with real momentum. We’ll also continue scrutinising NatureScot and pushing them not to issue this year’s licence in light of the evidence and overwhelming public concern. The truth is this: We are closer than we’ve ever been to ending the Guga hunt, but without more people powering this fight, we cannot finish it. That’s why today we’re asking for your help. Adopt a Gannet! Become a monthly supporter of Protect the Wild and power the fight to end the Guga hunt. You can also choose to make a one-off donation. ADOPT A GANNET As a thank you, we'll send you a Gannet plush toy - a small, soft reminder of a bird worth fighting for. We’re not sure how many we will stock - so don't wait around! SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

FLIGHTS OF FANCY—THE BIRD GAME SMOKESCREEN FOR FOXHUNTERS

View this email in your browser Hi, Supporter Six Weeks to Make Hunting History! Flights of Fancy - The Bird of Prey exemption At the end of March, the government launched its long-awaited consultation on how to ban ‘trail hunting’. This is a once in a generation opportunity to finally blow away that smokescreen and close the many loopholes in the 2004 Hunting Act. Just another smokescreen for illegal hunting. But there are now just six weeks to complete the consultation, which closes on the 18th June 2026. To make sure your voice is heard, the HSA has produced guidance on completing the consultation which you can find here. This beautiful bird is stuffed in a box so he can go fox hunting. One of the most outrageous loopholes is the so-called Bird of Prey exemption, which was included in the 2004 Hunting Act to allow the bloodsport of falconry to continue once hunting with hounds had been banned. Incredibly, some hunters have used this loophole to continue fox hunting for over twenty years. The hunt simply carries on as it did pre-ban but take along a bedraggled bird of prey which they claim will used to kill any foxes flushed by the hounds. It would be funny if it were not so utterly cynical and cruel. If you believe this, you’ll believe anything… Even the Hawk Board, falconry’s governing body - which has strong links to the Countryside Alliance - state that foxes are not a recognised quarry. They further state that by exploiting this loophole, hunters create serious welfare concerns for both the bird and the hounds. Although this loophole is not widely used, the fact that it is used at all shows the utterly ruthless determination of fox hunters to exploit any loophole they can find – it is for this reason that the HSA is calling for the removal of ALL exemptions in addition to many other measures. Please help make hunting history by completing the consultation today. The government has launched a public consultation on Trail Hunting – this is our chance to stop cruel hunting for good. You can read the HSA’s guidance and take part in the consultation here. The deadline is 18th June 2026 – make sure your voice is heard. Take part in the Trail Hunting Consultation now: Have your say Join the Hunt Saboteurs Association! Support our vital work by becoming a member. Join The HSA Spread the word! Please share our news Share via email Facebook icon Instagram icon Twitter icon Logo Copyright (C) 2026 Hunt Saboteurs Association. All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from Hunt Saboteurs Association. Our mailing address is: BM HSA, London, WC1N 3XX, U.K. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

CORNWALL WILDLIFE TRUST — DOING THINGS FOR WILDLIFE

View this email in your browser Dear [first name] On Wednesday 20 May, Cornwall Wildlife Trust invites you to join our annual panel discussion to explore the state of nature in Cornwall — and the reasons for hope. Date: Wednesday 20 May Time: Doors from 6.30pm with event starting at 7pm Location: Burrell Theatre, Truro School, Trennick Lane, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 1TH Tickets: £5 Chaired by BBC Radio Cornwall presenter Julie Skentelbery, join us for a thought‑provoking evening exploring the pressures facing Cornwall’s wildlife — and whether inspiring conservation efforts are enough to reverse the decline. 👉 Book your place today Book Now Join us for an evening of conversation and debate, with pasties and drinks & nibbles beforehand, and the opportunity to stay on afterwards to meet the panel and team. Free event parking. 🎟 Tickets are just £5 - but already selling fast. 🥟Order by May 12 to get a free pasty with your ticket Book your place today You may also like: Open Gardens Various Dates | 2pm - 5pm Join us and celebrate the 15th anniversary of Open Gardens this year. With 8 gardens across Cornwall flinging open the garden gates, come for the gardens - stay for the tea and cake! Looe Island: Birds, butterflies & more Thur 21 May | 9am - 12.30pm This is a small-number experience offering access to our island nature reserve — ideal for wildlife lovers, photographers, and those seeking a peaceful morning immersed in nature. More dates available. Reptile Spotting Weds 27 May | 10am - 11am Come on an adventure around Penhale dunes to look for some of our amazing reptiles including adders, slow worms & grass snakes. Beginner’s Botany Sat 30 May | 10am - 4pm St Columb Major This workshop from the Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall & Isles of Scilly will help you identify the wildflowers that we find in Cornwall, to family or species level. See more events Facebook icon Instagram icon LinkedIn icon YouTube icon © 2026 Cornwall Wildlife Trust. All rights reserved. Registered charity number 214929. Privacy Policy and T&Cs Our mailing address is: Cornwall Wildlife Trust Five Acres, Allet, Truro, Cornwall, TR4 9DJ Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list.

FROM PROTECT THE WILD — BLOOD SPORT ON KILLING FOR ‘FUN’ — BLOOD ON THEIR CHARACTERS

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Undercover footage aired by ITV exposes cruelty at the heart of the bird shooting industry Our undercover investigation launches on national television CHARLIE MOORES MAY 6 READ IN APP Shooting. They call it “sport”. Dress it in the language of tradition, countryside stewardship, and conservation. Wrap it in tweed and tie it with the reassuring ribbon of British heritage. But what Protect the Wild’s investigators found behind the gates of a British farm tells a very different story - one the shooting industry has spent decades and millions of pounds keeping hidden from public view. Earlier this evening ITV aired footage from our undercover investigation. We are very grateful they listened to us, looked at our evidence and decided to cover it. If you missed it or would like to watch again, here it is: Become a Game Changer The shooting industry produces tens of millions of pheasants and Red-legged Partridges every year for the gun. Birds are crammed into wire pens, unable to express natural behaviours, suffering injuries that go untreated, living short and brutal lives from hatchery to gun barrel. The scale is staggering. The indifference is worse. The footage is shocking. Distressing. Already, the reaction has been one of shock and disgust from ordinary people across the country seeing, for the first time, what is done to prepare living creatures for “sport”. We’ve been receiving emails from people who knew things were bad - just not THIS bad. But it was far from the worst of it. It was just a few minutes. A glimpse. What ITV showed was just a fraction of the evidence we collected. We recorded hundreds of hours. Multiple breaches. Across many farms. “…Sounds cruel…” Over the past 12 months, Protect the Wild’s undercover investigators placed hidden cameras at half a dozen farms across the UK. What we recorded over months and months of painstaking work tells the same story everywhere we looked. Suffering on an industrial scale. The shooting industry has spent years selling the public a lie. That it cares. That ‘welfare’ is baked into the operations. Heart of England scrambled to release Facebook post just after the broadcast claiming “Welfare is at the heart of everything we do.” Nonsense! It is part of a sprawling, greedy industry that has normalised mass suffering. This is big business, operating in plain sight, propped up by decades of countryside mythology and political cowardice. Politicians from the current Labour government actually describe this system as ’sustainable’. Tell that to the birds… Become a Game Changer “They just get stuck and die” Over the coming months, Protect the Wild will be releasing many more findings from this investigation. We will be documenting the conditions, the cruelty, the casual suffering treated as an acceptable cost of doing business. We will be examining the legal frameworks that allow this industry to operate in ways that would be unacceptable in any other context. We will be asking why birds that would be protected under animal welfare law in almost every other setting are excluded the moment they become “game.” “…high welfare standards…” The industry’s response to ITV’s programme on our investigation was just what we expected: denial, deflection, and a shrug of the shoulders. But this isn’t about a few rotten apples. We found pain and suffering everywhere we looked. The shooting industry has friends in powerful places. It has lobbying groups, friendly ministers, and a carefully curated public image built on country fairs and charity shoots. What it does not have - what it has never had - is a convincing answer to the question of how what our cameras recorded can be described as anything other than industrialised cruelty. The birds you saw on ITV last night have no voice. The investigators who risked their safety to expose this have given them one. And we at Protect the Wild will not stop until the full picture is understood, the public debate is had, and those responsible are held to account. Please share this article. Share our socials. Follow us for updates. Follow End Bird Shooting on Substack Stay with us. There is much more to come. Join the movement. Become a Game Changer. We are at the beginning of something. Months of undercover work. Hundreds of hours of footage. Farms across the UK exposed. And we are only just getting started. But investigations alone do not end industries. People do. We are asking you to become a Game Changer. To stand with us as we take this fight forward, week by week, piece by piece, until the public, the media and the politicians can no longer look away. The first 500 people to sign up will receive a limited edition pin badge. This is the beginning. Be part of it. Become a Game Changer SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing