Rewilding the World with Ben Goldsmith
Join Ben Goldsmith as he speaks to some of the most influential people behind the most exciting and dramatic rewilding and nature recovery projects across the globe.
Episodes
The battle for the American Prairie with Alison Fox
"The bison will stay, no matter what happens here, and we will pursue all legal remedies for appealing this decision... but we will continue to manage a herd of bison, we will continue to open these lands to the public, we will continue to grow American Prairie." Ben Goldsmith is joined once again by Alison Fox, CEO of American Prairie, the ambitious conservation organisation working to
Resetting our relationship with nature with Tim Christophersen
"We are in an abusive relationship with nature and we all know what abusive relationships look like. They are when one part always takes, takes, takes and never gives anything back. That is the relationship we have with nature right now and that will not end well - for us - so it has to change."In the latest episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith is joined by Tim Christophersen, th
Wild land for everyone: The Rothbury Estate campaign with Craig Bennett
"Our dream is that children growing up in Newcastle should be able to stand on those terraces, look out and see this wonderful sort of wild landscape, and be able to go to it and spend time in it and see how food is produced naturally and be part of all that. Why would anyone want to deny that future for children in Britain?"In this episode of Rewilding the World, Ben Goldsmith is joined
Dams, pollution and the collapse of the European eel with Joe Pecorelli
"The work that I'm involved with is more at catchment, at river basin scale. So it's trying to do the best we can - for us it's within the Thames - to hold as many eels in it as possible within that can grow up and migrate back to the Sargasso."The European eel is a truly fascinating creature, spending its life in freshwater rivers, streams, and even ponds, before turning
Translocating two thousand giants across Africa with Donovan Jooste
"There's no silver bullet. It's a combination of efforts and it's a moving target. We constantly have to be adaptive, we constantly have to try and get ahead of the game and looking at it at a population level and not at an individual level is really, really important for the long term success here." African Parks made the astoundingly bold move of buying out a bankrupt wh
The cougar comeback with Renee Seacor and Emily Carrollo
"It's very important to remember - for the same reasons we bought back many of these other species like beaver, river otter, fisher, bald eagle - that all these species have a role ecologically in these ecosystems. And so the same questions should be asked for species like large carnivores to help restore those ecological interactions and ecosystem services."America’s apex predator
Saving songbirds from slaughter in the Mediterranean with Lloyd Scott
"The amount of times I've been and just for a brief moment you almost sort of lose track and forget ... and you're just looking at this marvel on a really good migration day and the number of birds... and it's absolutely incredible and then the next thing you know, all of a sudden, you'll hear the gunshots start."The massacre of migrating birds each spring and autumn
Bringing back the lost wild of Europe with Marija Krnjajic
"I was driving once with my ranger - and we were in the car - and in front of us was a big, grey wolf. He was astonished. Both of us, we just stopped breathing."In the latest episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith interviews Croatian conservationist Marija Krnjajic of Rewilding Europe. Marija Is leading an effort to restore and protect one of Europe's greatest wild places, the
A bold vision to rewild South America with Deli Saavedra
"This place went from zero percent possibilities to sight a jaguar in two or three days to 100 percent possibility to see jaguars. This change in perception of the people, because now 'the jaguar is not a problem' is an opportunity."Rewilding champion Deli Saavedra joins Ben Goldsmith again on Rewilding the World. Formerly Head of Landscapes at Rewilding Europe, Deli is now in
Fighting for America's largest blackwater swamp with Josh Marks
"Myself and my colleagues were not fooled, we knew exactly what the were intending to do, and so we got the band back together and we rose up to build an army of activists and advocates to fight them over the last seven years."Last year, Ben Goldsmith was lucky enough to visit the great Okefenokee swamp in Georgia; the largest federally protected area east of the Mississippi. The place i
The rewilding powerhouse of Europe with Wouter Helmer
"If you give rivers more space to flood the lands, to bring sediment - sand, clay - they not only bring sediment, they also bring life!"In this episode of Rewilding the World, Ben Goldsmith interviews one of the most impactful architects of rewilding in Europe, Dutchman Wouter Helmer. Despite being the most densely populated, intensively farmed and heavily developed country in Europe, Th
Finding solace in nature with Dave Mountjoy
"The animals are already existing in a mindful, non-thinking state and it's us who have to experience that moment where everything stops and you're just being, you're just experiencing in the most direct way the absolute beauty that the natural world contains."Like Ben Goldsmith, the latest guest on Rewilding the world, Dave Mountjoy, found deep solace in nature following
Managing England's forests for nature with Bev Nichols
"What are the things that really might just make a difference that take us out of a conventional nature conservation headspace and start to really push the boundaries of what can be done? And of course of one of the huge advantages we have is we've got the land to do it."In the latest episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith speaks to Bev Nichols, Forest Wilding Programme Manage
Rewilding back to the Ice Age with Nikita Zimov
"I don't want to make a zoo. I don't to take care of those animals for eternity, I want them to live on their own and in order to have a sustainable ecosystem it's extremely important to have all niches filled in this ecosystem." In the place of the vast Siberian tundras were once great grasslands teeming with wildlife, until early humans hunted them out. In the latest epi
The crisis facing the curlew with Mary Colwell
"If it quacked like a Duck, to be honest I don't think we’d be that excited about it but because it sings like an angel and it looks so beautiful and it lives in liminal spaces - these wetland areas where we don’t really feel at home - all those things add together to make the Curlew a very mysterious and very loved bird."In this episode Ben Goldsmith is joined by Mary Colwell, Dire
Liberating Michigan's mighty Boardman-Ottaway river with Frank Dituri and Brett Fessel
"We thought the project was over... We would lose the trust of the public and they were sceptical to begin with. We stuck together."Michigan's mighty Boardman-Ottaway River has been liberated by the removal of four huge concrete dams, thanks to decades of hard work by Frank Dituri and Brett Fessell. In this episode you'll hear all about this staggering story of restoration.Ben
Restoring Britain's wildest coast with Sandy Luk
"Our seas around the UK are so busy. There are so many different activities that happen on it, from fishing to offshore wind, to cabling, to shipping... so looking after and building space for restoration and regeneration and reseeding the sea is so important."On this episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith is joined by Sandy Luk about the Marine Conservation Society's ambitiou
Why coexistence with wolves is vital with range-rider Daniel Curry
"They don't hate wolves, they just hate the idea of losing their livelihood. So for me, if we can prevent the conflict, and we can empower rural areas and rural land owners and ranchers to be the best stewards of the land that we can, that's the best way to keep conservation alive in the West."In the latest episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith talks to range-rider Danie
Renaturing small spaces with James Canton
"Something like 27 million people in Britain consider themselves gardeners. If you can harness those people, if you can get them thinking about their relationship with the natural world; with wildlife, with invertebrates, with bugs, with biodiversity, you're getting quite a big chunk of Britain heading in the right direction." In this episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith tal
Protecting the new forests of New England with Shelby Perry
"What we really need to do, and what we're really trying to do with our work, is bring back that old forest condition and the main ingredient for that is time - we're buying these forests time." In this episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith talks with Shelby Perry from the Northeast Wilderness Trust. New England's vast and majestic forests have recovered greatly in
Showcasing Otter-ly amazing aquatic engineers with Chanel Hason
"Sea otters are the best long term solution for the health of the ecosystem and resiliency off of the coast as a keystone species." The release of this episode of Rewilding the World coincides with Sea Otter Awareness Week. Ben Goldsmith talks with Chanel Hason of Elakha Alliance, working to reintroduce vital sea otters to their former Pacific north-west range. Sea Otter Awareness Week i
The plight of Sweden's wolves with Staffan Widstrand
"The wolf is the devil in hundreds and hundreds of years of storytelling. If you're talking about the devil's right hand it's very difficult to talk about proper population sizes or quotas; you just want to get rid of him."Imagine the reaction if the headlines proclaimed that Sri Lanka was to kill half its leopards, or Costa Rica half its jaguars. Well, here in Europe, Swe
Protecting endangered giant tortoises with Celina Chien
"These tortoises are absolutely the ecosystem engineers. They are incredible grazers, they are nutrient cyclers, they are seed dispersers, also just mechanically they are the largest creatures on these islands." In the latest episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith talks with Aldabra tortoise champion Celina Chien. The islands of the Indian Ocean once teemed with giant tortoises but
Bringing nature restoration into the 21st Century with Natural England Chair, Tony Juniper
"I think what we need now is a new landmark Act of Parliament to set the vision for the coming 50 to 100 years; truly visionary in restoring nature at scale, but doing that in a way which is going to help the country to thrive in terms of public health, our resilience to climate change and to be able to secure our water and food security long into the future."In this episode of Rewilding
Using AI to unlock animal communication with Katie Zacarian
"We're essentially trying to create an AI powered research assistant to accelerate the rate of discovery and support biologists understanding even more and help the biologists come up with new hypotheses from their own data."Imagine if we could decipher the language of other animals such as whales, monkeys or crows? How would that change our relationship with them? In this episode B
Restoring Canada's iconic Bison with Tom Olson
"Our herd is north of 5,000 so I think it's the largest conservation herd in the country and it may be the largest herd period, even amongst non conservation." North America's iconic bison are recovering from the brink of extinction. Millions of bison once populated the North American landscape but by the turn of the 20th century, fewer than 1,000 remained. In this episode of R
Bringing the ocean back to life with Enric Sala
"I saw everything that was missing from the sea of my childhood."If you haven’t seen the latest David Attenborough film Ocean yet, you must. It’s a masterpiece. In the latest episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith speaks with one of the key people behind it, Enric Sala, from National Geographic‘s Pristine Seas campaign. It has secured protection from industrial fishing for millions
Fighting organised wildlife crime with Olivia Swaak-Goldman
"We have to make this crime type too risky and lower the reward. We need to seize all the assets that they gain from their criminal enterprise... it's something I'm very committed to."The illegal trade in wildlife and the body parts of wild animals is driving many creatures towards extinction; yet governments put little effort into busting the culprits and closing down this vil
Can rewilding and farming work together? With Toby Diggens
"Go for it. Go into any kind of career even if you don't have that ecological education and change the culture from within. That's just such a powerful moment."How can rewilding and traditional pastoral farming systems go hand-in-hand? The grazing, browsing and movement of livestock has shaped our landscapes across millennia. In the latest episode of rewilding the world Ben Gol
Diving into New York’s Billion Oyster Project with Katie Mosher
"Oyster reefs do this really special thing; they become a refuge for finfish species, for crabs, for all types of really important species and so it's really critical for all of those species to interact together and oyster reefs make that habitat." New York’s Billion Oyster Project is one of the most exciting urban rewilding projects ever. In this episode of Rewilding the World,
Brokering finance deals to fund nature restoration with Rob Gardner
“You’re going to invest in a fund but this fund is going to own peatlands, sphagnum moss, re-wiggled rivers. It's going to restore farmland, it's going to own oyster reefs.”How are we going to find the funding needed to restore nature at scale? Protecting communities and infrastructure from flooding, and drought, by rewilding river systems may hold the key. In this episode of Rewilding t
Defending the world's oceans with Peter Hammarstedt
"We fill a law enforcement void that exists in the world's oceans and we'll continue to fill that void until government fills that vacuum. And then we'll hold government accountable."Sea Shepherd is a truly heroic organisation, with four ships, brave crews and volunteers who hunt down the world’s worst ocean abusers: illegal fishing vessels, and whalers are amongst the wor
‘Rogue rewilding’ - the illegal release of lynx with Pete Cairns
“There absolutely is no substitute for just seeing it but also smelling it, feeling it, hearing it. You can read all the books and watch all the films you like but there is absolutely no substitute for seeing it in the flesh.”The mysterious appearance of seemingly tame lynx in the Highlands of Scotland raised questions about who released them and why. Scotland’s native Eurasian lynx are believed t
Making history and nature work together with Rene Olivieri
"Part of restoring nature - a really important part - is making sure that everyone has equal access to it."The National Trust is now arguably one of Britain’s most ambitious and important nature charities. It now has plans for restoring nature on an area larger than Greater London.In this episode Ben Goldsmith is joined by the Chair of the National Trust, Rene Olivieri, who has been huge
Replenishing the Garden of Eden with Azzam Alwash
“We don’t give nature enough credit. All mankind needs is to do is to move aside and let the natural system return.”Iraq is one of the five countries most touched by some effects of climate change, according to the United Nations. In this episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith talks with Azzam Alwash, founder of Nature Iraq, about the fabled Mesopotamian marshes. This great wetland is consid
Living alongside mountain lions in LA with Beth Pratt
"We are destroying these ecosystems at our peril, and if we take out these apex predators, like mountain lions or lynx we are messing with our own capacity to survive, not just wildlife." Did you know there are mountain lions living in the very centre of Los Angeles? Some cougars have even gained celebrity status. In the latest episode of Rewilding World Ben Goldsmith is joined by wildli
Between land and sea - the importance of saltmarshes with Angus Garbutt
"British saltmashes accumulate about 700,000 tonnes of carbon a year alone, and in the top 10cm of soil saltmarshes hold about 2.3 million tonnes of carbon."Ben Goldsmith is joined by Angus Garbutt, a coastal ecologist and world expert on saltmarshes. In this episode Ben and Angus discuss why these mysterious, alien places are absolutely vital. So much saltmarsh habitat in Britain and ar
Saving Africa's rhinos with Kevin Pietersen
The smell of a dead animal, a carcase, an animal that's just been killed, is something you'll never ever forget and it's that that sticks with you. It's that that gives you the energy to continually try and do my best to put a hold and a stop to what is still happening out in South Africa. In this episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith talks to England cricket legend Kevi
Restoring California's Klamath River with Chuck Bonham
"Up in Oregon, sixty miles from that old dam site, adult Chinook salmon were swimming in the Klamath River. It happened in ten days, when our scientists were saying it might take ten years." The largest dam removals in history just took place on California’s Klamath River. In the latest episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith talks with Chuck Bonham, Director of California Fish and
Repairing and restoring Britain's rivers with Mike Blackmore
"River restoration is essentially a violent act, what we do, but it's because it's undoing a violent act. It's essentially an equal and opposite violent act to what was done to the rivers in the first place."Rivers are meant to be wild things but we have tamed them out of all recognition in the UK. Our rivers and streams have been straightened, buried underground, encased
Persuading investors to pay for rewilding projects with Adam Davis
"Larger scale restoration projects mean better ecological outcomes, but they're also more efficient in terms of cost-per-acre." What can be seen as one of the most important things currently happening in rewilding is the opening up of private investor capital for the purpose of restoring nature. This has never happened before; it’s always been a charitable endeavour. However, that m
Meet the Pablo Escobar of beavers, Gerhard Schwab
"I'm very happy, last week we brought beavers to France and that was my 1000th beaver I had exported either myself or through the organisation. And that was not just to bring back the beaver, but also to bring back the benefits of the beaver." One man is responsible more than any other for bringing beavers back to Europe; German ecologist, Gerhard Schwab.There were probably two to t
High altitude forest restoration in the Andes with Florent Kaiser
"If you look at restoring the whole Andes, the entire Andean mountain range, you can't just go at it by planting trees. There are so many other things that you need to do to holistically permit nature to actually come back."In this episode Ben Goldsmith talks with inspirational Earthshot Prizewinner, Florent Kaiser. Florent is leading an effort to restore the high altitude forests o
Who will pay to rewild the world with Tim Coles
"We just put together a project in Indonesia on restoring mangroves and it's 2000 hectares, and over 40 years the local communities will get in excess of 100 million dollars."People are pretty much sold on the idea that we need to restore nature at scale. David Attenborough said it himself, we need to ‘rewild the world’ but the question is how do you pay for it? What if there was a
Reintroducing species to Britain with The Beaver King, Derek Gow
"Coming to terms with the wolf in Britain would be one of the biggest and bravest things we've ever done. But we desperately need to start a conversation about how we do this and when we do this and start to make progress towards attaining it as a real goal." Beavers are the ultimate ecosystem engineers. Derek Gow is a farmer turned conservationist and played a major role in reintro
Changing human behaviour to protect biodiversity with Brett Jenks
"If you want to save any species on Earth, there's really only one species you have to fully understand, and thats homo sapiens, because are the cause and therefore we are the solution to just about every rewilding or biodiversity or climate concern."This time on Rewilding the World, Ben Golsmith talks to Brett Jenks, CEO of Rare.org. They discuss how the St. Lucian parrot was saved
Championing nature with Stephen Fry
"I remember genuinely thinking, 'we don't need insects. What's the point of them?' Little did I know!"Welcome to a new series of Rewilding the World with Ben Goldsmith. In this first episode Ben is joined by Stephen Fry.As well as being a national treasure, and one of the funniest people in England, Stephen has long championed nature projects both in the UK and abroad
Rebuilding the natural treasures of Mauritius with Carl Jones
"Over a period of 10 years we were able to rear in captivity 331 Kestrels that we released back into nature." In the latest episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith speaks with legendary conservationist Carl Jones about the island of Mauritius. Carl famously led efforts to save a variety of species. These included the Mauritius kestrel which was on the brink of going the way of the d
Restoring habitats in Mexico with Alejandro Espinosa Treviño
"El Carmen Nature Reserve is a very good example of a success of conservation, with the interaction of several actors from the private sector and government agencies from both sides of the border."In this episode Ben Goldsmith is joined by Alejandro Espinosa Treviño who - on behalf of Cemex - is overseeing restoration of a great swathe of grassland, forest and mountain on Mexico’s northe
Protecting the oceans with Charles Clover
"We have started to get a few things right, why can't we just watch the things we have done right and do more of them?"In the latest episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith speaks with legendary author and oceans campaigner Charles Clover who also co-founded the Blue Marine Foundation. Charles' seminal book, The End of the Line, marked a turning point in our understanding
Rewilding without borders with Werner Myburgh
"Our dream is quite simple and that is to achieve co-existence between people and nature."This episode focuses on one of the grandest, most vast rewilding efforts anywhere on the planet.Join Ben Goldsmith as he speaks with Werner Myburgh of Peace Parks, an organisation dedicated to establishing immense trans frontier protected areas across southern Africa. The rehabilitation of these vas
Rewilding the Caribbean with Jenny Daltry
"It's now been seven years since we removed the rats and goats and I just walk around with my mouth open, it is beautiful. There are so many trees on the island - when we started there was only two - now I can't count them."The Caribbean is a magical place; but it’s also one of the most ecologically degraded regions in the world. In this episode Ben Goldsmith speaks with Jenny
Urban rewilding across London with Elliot Newton
"Engaging with nature in that urban space can be so beneficial and if we scale those micro actions up to a macro level, imagine the change that would seed."More and more urban rewilding projects are engaging growing numbers of citizens in local nature restoration. In this episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith is joined by Elliot Newton of Citizen Zoo – an organisation which is bri
Saving albatrosses on a sub-Antarctic island with Anton Wolfaardt
"All of us involved in the project are driven by the opportunity to make a real difference for this special part of the planet." Eradicating giant mice from South Africa's Marion Island, a vital haven for seabirds. The vast, wild Southern Ocean is home to albatrosses, petrels and other remarkable seabirds which wander for years on end in search of food. Only to breed do the seabirds
Protecting Costa Rica’s wilderness with Andy Whitworth
"A lot of Costa Rica's success on forest cover hasn't been emulated in terms of active rewilding. That's what I'm trying to start the wheels turning in Costa Rica; when do we need to use more of an active approach?" In this episode Ben Goldsmith is joined by Andy Whitworth of Osa Conservation, an organisation which is busy rewilding Costa Rica's ever wilder Osa P
Reintroducing Griffon vultures to Cyprus with Melpo Apostolidou
“I would be very excited if I found a grasshopper on the balcony and my parents would put it in a jar for me to observe.”In this episode Melpo Apostolidou from BirdLife Cyprus tells Ben Goldsmith about the remarkable ongoing effort to return the vital, majestic Griffon vulture to the skies of Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean.Melpo and her team have achieved this extraordinary feat against a ba
Rewilding on a smaller scale with Jonathan Thomson
This episode’s release coincides with World Rewilding Day 2024, with this year’s theme being Hope Into Action. A great example of this in practice is the work being carried out by Jonathan Thomson who has created the twenty-two acre wild paradise Underhill Nature Reserve on the border of Wiltshire and Dorset in southern England.A lot of people wonder how to go about rewilding smaller patches of la
Saving Florida’s Everglades with Steve Davis
“We’re already starting to see dramatic habitat and water quality improvement across that Kissimmee valley.”The Everglades, North America’s largest and most vital wetland, is a place of extraordinary beauty but is facing enormous problems. The immense ‘river of grass’ has been desperately disfigured, principally by ill-considered hydrological engineering and heavily subsidised industrial sugar pro
Tackling invasive species in Australia with Tim Allard
“Feral cats are the primary driver of the decline of small mammals. We’ve lost more than 30 mammal species in Australia over the last couple of hundred years and the primary driver of that is cats.”Australia has a mammoth problem with invasive species brought by European settlers to the country which had been isolated from the rest of the world for millennia. Now, major efforts are underway to res
Rewilding the Scottish Highlands with David Balharry
“Think globally, but act locally. We need to start putting some of that stuff back locally otherwise we don’t pass on anything great to our future generations.”The Scottish Highlands is one of Britain’s most beautiful and ecologically degraded landscapes. Change is in the air, however, as long lost keystone species such as wild boar, wildcats, white-tailed eagles and beavers are returning.In this
Restoring one of Africa’s most magical landscapes with Andreia Pawel
“With abundance comes resilience and with abundance these animals and the wildlife populations can thrive and can survive these climatic changes.”Andreia Pawel is from ORKCA, the Orange River-Karoo Conservation Area, based in the south of Namibia. The country is made up primarily of desert but once was a the place where springbok migrations dwarfed those of modern day zebra and wildebeest. Andriea
Protecting Portugal with Pedro Prata
“What we are doing is to create the conditions, ecological and sociological, for the return of these two large predators that are present… but we need to find conditions for them to settle and to grow.”Drive through Portugal and you will see vast plantations of non-native species like eucalyptus and pine. But with these plants comes the demise of the ecosystem and a huge risk of fire; in 2017 more
Rewilding Africa’s Sahel region with John Watkin
“Our hallmark is the reintroduction of the Scimitar-horned Oryx… It’s a beautiful, beautiful beast and it was a tragedy that it was allowed to go extinct in the first place.”The Scimitar-horned Oryx, the animal symbol of Sahara Conservation, was driven to extinction in the wild in the 1990s due to a lethal combination of overhunting, drought and habitat loss.In this episode Ben Goldsmith is joined
Protecting the Amazon of Europe with Dragana Mileusnic
“The river is not only valuable for its biodiversity but also for the culture and spiritual significance that it has for communities.”The Amazon of Europe stretches across five countries and is one of the places where there are still wild, pristine rivers. Dragana Mileusnic from The Nature Conservancy is part of the United for Rivers project helping to protect these precious freshwater gems for fu
Risking life to save the Indian leopard with Sanjay Gubbi
“The first time I saw a tiger pugmark in Cauvery landscape I was totally thrilled, I can’t explain the thrill and the joy I had. That’s what you all work and survive for, right?” Sanjay Gubbi hit headlines six years ago after he was attacked by a leopard that had strayed on to the grounds of a school. Despite being seriously injured, Sanjay has made a full recovery and is very vocal about the prob
Rewilding the Lake District with Lee Schofield
“What we need more than anything now from our landscape is carbon sequestration, flood risk reduction, biodiversity improvement and all those other so-called public goods.”The Lake District is an iconic landscape loved by millions and people traveling from all over the world to revel in its beauty. It’s the land of Beatrix Potter, Wordsworth and one of the country’s most ambitious rewilding projec
Creating a haven along Turkey’s Turquoise Coast with Zafer Kizilkaya
“Even in ten years we changed the entire ecosystem in Gökova Bay and fisheries.” The world’s oceans have been depleted of many important species through overfishing. Removing parts of the sea’s ecosystem and the introduction of invasive species can have far reaching consequences both in and on the water. Zafer Kizilkaya is an award winning conservationist. In 2012 he founded the Mediterranean Cons
Restoring the Caledonian forest with Steve Micklewright
“Affric Highlands is an area of landscape between Loch Ness and the west coast of Scotland, looking over to the Isle of Skye. It’s about 500,000 acres so it’s like a small country.”Scotland’s fabled highlands are not what we think they are. Once upon a time the great Caledonian forests stretched from coast to coast, famed for its wildness and size. It teemed with wildlife and large animals like wo
Creating wildlife corridors with Jodi Hilty
“When I see things like the crossing that’s just going in north of Los Angeles for mountain lions, bobcats and other species it’s a sign to me that humanity finally gets that it’s impacting nature and, essentially, impacting us.”The shorthand definition of rewilding is the ‘Three Cs’; Core areas, Carnivores, and Corridors. Jodi Hilty is president and chief scientist of Yellowstone to Yukon Conserv
Shining a light on Kazakhstan’s Golden Steppe with Mark Day
“As Kazakhstan became part of the Soviet Union a whole series of very large transformations took place. 45 million hectares of land within Kazakhstan was simply ploughed under the Virgin Lands campaign.” Mark Day is from the RSPB and part of the team delivering a project covering 180 million acres in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The Altyn Dala, an area the size of France and Germany combined, is a
Bringing people and nature together with Astrid Vargas
“We call it rooting your identity. That really brings people close to the ground and feeling powerful and connected.”In this episode Ben Goldsmith speaks to Astrid Vargas from Inspiration 4 Action. Astrid has been part of a plan to save one of the rarest big cats from extinction; the Iberian lynx. It was previously thought there were only 90 individuals left. Thanks to the efforts of Astrid and ot
Rewilding the desert with Dr Stephen Browne
“If you combine all of these reserves together they constitute an area of about 200,000 square kilometres... it’s probably one of the world’s largest terrestrial protected areas.” Saudi Arabia is huge - almost ten times the size of Britain - and is well known for its deserts. However, once upon a time it had savannahs akin to those in East Africa, where once lived ostriches and striped hyenas and
Preventing extinctions on islands with Penny Becker
“We really are focused on prioritising those species that are about to blink out. We must make sure that on our watch that doesn’t happen.”Welcome to a new series of Rewilding the World with Ben Goldsmith. In this first episode Ben speaks to Penny Becker, Vice President of Island Conservation. Island Conservation works to remove invasive invertebrate species from island ecosystems. Overwhelmingly,
What is Rewilding? With Isabella Tree and Alastair Driver
“We belong here. The challenge is can we be here without impacting detrimentally on the rest of the ecosystem. And the simple answer is yes we can; we know what to do and we know how to do it.”In this special episode join Ben Goldsmith as he speaks to conservationist and author Isabella Tree and Director of Rewilding Britain, Alastair Driver, about the concept of rewilding. Rewilding as a term mea
The rewilding project turning the desert green with Ties van der Hoeven
“If we can restore large scale damaged ecosystems then why don’t we do it?” Sometimes it’s said that the environmental and rewilding movement is not ambitious enough. Ben speaks to Ties van der Hoeven, co-founder of The Weather Makers, who is working on probably the most exciting and ambitious rewilding idea you have ever heard of.Drawing inspiration from landscape restoration taking place in Chin
Protecting millions of acres in Chile and Argentina with Kristine Tompkins
“I thought well I can die tomorrow, it’s fine, they are back.”Kristine Tompkins is founder of Tompkins Conservation and former chief executive of the outdoor-apparel company Patagonia. She and her late husband Douglas have been pioneers of rewilding since the beginning of the movement.The couple purchased millions of acres of land across Chile and Argentina to restore to wilderness. Kristine speak
Why Spain is breaking down its dams with Pao Fernández Garrido
“I think people are afraid that we want to remove all the dams in the world.”Dams can effectively act as concrete straight jackets. Weirs and dams and other obstructions cause all kinds of harm, some of which we understand and much of which we don’t. More than one million barriers are thought to exist in Europe’s rivers, with many of them over 100 years old. Some are old and obsolete, serving no e
Creating ‘European Yellowstone’ in the Carpathian mountains with Christoph Promberger
“If there is tens of thousands of hectares on the market then you might as well use them for conservation.”Christoph Promberger from Carpathia Wilderness Reserve, is rewilding an enormous woodland across Transylvania, Carpathia and Romania. He joins Ben Goldsmith from his home at the foot of the Carpathian mountains, a range which stretches through seven countries and home to some of Europe’s rare
Reintroducing wolves and bears to Spain with Deli Saavedra
“Wild areas where you are going to be walking for two days completely alone, there is no one else.”No country in western Europe has as much diversity and abundance of wildlife and landscapes as Spain. Ben Goldsmith speaks to Deli Saavedra from Rewilding Europe about the exciting things which are happening there on scale. Deli is leading a project in the Iberian Highlands, the name given to an area
Rewilding the Great Plains of America with Alison Fox
“This is where they have been for millions of years and they deserve a home on the Northern Great Plains.”The great American Prairies were once one of the greatest ecosystems in the world. We have all seen images and heard stories of great herds of bison roaming vast swathes of endless grasslands, but a lot of that landscape is now gone. But all is not lost. Alison Fox from American Prairie Reserv
