The Art of Rewilding

And why it's not just for your backyard

"We evolved in Earth's natural world and can only thrive when she does; her fate is ours." — Angela Abraham

Rewilding is a concept best known from conservation efforts. It speaks to our imagination with images of land returned to its natural, untamed state, rivers running their course and forests filled with native bush and animals roaming wild. Rewilding is synonymous with often ambitious projects allowing nature to restore to its original beauty. Rewilding is also known for smaller scale projects, little things we can do in our own backyards to restore nature.

I believe, rewilding shouldn’t just be about our ecosystems. I believe, humans need rewilding, too.

Once, we were all wild, with instincts that guided us through the wilderness, allowed us to run away from predators, and helped us to survive in an untamed world filled with danger.

Rewilding means remembering who we were and where we come from, remembering our roots.

“The concept of rewilding creates hope; it gives the opportunity to set things right, to link protected areas through corridors, to bring back species once lost, and to revitalize our forests, rivers, and wetlands with all forms of life.”—Bahar Dutt

I was the opposite of “wild”. I didn’t even want to eat my lunch or dinner outside. Why would I want to be among bugs and insects? Why would I want to be cold outside and feel the wind? I liked going for hikes, but they were exercise. Nature just happened to be there while I was attempting to get to my end destination a couple of seconds faster than the last time. I was all about gadgets and numbers. I counted kilometres and seconds. I wasn’t paying any attention to bird life, trees or flowers. The rarest bird in the world could have landed right next to me, I wouldn’t have noticed because I was too busy listening to the latest productivity guru through my headphones.

I couldn’t stand silence. Silence was a wasted opportunity, an opportunity in which I could be learning one more thing. There was always something more to do or to achieve; just being was a waste of precious time.

Nature was, at most, a good backdrop for my latest Instagram photo or something I could see through my car window while driving home from work. Not something to be savoured or respected, not something to dwell in. No, time was too precious, I couldn’t waste it on nature.

I didn’t care about rewilding. I didn’t know about rewilding. I had never even heard the word.

But, and I have written about this before, I had my wake-up call and realised maybe I needed to spend a little more time in the woods. Maybe, I needed to listen to nature.

Rewilding has been how I healed myself, from being overdomesticated with too many layers of comfort to truly finding myself and allowing myself to be, live life on my terms.

Now, when I spend time in nature, it’s not about hiking with a destination, step count or record time in mind. It’s about being in the moment, about truly listening to what’s happening around me, hearing how different birds sing their songs. It’s about hearing the song of a Kingfisher, sharp and clear, announcing its presence in the world. It’s hearing how two Swallows courting each other sound so different, much more delicate. How their flight is different: Swallows racing through the air with elegance, dancing with each other; a Kingfisher much more direct, flying past in one big swoop; the Kererū flapping its big wings with effort as if regretting that last berry and now struggling to keep its body in the air.

Rewilding, for me, is not a destination. It’s a process, a journey. It’s about returning to what we seem to have lost in our modern-day lives. It’s a way to slow down and truly appreciate all the beauty around us.

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Something that inspired me this week:

Most people who know me, know that I have a soft spot for birds, those little creatures living their secret lives among us. So I was very happy last week to discover a new-to-me Substack from

Bill Davison

who writes about nature, the life of birds and how we can re-wild our backyards. The photography in his articles is stunning! I loved this article about How to Get Close to Birds.

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This is what you can expect from me every week! A long-form article related to a reflection or life lesson on personal growth and one thing that inspired me this week. If you liked this, don’t keep it to yourself; share it with your friends:

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