100,000 sign to restore nature

Just a few weeks ago, we launched a petition to restore nature on a massive scale to help stop climate breakdown. We hoped we might get ten thousand signatures in the first month, and then see how far we could get over the six month life-span of parliamentary petitions.

The petition went live on 17 April and we watched as the numbers jumped up — within a day 10,000 had signed, ensuring a government response (you can see what we think of that response here).

And then, in less than two months, we hit the 100,000 target. The call to massively restore nature to help our wildlife, our people and our climate will now be considered for a debate in parliament!

Be assured, we won’t let up the pressure. You’ll be seeing and hearing plenty from us about why this debate must go ahead — and lots more on the ways nature can bounce back if we just give it the space and support it needs.

Our demand for nature to be restored at scale isn’t based on a vague idea. There are specific steps our government can take, to rise to the double climate and biodiversity emergencies with natural climate solutions and rewilding. That’s why we’ve published our report: Rewilding and climate breakdown: how restoring nature can help decarbonise the UK.

This feels like a massive step for Rewilding Britain — it’s the first time we’ve asked people to show political support for rewilding in the UK, and the response has been astounding!

Across the country — from rural land managers to urban nature lovers, from wildlife charities to government policy makers, the enthusiasm for rewilding and what it can do for wildlife, people and climate, has been greater than we could have hoped.

Something that’s so important to us is making sure that our work represents the wishes of people across the country, not just those of urban wildlife lovers (who are great too!) So we were delighted to see that support for our petition came from across the UK, with rural areas often showing more support.