Boost for rewilding projects puts young people at the heart of nature recovery

Rewilding charity Rewilding Britain is awarding up to £15,000 each to eleven projects through its Rewilding Innovation Fund, a twice-yearly fund to support innovative rewilding projects. These projects are focused on bringing the benefits of rewilding to children and young people through rewilding education and play spaces, interactive rewilding education and youth-led rewilding, and are based across the UK from the Highlands of Scotland to inner city London.

Sara King, Rewilding Manager at Rewilding Britain, said: ​“Research has uncovered what has been coined the ​‘teenage dip’ in nature connection, and it’s an increasingly concerning phenomenon. Children are often naturally drawn to nature – think mud pies, sliding down grassy banks, making daisy chains, chasing birds. But then suddenly there’s this dip when the teen years hit, which can last well into adulthood, of disconnection and disinterest in nature.”

“We are one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and encouraging the next generation to be more informed and embrace wild nature is critical to nature’s recovery,” said Sara. ​“These projects are doing amazing, innovative things to engage young people in rewilding, whether that’s offering outdoor education in wild spaces, bringing the joys of rewilding into previously managed spaces or using technology to educate young people on what rewilding means and how it can shape their future.”

One of the eleven projects offered funding is by the Scouts, the largest youth organisation in the UK. The Scouts nationally manage Adventure Centres across England, offering young people safe spaces to experience the natural environment and learn skills for life through outdoor adventures.

These Scout Adventures Centres extend across more than 300 hectares in some of the UK’s most valuable and vulnerable protected landscapes, including Ashdown Forest and the Lake District, and offer an exceptional range of habitats and wildlife. The Scouts have always encouraged their membership to enjoy time outdoors and develop nature-based skills for life. Funding awarded by Rewilding Britain will help reconnect Scout Adventure Centres with nature and bring in expertise to translate recent habitat reviews into step-by-step management plans to bring the principles of rewilding to these popular Scouting spaces.

Bex Craske, Group Sustainability Manager at the Scouts, said: ​“At Scouts, we create opportunities for young people to thrive in nature and develop skills for life. Scouting provides young people with new opportunities for fun, adventures and chances to learn about the world in which they live. Funding from Rewilding Britain has enabled us to create a framework for the next decade to ensure nature spanning our sites gets the opportunity to thrive too. The new framework will give Scouts the chance to learn new skills, including practical nature recovery techniques, understanding and tracking biodiversity gain and continuing to explore their connection to nature.” 

The Wilderness Foundation, a charity based in Essex that harnesses the power of the wilderness and nature to transform vulnerable lives and empower people, knows all too well the transformative effect nature can have upon people, and vice versa. The charity has been awarded funding to support its outdoor education programme, using a recently acquired designated ancient semi-natural woodland – Mann Wood in Great Leighs, Essex – as an outdoor classroom to educate and inspire young people on the transformative potential of rewilding, the healing powers of nature and a vision of a wilder future. 

Terri Dawson, Environmental Education Manager at the Wilderness Foundation, said: ​“Funding from amazing organisations such as Rewilding Britain allows us to expand our reach, providing access to natural spaces for young people who might not otherwise have the opportunity. This support enables us to work with more groups, inspiring the next generation through engaging and empowering workshops that foster a deep connection with the natural world. When children grow up with a love and connection for the outdoors we hope they grow into adults who appreciate the importance of thriving ecosystems and the need to protect them.” 

This funding is also supporting rewilding movements established and run directly by young people. Youngwilders is a youth-led non-profit accelerating UK nature recovery and centering young people in the process and movement. For the past three years, Youngwilders (in collaboration with the Knepp Wildland Foundation) has hosted Overgrowth (previously known as Resurgence) — the UK’s only Youth Rewilding Summit. Organised by and for young people under 30, the summit provides a space for young people to learn and share their knowledge and experiences and has hosted 258 young people since 2022. 

Accessibility is at the heart of Overgrowth, and Youngwilders want the summit to reach as many young people from as many backgrounds as possible. Over half of the attendees since 2022 were provided with subsidised tickets and travel support, and now Youngwilders — supported by funding from the Rewilding Innovation Fund — are extending the scope of the summit beyond a single event, delivering an additional summit in the north of England and running a series of online activations to connect the two events.

Jack Durant, Co-Director of Youngwilders, said: ​“Funding from Rewilding Britain for Overgrowth is very exciting. At a brazenly straightforward level, having money to do our work is great. But more than this, it shows Rewilding Britain, the most important rewilding organisation in the country, values the next generation, values creativity, values community building and understands that rewilding can’t just be a big flash in the pan, but instead must have a long term gravitas that shapes our land and our society well into the future.”