Copy These! 5 Big Local Ideas About Rewilding 

Rewilding Soar Valley

1. Single sex herds are a load of bull! 

Farming practices dictate that male and female cattle are kept separate throughout the UK. Breeding is supervised by farmers and vets, and once calves have grown beyond adolescence, they are divided by sex. Listen to Trees for Life CEO Steve Mickelwright explaining why they are taking a different approach and introducing mixed gender herds of Tauros cattle in the Scottish Highlands.  

Check out the Carbon Copy Podcast – Rewild Land 

2. No space is too small to rewild! 

Families living in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets – one of the most deprived areas in the UK – are transforming areas of wasted land on their social housing estates into new community gardens for all to use and enjoy through the Greening Communities project from charity Seeds for Growth. This small-scale rewilding is not only encouraging wildlife in urban places, but brings health and wellbeing benefits to local people too.

3.  Don’t build it, and they will still come. 

Land doesn’t need to be for buildings. Communities across the UK have come together to purchase pieces of land specifically to give back to nature. The Langholm Initiative in Scotland saw local people come together to raise £millions to buy the land to create Tarras Valley Nature Reserve. The reserve now comprises over 40km2 of space for ecological restoration – but importantly for local people to enjoy and to spend time in, learning about nature. 

4. The cat’s out the bag!  

Engagement and cooperation are really important in any change process. This is definitely true of rewilding. In early 2025 four lynx were illegally released in Scotland and the fallout from this has led to some groups being even less supportive of the reintroduction of this apex predator. Learn more about the lynx saga in this article. 

5. Rewilding isn’t abandonment, it is letting nature take the lead. 

There’s a misconception that in order to rewild, we need to back off completely, lock the gates and see what happens. But those in the know realise that there is more to it than that. For places to flourish, they need balanced ecosystems and real biodiversity. Learn more about the process of rewilding in our Carbon Copy Podcast episode, All Nature: Heal the Wild. 

Rewild Land is the latest focus in Carbon Copy’s 25 Big Local Actions in 2025 campaign. For more information about this and to discover a local action that’s right for you, visit our campaign landing page.