Story
The UK remains largely off track in fulfilling its environmental protection goals, according to the OEP's annual report. Our incredibly diverse, unique, and aesthetically stunning natural environment risks continued degradation and deterioration.
Deeply, deeply concerning adverse environmental trends continue. With the depleted state of our natural environment and the unprecedented pace of climate change, it does seem to many that we are at a crossroads. It is not easy for us as a nation to choose the right path, the right trajectory and to travel together at the pace needed, but we simply must ...
—Dame Glenys Stacey, OEP Chair.
Rewilding is the most foundational solution to this crisis—putting nature back in nature's hands. It aims
to restore ecosystems and reverse biodiversity declines by allowing wildlife and natural processes to reclaim areas no longer under human management ... Well-applied rewilding can restore ecosystems at a landscape scale, help mitigate climate change, and provide socio-economic opportunities for communities.
—IUCN Issues Brief.
I'll be walking 1210 miles this summer to fundraise to Rewilding Britain, one of the leading charities in the UK's rewilding space.
I'll be walking from the southernmost point in mainland Britain, Land's End in Cornwall, all the way to its northernmost point, John o' Groats at the tip of Scotland, over a period of two months, following what is known as the 'End-to-End Trail'. This goliath trek is often considered one of the most difficult, physically gruelling, and mentally taxing trails in the UK.
The route links many of the most well-known national hiking trails, including the South West Coast Path, the Pennine Way, and the West Highland Way, amongst others. It follows the English-Welsh border for a period, and concludes just after an extremely remote portion of the Scottish Highlands—which involves a few nights of wild camping! It will be an opportunity for me to live the landscapes of this country, and I hope you will take the chance to live them vicariously through me as well.
Rewilding Britain aims to deliver its large-scale natural restoration project through connecting existing rewilding practicioners, influencing policymakers and legislators, elevating the funding of rewilding across the nation, and working with conservation partners. You can read more abour their programmes here: https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/about-us/how-we-work
If you care about the natural world, our wildlife, flora and fauna, or ensuring justice for animals and humans at the socio-ecological nexus, then please consider just a small contribution to help Rewilding Britain in their extraordinary work!