Over the last 18 months, James Shooter’s Rewild Podcast series has broadcast sounds and stories from rewilding initiatives across Europe. Showcasing rewilding’s hopeful narrative, his hugely engaging productions have attracted legions of faithful listeners and inspired many to become more involved in nature recovery.
Spreading a hopeful message
Building engagement with people of all ages is a central component of rewilding efforts. By connecting people with nature, rewilding can help cultivate generations who value and understand the value of preserving and restoring natural habitats and wildlife populations, and who want to support and become involved in nature recovery themselves.
Over the course of the last 18 months, James Shooter’s Rewild Podcast series has proved a hugely successful way of engaging people with rewilding, bringing sounds and stories from 18 leading European rewilding initiatives to a global audience. With the final installment of the series released in August, James’s inspirational and informative productions have now been downloaded over 125,000 times, by people in more than 160 countries.
“When I set out to make the series, my ultimate aim was for it to be a hopeful place,” says James. “By showcasing the actions of people engaged in nature recovery right across Europe – and giving them a platform to speak so passionately about rewilding and its benefits – I’d like to think these podcasts have given listeners hope that we can turn things around for wild nature. That message of hope really gets into people’s veins, as it does mine, which I believe is a major factor in how many times they’ve been listened to.”
An immersive journey
To create the Rewild Podcast series, James Shooter sold his house, left his job, and travelled around Europe in a motor home with his wife, two children, and dog. Overcoming numerous vehicle-related issues, the Shooter family managed to visit a wide range of rewilding initiatives, including every one of Rewilding Europe’s rewilding landscapes, and various members of the European Rewilding Network. Each of James’s 30 to 40-minute-long podcasts – which were released on a monthly basis and focus on a single initiative – feature a range of conversations with rewilding practitioners, as well as on-site sounds, natural soundscapes, and music samples.
“Rather than using a simple question-and-answer format, I wanted to make these podcasts in more of a documentary style,” explains James. “I wanted to make them really immersive and bring people along for the ride, with plenty of natural backdrop. Listening to the entire collection, I think they hit the right note – informative, but still light-hearted and easily digestible.”
Positive feedback
The Rewild Podcast series attracted a very international audience. While two-thirds of listeners were from the UK, there were also many from countries such as the US, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Germany. There were even downloads from as far afield as Greenland and the Falkland Islands.
“I found that people were very loyal to the series,” says James. “Once they’d listened to one podcast, they then listened to them every month. I’ve had a lot of really positive and heartwarming feedback, and people have left some nice reviews on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Some have said they want to visit the places I’ve been talking about, while others said they aim to get involved and volunteer with some of the organisations whose work I’ve covered. That’s something I find immensely gratifying.”
Personal highlights
From flamingoes honking in the Camargue in southern France and white-tailed eagles soaring over the Wadden Sea in the Netherlands, to seeing grazing bison in Bulgaria’s Rhodope Mountains, James Shooter reflects on many highlights from his extended journey across Europe’s rewilding landscape.
“I think what stood out for me the most was the amazing level of coexistence these rewilding initiatives are supporting. All of them are demonstrating, in one way or another, that it’s possible not only for Europeans to live alongside nature in a harmonious way, but to be better off for it. In my mind, this isn’t just coexistence, but co-prosperity. I think these podcasts show that rewilding really is a holistic, people-oriented approach to conservation.”
James’s podcast focusing on the LIFE Lynx initiative in Slovenia – which has pulled together expertise from across the continent to bring the country’s endangered Eurasian lynx population back from the brink – exemplifies this inclusivity.
“The initiative here has involved many local hunters, who have actually driven it forwards with energy and commitment. They’ve collaborated alongside the other partners and helped to make lynx comeback a reality. Returning this predator to the landscape hasn’t been a case of appeasing the hunting community. These guys have really bought into rewilding as something they want to see happen.”
Looking to the future
James Shooter is now working alongside the team at Scotland the Big Picture, an NGO working to drive the recovery of nature in Scotland. As a talented photographer and videographer, he will continue his work to support the scaling up of rewilding across the country. With the addition of a new family member, his life – for now, at least – has become a lot more sedentary. However, the Rewild Podcast series has given him another level of motivation and optimism for the future.
“It feels like people are really getting on with rewilding, and the momentum behind nature recovery is building. Even while we were away on our trip, beavers and wildcats were reintroduced in Scotland. There’s a long, long way to go, but I feel like Europe is gradually getting wilder, which has given me hope and a renewed sense of purpose. If I end up doing another Rewild Podcast series a decade from now, I’m convinced the progress it showcases will be spectacular.”
