European Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Rewilding Europe Award

Staffan Widstrand

European Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Rewilding Europe Award

Your lens can inspire action! A single image can inspire someone to care, act, or believe in a future where both nature and people thrive. The Rewilding Europe Award celebrates talent and empowers photographers to influence change, create dialogue, and reimagine a Europe that is wilder and richer. Are you ready to make a difference with your lens?

Capture the essence of rewilding

Rewilding is more than a conservation approach; it’s a bold vision for the future—a movement that allows nature to reclaim its vitality, restores natural processes, and redefines the relationship between people and the wild. It’s about witnessing forests regrow, rivers run free and wildlife return.

The Rewilding Europe Award is part of the prestigious GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest and your chance to shine by showcasing Europe’s wild side. We seek photographs that illustrate rewilding in motion — scenes that evoke passion, curiosity, and wonder.

GDT logo

Your rewilding image

Your photographs should look beyond the obvious and vividly depict the spirit of rewilding – scenes that tell a story of wild resurgence or the interconnectedness of life. They could showcase the link between biodiversity, climate and the wellbeing of people and communities. This is an opportunity to unleash your creativity and to champion visual storytelling as a powerful tool in the fight for a brighter, wilder Europe.
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Tips from the team

The following themes are central to rewilding and will guide your submissions:

  • Restored natural processes: Show how rewilding breathes life into landscapes and nature is taking the lead, with rivers carving their own paths once again, forests regenerating naturally, meadows bursting with biodiversity, or the dynamic circle of life taking centre stage.
  • Wildlife shaping the landscape: Capture the transformative role of keystone species like beavers building wetlands, large herbivores sculpting landscapes, or predator-prey interactions that drive ecosystem recovery.
  • The return of iconic species: Celebrate Europe’s native species reclaiming their habitats—wolves, lynx, bison, sturgeon, or black storks thriving in their natural European habitats.
  • Harmony between people and nature: Illustrate coexistence—wildlife corridors, shared spaces, or moments of mutual respect between humans and nature. Showcase how rewilding benefits communities whilst restoring balance.
  • Active rewilding efforts: Focus on the human role in rewilding—reintroducing species, removing barriers or restoring ecosystems whilst leaving space for natural processes to take over.

Your images should reflect nature taking the lead, wildlife as architects of change, iconic species reclaiming their former spaces, and people and wild nature thriving together.

We look forward to receiving your entry!
Closing date: 1st of March 2025

 

 

  • Restoring giants: the release of sturgeon in Sweden marks a vital step in active rewilding, reintroducing a keystone species to revive aquatic ecosystems and restore balance to the river’s natural processes.
    Jon A. Juarez / Rewilding Europe
  • Where nature takes the lead: the Millingerwaard, a pioneer rewilding site, showcases the harmony of wild nature and people, as restored natural processes bring life back to dynamic rivers, regenerating forests, and thriving meadows.
    ARK Rewilding Netherlands
  • In addition to consuming great quantities of grasses and feeding on shrubs, bison influence the vegetation by de-barking trees and breaking open dense undergrowth. Rhodope Mountains.
    The return of iconic species: Celebrate Europe’s native species reclaiming their habitats—wolves, lynx, bison, sturgeon, or black storks thriving in their natural European habitats.
    Stefan Stefanov
  • The Circle of Life in action: predators like wolves play a vital role in rewilding, driving nature recovery and showcasing the transformative power of predator-prey dynamics in shaping wilder landscapes.
    Bram Ubels & Jillis Roos
  • White pelicans in the Danube delta rewilding landscape. Abundance is at the heart of rewilding—thriving wildlife and flourishing habitats.
    The return of iconic species: Celebrate Europe’s native species reclaiming their habitats—wolves, lynx, bison, sturgeon, or black storks thriving in their natural European habitats.
    Staffan Widstrand
  • Aerial view of a stream dammed by beavers flooding forests in the Oder Delta rewilding landscape. (Photo: Neil Aldridge)
    Wildlife shaping the landscape: Capture the transformative role of animals like beavers building wetlands, large herbivores shaping landscapes, or predator-prey interactions that drive ecosystem recovery.
    Neil Aldridge
  • A Eurasian lynx is released from a crate by Wildlife Comeback Officer Wiebke Brenner in Poland. Oder Delta Germany Poland
    Active rewilding efforts: Focus on the human role in rewilding—reintroducing species, removing barriers, or restoring ecosystems while leaving space for natural processes to take over.
    Neil Aldridge
  • Active rewilding in action: gravel restoration on the Abramsån river in Swedish Lapland helps reshape habitats, paving the way for nature to reclaim and thrive in this Nordic taiga landscape.
    Arthur de Bruin / Rewilding Europe
  • Thriving in a wilder landscape: griffon vultures play a vital role in healthy ecosystems, sustained naturally by the circle of life and the abundance of wild animal carcasses.
    Bruno D'Amicis
  • Natural flooding: a vital process that breathes life into rivers, reshaping landscapes, replenishing wetlands, and creating habitats teeming with biodiversity as nature takes the lead.
    Elio della Ferrera / Wild Wonders of Europe
  • Nature's artistry: tidal marshes in Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park showcase the self-organising power of nature, where restored dynamics and natural regrowth breathe life into this vibrant landscape.
    Diego Lopez / Wild Wonders of Europe
  • Predators in action: Tobias Richter's award-winning image captures the dynamic interplay between grey wolves and wild boar in eastern Germany, showcasing the vital role predators play in shaping and balancing wild landscapes.
    Tobias Richter
  • Restoring giants: the release of sturgeon in Sweden marks a vital step in active rewilding, reintroducing a keystone species to revive aquatic ecosystems and restore balance to the river’s natural processes.
    Jon A. Juarez / Rewilding Europe
  • Where nature takes the lead: the Millingerwaard, a pioneer rewilding site, showcases the harmony of wild nature and people, as restored natural processes bring life back to dynamic rivers, regenerating forests, and thriving meadows.
    ARK Rewilding Netherlands
  • In addition to consuming great quantities of grasses and feeding on shrubs, bison influence the vegetation by de-barking trees and breaking open dense undergrowth. Rhodope Mountains.
    The return of iconic species: Celebrate Europe’s native species reclaiming their habitats—wolves, lynx, bison, sturgeon, or black storks thriving in their natural European habitats.
    Stefan Stefanov
  • The Circle of Life in action: predators like wolves play a vital role in rewilding, driving nature recovery and showcasing the transformative power of predator-prey dynamics in shaping wilder landscapes.
    Bram Ubels & Jillis Roos
  • White pelicans in the Danube delta rewilding landscape. Abundance is at the heart of rewilding—thriving wildlife and flourishing habitats.
    The return of iconic species: Celebrate Europe’s native species reclaiming their habitats—wolves, lynx, bison, sturgeon, or black storks thriving in their natural European habitats.
    Staffan Widstrand
  • Aerial view of a stream dammed by beavers flooding forests in the Oder Delta rewilding landscape. (Photo: Neil Aldridge)
    Wildlife shaping the landscape: Capture the transformative role of animals like beavers building wetlands, large herbivores shaping landscapes, or predator-prey interactions that drive ecosystem recovery.
    Neil Aldridge
  • A Eurasian lynx is released from a crate by Wildlife Comeback Officer Wiebke Brenner in Poland. Oder Delta Germany Poland
    Active rewilding efforts: Focus on the human role in rewilding—reintroducing species, removing barriers, or restoring ecosystems while leaving space for natural processes to take over.
    Neil Aldridge
  • Active rewilding in action: gravel restoration on the Abramsån river in Swedish Lapland helps reshape habitats, paving the way for nature to reclaim and thrive in this Nordic taiga landscape.
    Arthur de Bruin / Rewilding Europe
  • Thriving in a wilder landscape: griffon vultures play a vital role in healthy ecosystems, sustained naturally by the circle of life and the abundance of wild animal carcasses.
    Bruno D'Amicis
  • Natural flooding: a vital process that breathes life into rivers, reshaping landscapes, replenishing wetlands, and creating habitats teeming with biodiversity as nature takes the lead.
    Elio della Ferrera / Wild Wonders of Europe
  • Nature's artistry: tidal marshes in Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park showcase the self-organising power of nature, where restored dynamics and natural regrowth breathe life into this vibrant landscape.
    Diego Lopez / Wild Wonders of Europe
  • Predators in action: Tobias Richter's award-winning image captures the dynamic interplay between grey wolves and wild boar in eastern Germany, showcasing the vital role predators play in shaping and balancing wild landscapes.
    Tobias Richter

 

 

Meet the Jury

Peter Cairns

Jury member

Jen Guyton

Jury member

James Shooter

Advisor

Laurien Holtjer

Advisor

“Photography has the unique power to bridge the gap between nature and people, evoking emotions that words alone cannot. Through powerful images, we can unveil the beauty and resilience of wild nature, inspire someone to care and even influence positive change. The Rewilding Europe Award is a call for photographers to become storytellers of Europe’s rewilding journey, capturing moments that bring hope and a vision of a wilder future to life.”

Laurien Holtjer

Laurien Holtjer
Director Engagement & Public Relations

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