To grow the European rewilding movement we must first reignite the bond between people and nature. From award-winning films and a powerful hip-hop track to bold collaborations with influential voices, Rewilding Europe’s landscape teams are forging emotional connections in innovative ways.
Essential engagement
Once considered niche and unorthodox, rewilding is now at the forefront of a global movement to revitalise ecosystems and restore biodiversity. Across Europe, rewilding is already delivering tangible results: wilder nature is returning, and people are beginning to feel the benefits of this renewal. Rewilding Europe is determined to amplify this dynamic — breathing new life into ecosystems and shaping landscapes where people and wildlife flourish together. By showing what’s possible, we want to inspire others to embrace and scale up rewilding across the continent alongside us.
This scaling up process is not only a technical and ecological challenge — it’s also a social one. Delivering lasting, meaningful change depends on capturing people’s hearts and minds, building understanding, trust, and a shared sense of ownership in nature recovery. When communities, decision-makers, and businesses feel connected to rewilding — and see how it enhances livelihoods, resilience, and quality of life — support grows and momentum accelerates.
Harnessing the power of visual content
By blending art with science, visual storytelling has the power to translate complex ecological processes into experiences people can feel and understand — sparking curiosity, connection, and action. Across all of Rewilding Europe’s operational landscapes, photography, film, art, infographics, and other visual media are bringing rewilding to life, making nature recovery emotionally compelling.
Perhaps the strongest example of this is the Wilder Europe series of short films by award-winning French videographer Emmanuel Rondeau. Produced with financial support from global law firm Hogan Lovells, the five documentaries released so far showcase the work of Rewilding Europe and our network of partner foundations in the Central Apennines (Italy), Velebit Mountains (Croatia), Oder Delta (Germany and Poland), Iberian Highlands (Spain), and Rhodope Mountains (Bulgaria). Through beautifully crafted stories that explore the intimate relationship between nature and people, these films have captivated large audiences — through in-person screenings and online viewing.
WATCH THE WILDER EUROPE SERIES
Inspirational influencers
Rooted in celebrity culture but driven by digital platforms, influencers are an increasingly powerful force in contemporary commerce and society. The rise of video and short-form content like TikTok and Reels has added emotional immediacy, with many of these opinion leaders recognised as entrepreneurs and cultural producers, as well as content creators. In the conservation space, influencers can harness their platforms to promote ideas and issues by building trust and authenticity, making complex environmental issues relatable, and encouraging lifestyle changes and collective action — particularly in younger generations.
Both Rewilding Sweden and Rewilding Portugal are harnessing the power of influencers to reach out to new audiences and build the rewilding movement at a local and national level. In 2025, the Rewilding Sweden team began collaborating with Rolf Nylinder — a Swedish filmmaker, fisherman, and nature explorer with a significant YouTube following — to present their work. Underpinned by a love of wild spaces, his laid-back yet captivating storytelling style and beautifully shot videos from the Nordic Taiga are attracting thousands of viewings.
WATCH ROLF NYLINDER’S VIDEOS FROM THE NORDIC TAIGA
Generating impact
Over the past few years, Rewilding Portugal has teamed up with a range of influencers to make rewilding more visible on a national level and promote their rewilding efforts in the Greater Côa Valley. The most impactful collaborations have been with João Amorim — a traveller and photographer who has over 275,000 followers on Instagram — and renowned Portuguese actress Ana Varela, who has an Instagram following of over 125,000.
“We invited them to the Greater Côa Valley because both have a huge social media reach and are clearly passionate about nature and rewilding,” explains Fernando Teixeira, Rewilding Portugal’s Director of Communications and Enterprise. “Ana focused on how rewilding connects people with nature and strengthens community engagement, while João explored natural grazing and its role in reducing wildfire risk. Their impact was huge — each generated more than 5,000 new followers across our social media channels.”
WATCH JOÃO AMORIM IN THE GREATER CÔA VALLEY
Making rewilding hip
From Joni Mitchell and The Beatles to Weezer and will.i.am, nature and conservation have inspired musicians through the generations. But in a probable first for the world of music, 2025 saw the release of a rewilding-inspired hip-hop song. “Rewilding” by Zagreb-based trap-rap trio Kuku$ tells the story of a lone wanderer in the Velebit Mountains who, as he passes through the landscape, contemplates the challenges facing nature. He comes to realisation that the solution to these challenges is — rewilding. The accompanying video for the song, which features members of the Rewilding Velebit team and local wildlife, as well as the band, was filmed at various locations on Velebit and the Lika Plains.
“We wanted to try something new and thought a hip-hop song would attract new people — especially young people — to the rewilding movement,” says Rewilding Velebit Communications Officer Kruno Bošnjaković. “Kuku$ were a perfect fit since they are the most popular band in the Croatian trap-rap scene, with a big following across the country.”
The production of “Rewilding” received coverage from several Croatian television stations, while the song has been aired on radio and is available on major music streaming platforms, including Apple Music. The video was featured on Croatia’s “Eko Zona” TV show, which reaches an audience of 140,000 people. The band also performed the song live for the first time at Zagreb’s Vintage Industrial Bar last October, in front of an audience of 1,000 people.
Reforging emotional connections
Engaging people with rewilding is not just about raising awareness. It’s about fostering an emotional connection with wild nature, focusing on meaningful, joyful experiences and narratives that resonate on a personal level. Through their creative collaborations with artists and influencers, Rewilding Europe’s landscape teams are generating thousands of new followers and passionate rewilding enthusiasts. Every view, share, and conversation helps build support for river restoration, the return of iconic species such as bison and beavers, and the idea that nature needs more space.
Focusing on the recovery of iconic European animals such as beavers, wolves, and bison can generate excitement and deep emotional investment. Emphasising positive, hopeful stories of nature recovery highlights the potential for a wilder, healthier future. And by using powerful, high-quality photography and video — showing how wildlife is returning to European landscapes and nature recovery is transforming lives and livelihoods — we can evoke feelings of awe, wonder, pride, and optimism.
Across Europe, Rewilding Europe’s landscape teams will continue to grow the rewilding movement by harnessing bold, innovative storytelling across every form of media — helping make nature recovery a vibrant part of popular culture.
