In 2016, a loan from Rewilding Europe Capital allowed Wildlife Adventures, a Pescasseroli-based company that offers hiking, trekking and wildlife watching in the parks of the Central Apennines – to restore the Bisegna Mountain Refuge. Umberto Esposito, a hiking instructor and nature photographer who founded Wildlife Adventures, explains more.

How much were you loaned and what have you used the money for?
We borrowed 40,000 euros and used it to transform an old shepherd's hut – called a "stazzo" in Italian – into a high-altitude mountain cabin, where we host tourists for educational and wildlife watching activities.

What attracted you to take out the loan?
It was fantastic to have the support of an organisation that understands the benefits that can come from nature-based activities. It was also quick and easy to access the loan, which is not generally the case when a small and newly founded company approaches a bank for finance.

How has the development of Wildlife Adventures benefitted the local community?
We manage more than 2,000 tourists every year. In addition to booking activities with us, most people also use local accommodation, so there are direct and indirect economic benefits to local communities. We employ four people as guides throughout the year, and another ten people are involved seasonally.

How has the development of Wildlife Adventures benefitted wild nature in the Central Apennines?
We donate 5% of our profits from bear-watching tours to Italian NGO Salviamo l'Orso - a partner of Rewilding Apennines working to conserve and enhance the population of Marsican brown bears in the Central Apennines. A percentage from other tours goes to the Bear Fund, which is managed by the Rewilding Apennines team, and we also communicate the importance of rewilding and human-wildlife coexistence to all our clients.

In 2020, Rewilding Europe Capital invested 75,000 euros in a green bond to help Jeremy Leggett – a clean energy pioneer and former scientific director of Greenpeace – to purchase and rewild the 511-hectare Bunloit Estate, located on the western bank of Loch Ness. As part of the Highlands Rewilding initiative, the rewilding of the estate will involve the regeneration of multiple habitats – including broadleaf and pine woodlands, peatland, grassland, marsh and meadow – alongside groundbreaking research into natural capital and nature-based solutions. Jeremy explains more.

How have you used the money from the bond?
It was part of a package that enabled us to buy our portfolio of outdoor labs for natural capital verification research, and buildings for the hosting of retreats for rewilding enthusiasts keen to learn about nature recovery.

Apart from the bond, have you benefitted from other assistance from the REC team?
Over the four years of the loan we have benefitted from both rewilding and business development advice provided by the enterprise team.

How has rewilding Bunloit benefitted wild nature and people?
We believe our model is one of a kind in the way it combines data focus, mass ownership, and rooting in the communities where we work. We think this is a role model for scaling up, in Scotland and later beyond, and will be testing that premise in our fundraising in 2024. We are cautiously encouraged by the way our work with local communities is being viewed, quite widely, as leadership among landowners.

Would you recommend other European nature-based businesses take out a REC loan?
Yes. A REC loan can be a key element of the start-up package for nature-based businesses, as it has been for Highlands Rewilding.