Young people will live longest with the consequences of Europe’s decisions about nature, yet their voices are still too often missing from the table. Across the continent, a new generation is seeking a greater say in those decisions — and turning its ambition for nature recovery into tangible action.
With the appeal of rewilding burning as brightly as ever, the number of European Young Rewilders has surged over the past three years. But the real success story is how the ambitions of this talented and passionate community are translating into meaningful action.
Natural grazing can deliver multiple benefits for nature, climate and people. An event in the Greater Côa Valley rewilding landscape in Portugal at the end of May, which brought together a wide range of experts and young rewilders, helped participants to share knowledge and expertise, with the aim of scaling up this essential natural process in Europe.
Twelve months ago today, the European Young Rewilders was set up to empower young Europeans looking to become involved in rewilding. A year of growth has seen the network blossom into a well-connected community of passionate and skilled young Europeans, eager to drive the rewilding movement forwards and scale up nature recovery.
The European Young Rewilders has just been admitted into Youth and Environment Europe (YEE) – the largest independent European network of environmental youth organisations. Membership will help the EYR reach out to, inspire and empower more young people and organisations as they take their own rewilding journey.
Giulia Testa is the coordinator of the European Young Rewilders. She has a master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy specialised in biodiversity law. She has coordinated and has been actively involved in the youth advocacy project around the EU Nature Restoration Law since 2021, presenting youth perspectives and demands to EU decision-makers. Giulia is also part of the youth consistuency of the Convention on Biodiversity. In this opinion piece, she talks about how important the EU Nature Restoration Law is to the younger generation.
Today, rewilding is inspiring an ever-growing number of people to support and practice nature recovery. With the theme #RewildingHope, this year’s World Rewilding Day focuses on rewilding’s beneficial impact and uplifting vision.
Young people are the future of rewilding. By inspiring and enabling them, the European Young Rewilders – which builds on the work of its predecessor, the Young Rewilders Community – will accelerate the scaling up of nature recovery.
