“The Central Apennines: A Story of Co-existence” – a beautiful short film by award-winning French filmmaker Emmanuel Rondeau – is the fifth episode in the Wilder Europe series. Featuring interviews with a range of passionate and dedicated people, it shows how rewilding efforts in Italy’s Central Apennine mountains are helping communities and wild nature thrive together.
Over 2,000 Mediterranean trout have just been released in a tributary of the Liri River in the Central Apennines. A leap forward in the restoration of this important native species, the release will also benefit a wide range of other wildlife and help to heal this living waterway.
Supported by funding from the Open Rivers Programme, the Rewilding Apennines team have overseen the removal of five barriers on the Giovenco River. This is a critical step forward in restoring the natural dynamics of the river system, breathing new life into the landscape and delivering benefits to local communities.
A keystone species in freshwater ecosystems, the white-clawed crayfish is in decline across much of Europe. The opening of a second crayfish breeding centre in Italy’s Central Apennines will enhance reintroduction efforts by the local rewilding team and contribute to the wider restoration of rivers in the landscape.
In the heart of the Central Apennines rewilding landscape, the residents of Pettorano sul Gizio are benefitting from lives that are increasingly entwined with local nature.
Over 100 participants from Italy and beyond came together to discuss rewilding-related topics at a three-day seminar in the Central Apennines last week. The event helped the local rewilding team raise awareness of rewilding and its positive impacts, and to establish and strengthen relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
Italian and Greek partners in the LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors initiative recently visited Canada to learn about Bear Smart Communities in British Columbia. The insights acquired and collaborative ethos developed will enhance rewilding efforts.
Four Apennine chamois were released into the Sirente Velino Regional Park in mid-May. This will enhance the existing free-roaming population and boost efforts to secure a long-term future for this iconic species.
Showcasing rewilding efforts in the Central Apennines, the new website will connect people with wild nature and help realise the area’s rewilding vision.
The white-clawed crayfish, which is a keystone species in freshwater ecosystems, is in decline across much of Europe. A positive feasibility study carried out on streams in the Central Apennines rewilding area means a restocking programme can now be carried out, thereby enhancing the ecological condition of these waterways.