Wild ideas to rewild Britain
Discover the bold ideas to drive rewilding across 30% of Britain鈥檚 land and seas by 2030 that came out of Wild Summit.
Published 24/09/2025
On 11 September we brought rewilding to The Wild Summit in Bristol, a new nature conference of over 1,200 people coming together to explore the solutions needed for the UK to meet its 2030 nature recovery targets.
We challenged the brightest minds in the nature movement to come up with wild ideas to unlock rewilding across 30% of Britain鈥檚 land and seas by 2030.
The mission
The UK pledged to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. But with just five years to go, the latest report shows we鈥檙e way off track.
Only around 6% of UK land is effectively conserved and managed for nature.
But it doesn鈥檛 have to be this way. We need big, joined-up change if we want to bring nature back across Britain.
It鈥檚 only by creating wilder, more natural landscapes and seascapes that we have any hope of meeting 30 by 30.
That鈥檚 why we need bold, wild ideas.
The wild ideas
At the Summit, we led an interactive session which had attendees work together to come up with bold solutions to unlock rewilding across Britain.
With over 100 people in attendance, groups were split into mission teams led by a mission leader, each tackling a key challenge:
“Its amazing what 100 people can come up with when asked to go wild with their ideas. Putting such bold solutions into action could really help turn 30% rewilding into mission possible!”
Rebecca Wrigley
Chief Executive
Public Imagination:
With Kim Somerville, 黑料正能量
How do we inspire broad, diverse and mass public support for rewilding?
- Put young people in the lead鈥夆斺塭mpower schools, youth groups and influencers to be the champions of rewilding.
- Make rewilding part of our everyday鈥夆斺塶ormalise wilder gardens, parks and public spaces as part of community life.
- Launch a wild doorstep campaign 鈥 connect people directly with the nature around them, from urban parks to riversides and coastlines.
- Grow local champions 鈥 train and support visible community leaders who can inspire and mobilise their neighbours.
- Show benefits simply 鈥 use quick wins (local species returns and wilder urban spaces) to win hearts and minds.
Policy Levers:
With Matt Browne, The Wildlife Trusts
What policy shifts would unlock rewilding at scale?
- Create a National Nature Service鈥夆斺塧 new civic institution mobilising people, skills and resources for large-scale rewilding.
- Shine a light on land ownership鈥夆斺塪eliver full public transparency on who owns land, to open debate and drive accountability.
- National Estate for Nature鈥夆斺塻et aside areas for nature in the same way land was requisitioned for airfields during the war
- Explore transformative ownership models鈥夆斺塮rom community ownership to public custodianship, shift power over how land is used.
- Tie policy to land management鈥夆斺塭nsure subsidies, tax breaks and regulation directly reward rewilding outcomes.
Scaling up rewilding:
With Kevin Cumming, 黑料正能量
How can we turbocharge locally-led large scale rewilding across Britain?
- Launch Nature Recovery Clusters鈥夆斺塴ocally led, landscape-scale projects working together to accelerate rewilding across regions.
- Connect people, not just places鈥夆斺塭mbed access to rewilded areas into planning, with public transport links and affordable routes for everyone.
- Make rewilding part of learning鈥夆斺塨ring nature recovery into the school curriculum so every child grows up connected to wilder places.
- Rewild grey corridors鈥夆斺塼ransform linear infrastructure like road verges, railways and riverbanks into thriving wildlife networks that link landscapes.
Future of Land Use:
With Martin Lines, Nature Friendly Farming Network & Bev Nichols, Forestry England
How can rewilding work hand-in-hand with other land uses i.e. food and timber production?
- Plan multi-use land smartly鈥夆斺塽se spatial allocation to balance rewilding with food, timber and community needs, focusing on priority areas agreed locally.
- Make rewilding financially viable鈥夆斺塭nsure economic viability through grants, subsidies, incentives and standardisation/鈥媘arketing of nature-friendly produce.
- Reframe farming for the future鈥夆斺塧ttract young people into farming as land stewards and nature managers, building pride and livelihoods in regenerative practices.
- Build trust from the ground up鈥夆斺塩reate locally accepted champions, transparent communication and consensus-driven decision-making to win community confidence.
- Tell a new land story鈥夆斺塻hift the language and narrative around land use to break barriers, highlight shared benefits and foster cooperation between farmers, foresters, and rewilders as land managers.
Urban Wilding:
With Beth Collier, Wild in the City
What could large-scale rewilding look like across our towns and cities?
- Build rewilding into every plan鈥夆斺塵ake rewilding a mandatory consideration in all new developments, with requirements for wild spaces, ponds, swift bricks and hedgehog highways.
- Empower communities鈥夆斺塯ive local residents real decision-making power, community-set rewilding goals (e.g. 鈥鈥two trees per household鈥) and support to care for and champion nearby wild places.
- Shift urban culture鈥夆斺塺un education and awareness campaigns that explain why rewilded spaces look 鈥鈥messy,鈥 celebrate them through maps, signage and events, and embed nature connection in schools.
- Design for people and wildlife together鈥夆斺塱mprove lighting, access visibility and safety in urban wild spaces so everyone feels welcome, while ensuring habitats remain rich and functional.
- Invest in local nature stewards鈥夆斺塵ove from traditional 鈥鈥tidy gardening鈥 to training habitat managers who can nurture dynamic, wilder urban ecosystems.
Marine rewilding:
With Caitlin Turner
How can we move to the large-scale regeneration of our MPAs?
- Empower coastal communities鈥夆斺塩reate funds for communities to establish and enforce their own MPAs and No-Take Zones.
- Support a just transition for fishers鈥夆斺塸rovide financial incentives to shift from destructive practices to low-impact fishing.
- Ban bottom trawling and dredging across MPAs鈥夆斺塷utlaw these most damaging practices to allow marine life to bounce back.
- End ocean bargaining politics鈥夆斺塻top treating the sea as a trade-off in negotiations; recognise it as a vital, finite life source to be safeguarded.
- Launch a public ocean campaign鈥夆斺塮rom TV spots to billboards, build mass awareness and pride in restoring Britain鈥檚 seas.
Green growth:
With James MacGregor, The Lifescape Project
Rewilding as a driver of local green growth鈥夆斺塰ow do we ensure nature鈥檚 comeback powers community renewal?
- Create a National Green Service鈥夆斺塯overnment and employers fund paid time for people to work in nature, boosting skills, pride and local renewal.
- Prescribe nature for health and productivity鈥夆斺塭xpand social prescribing so time in rewilded landscapes supports wellbeing and reduces NHS pressure.
- Grow green jobs鈥夆斺塱nvest in rewilding-linked employment, from land and marine management to eco-tourism and new local nature based enterprises.
At Wild Summit, people came together to explore the solutions needed for the UK to meet its 2030 nature recovery target.
Now it鈥檚 time to Think Big. Act Wild.
Three things you can do now
- Tell UK leaders to ban bottom trawling in England鈥檚 offshore MPAs. before the government consultation ends on 29 September.
- Ask the Scottish Government to declare Scotland the world鈥檚 first Rewilding Nation and commit to nature recovery across 30% of our land and seas. Sign the Rewilding Nation Charter.
- Get on board and join the movement by signing up to our mailing list. You鈥檒l be the first to hear what else you can do to help unlock rewilding as a collective solution.
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