rewilding

[ree-wahyl-ding]

noun

1. the process of introducing animals or plants to their original habitat or one similar.

2. the process of returning land to an earlier, more natural state.

rewilding

/ riːˈwaɪldɪŋ /

noun

1. the practice of returning areas of land to a wild state, including the reintroduction of animal species that are no longer naturally found there

Word History and Origins

Origin of rewilding¹

First recorded in 1990–95; rewild ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The cuts follow the sale this week of the Kinrara rewilding estate in the Highlands, which Brewdog bought for £8.8m in 2020 and named the "Lost Forest".

From BBC

Organizations like The Black Swamp Conservancy and H2Ohio, which is run by the state, are purchasing tracts of farmland near freshwater bodies and rewilding these places.

From Salon

The theory, as a conservation manager told me at one rewilding site last year, is that wetlands act as a set of kidneys for the land, naturally filtering out much of the phosphorus from farm runoff, which causes toxic algae.

From Salon

If governments and the legal system won’t nurture these waters, we must seek out and support rewilding efforts on our own.

From Salon

He added that changes in land use, such as an increase in rewilding as well as rural depopulation, were also contributory factors.

From BBC