rewilding

1 of 2

noun

re·​wild·​ing (ˌ)rē-ˈwī(-ə)l-diŋ 

: an effort to increase biodiversity and restore the natural processes of an ecosystem that typically involves reducing or ceasing human activity and often the planned reintroduction of a plant or animal species and especially a keystone species

Rewilding—giving nature the space and opportunity to express itself—is largely a leap of faith.

—Isabella Tree

Large-scale domestic rewilding projects include dam removal in the Pacific Northwest and in the Northeast to facilitate the return of several endangered species of salmon, as well as reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone National Park, which stabilized and reinvigorated the ecosystem.

—Carey Smith

The concept of rewilding creates hope; it gives the opportunity to set things right, to link protected areas through corridors, to bring back species once lost, and to revitalize our forests, rivers, and wetlands with all forms of life.

—Bahar Dutt

The truth of when this forest actually existed and why it disappeared is murky. … Now, a group of visionary conservationists and ecotourism companies are working to revive the landscape through rewilding.

—Chloe Berge

rewilding

2 of 2

present participle of rewild

Examples of rewilding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The rewilding was put off until the elephants were more mature, ages 7 through 9, thus larger and better able to care for themselves. —Rael Ombuor, Washington Post, 28 June 2024

Libraries in particular can play a special role disseminating resources for rewilding, including guides about how to make the celebratory ARK sign. —Caroline Nickerson, Discover Magazine, 20 May 2024

Charlie Burrell and Isabella Tree’s 3500-acre rewilding and regenerative farming project has turned marginal lands into a home to a remarkable array of wildlife—everything from red and fallow deer to Exmoor ponies and turtle doves roam free here—and an abundance of flora. —Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Apr. 2024

The estate has been running one of the U.K.’s most successful rewilding programmes for the last 20 years, with an emphasis on using natural processes to regenerate degraded ecosystems. —Jamie Hailstone, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

rewild + -ing entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1993, in the meaning defined above