Interesting article in this month’s BBC Wildlife magazine about an ecological movement that is gathering momentum in my country. The concept of rewilding is a relatively new one; the term only appeared in dictionaries from 2011 onwards. It’s defined as, ‘restoring an area of land to its natural uncultivated state, used especially with reference to the reintroduction of species of wild animal that have been driven out or exterminated’. It’s a fascinating prospect, and something I’m a strong supporter of. The more biodiversity the better, especially when it champions bringing back species which have been eliminated by human hands. Think of it as a kind of environmental redemption for the masses.

The replanting of native trees to rejuvenate the small, sporadic pockets of Caledonian Forest in the highlands of Scotland is an important part of the rewilding project, and it’s already underway. The charity, Trees for Life has planted one million across the highlands and hopes to double this in the next five years. It will restore areas of indigenous types of tree such as Aspen, Birch, Willow, Scots Pine and Rowan. Thousands of years ago, the majority of Scotland was covered in such a forest- now only around 2% of it remains.

The planned area in northern Scotland for the tree regeneration covers 259,000 hectares and extends from the southern tip of Loch Ness to well above Inverness. It will also stretch from east of the Aigas Field Centre to the Kyle of Lochalsh in the west and includes magnificent landmarks such as Glen Affric and Glen Feshie. This area used to be at the heart of the ancient Caledonian Forest, before felling began to make way for farming and provide wood for fuel and industries such as shipbuilding. Overgrazing from red deer and sheep prevented any regeneration. There have recently been culls of red deer in Glen Feshie to assist the re-establishment of native forests.

One of the main reasons for deer overgrazing is that since we lost our populations of wolves and lynx, they’ve had no natural predators and their numbers have got out of control. The reintroduction of lynx and wolves would redress the balance and should have a generally positive effect on the entire ecosystem. It’s certainly a more natural way of controlling their numbers when compared with a cull. The beginnings of rewilding are also visible on the highland estate of Alladale, where philanthropist Paul Lister has planted 800,000 native trees over the past ten years and has reintroduced wild boar and elk onto the land. He also hopes to have wolves there in the future in an enclosed area; however, I don’t really see the point in bringing back a wild creature that has to live behind a fence. Surely that defeats the purpose of rewilding?

The article also draws our attention to the work of a man at the forefront of this rewilding initiative. Danish billionaire, Anders Holch Povlsen and his company, WildLand, bought the Glen Feshie estate a decade ago, along with five more since. His vision is to “allow the land to move towards its full ecological potential”, according to his conservation director, Thomas MacDonell. Around 10,000 deer have since been culled to make way for the new vegetation and their efforts are already reaping bio-diversity rewards, with increased sightings of tawny owls, field voles, pine martens and black grouse.

It’s not all about the re-establishment of forests though. The rewilding plan could have a profound effect on the diversity of our landscape, with terrains like montane scrub being developed organically. For me, the very essence of rewilding is enabling lost species of flora and fauna to be reintroduced and then leaving nature to take its course with minimal intervention from us. After all, that is how it used to be and I think we could all benefit from a wilder countryside that offers greater bio-diversity and a closer connection and engagement with our wildlife and the environment.

I’ve also just started to read George Monbiot’s book, ‘Feral’-‘Rewilding the Land, Sea and Human Life’ and would highly recommend viewing his work. He is one of the most eloquent voices of the rewilding campaign and sets out an exciting vision for our future wilderness.