We are proud to be supporting the creation of two local Rewilding Hubs. The first in North Leeds and another covering Whitby & the Esk Valley. This pilot project has been made possible thanks to funding from Rewilding Britain’s Innovation Fund.
What is a local Rewilding Hub?
A Rewilding Hub is a group of people coming together who are passionate about rewilding and want to make a difference to their local area. A Hub often centres around a collection of rewilding sites in a particular geographical area. This will allow people to:
- Network with others who live nearby
- Organise events, workshops, and practical workdays in their community
- Share local resources and information
- Connect rewilding sites that need support with local volunteers
Every Hub is different and will keep evolving depending on the needs of the local area and the interests of the people who are part of it… and anyone is welcome to get involved.
Meet Claire Blindell. Claire is our part-time Rewilding Engagement Officer. She has spent the last few months organising events, supporting Hub volunteers, and networking with rewilders in their areas to find out what they need from a Hub.
How to get involved
- If you live near either of our pilot Hubs in North Leeds or Whitby & the Esk Valley, send us an email and we’ll add you to the mailing list for that Hub so you can keep up to date with what’s going on.
- Sign up to the YRN mailing list if you haven’t already done so.
- Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn where we post updates about Hub events.
- Keep an eye on the Events page on our website.
- To see where rewilding is happening near you – or to add your own rewilding site – check out YRN’s interactive map of rewilding projects.
- And finally, if you’re interested in setting up a local rewilding Hub where you live, we’d love to hear from you!
Why we are so excited about the Hubs project
The feedback from people at site visits, workshops and YRN festival events has been clear: meeting likeminded others in person is great! We’ve noticed that every time rewilders get together there’s a special energy, enthusiasm and joy that fills the space. We’ve nicknamed it the ‘rewilding buzz.’
Individuals working to get things done on their own is fantastic, but when people come together the power and magic of community can achieve so much more. We’re much more effective when we can connect in person with others for practical help and inspiration, so our goal is to explore what YRN can do to support anyone who’s interested in setting up a rewilding Hub in their own community.
Hubs also create opportunities for those without land to get involved in rewilding projects, meaning they can still pitch in and build a meaningful relationship with a physical site.
We hope that this pilot project will connect and inspire people and enable more rewilding to happen both here in Yorkshire and across the country. We’ll be sharing what we learn with Rewilding Britain and with other regional rewilding networks.
To learn more, read our guest blog by Sammy Mennell on ‘Local Rewilding Hubs’ here.
Image credits: Claire Blindell, M. Kelsey