From small beginnings to big changes: how to rewild as a community
Charlotte Maddix celebrates the new guide to community rewilding that will help groups in Scotland restore nature at scale.
Published 15/09/2025
As the Policy and Advocacy Lead for Rewilding Britain in Scotland, I’m lucky to work with people, organisations and communities across Scotland who are determined to bring nature back. It’s also a job that inspires a lot of questions. But the number one question people ask me about rewilding isn’t what you might think. It’s this: “Where do I start?”
Climate breakdown and ecological collapse can feel overwhelming. From Shetland to St Ives, there’s a growing sense that we can’t wait for someone else to act. By acting together to rewild and restore, we can find our way back to hope.
I find myself most hopeful in places where nature and people are thriving together. Standing in a community woodland that’s loud with the sound of birds and children. Seeing a loch through the eyes of local divers, alive with stories of what’s been lost and what could return. Walking a hill with those who know it best and imagining a wilder future for the land and people there.
Communities can be at the heart of restoring nature. But where do you start?
In the past, I’ve pointed people towards some of the amazing people working in this space here in Scotland. There’s the vital support offered by the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland, the powerhouse that is Community Land Scotland, the wonderful networks run by Rewilding Britain and SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, the fantastic Coastal Communities Network…
There’s so much inspiration and advice out there. But I’ve often wished there was a single place that pulled it all together. Somewhere you could go if your community was curious about rewilding. Somewhere you could hear from others who’ve trodden the same path.
Now there is.
Welcome to the community rewilding guide – a handbook to rewilding for community groups produced by the Scottish Rewilding Alliance. It’s packed full of useful advice, links to further resources and real-life stories of communities who have already started on the path to a wilder place.
For when a group of people come together with ecological restoration in mind, the questions quickly stack up.
What do we need to get started? How do we build support and grow the number of people actively involved? How do we ensure the history of our community is remembered as the land around us changes? How do we tell the story of the place as it becomes wilder?
As you read the guide, you’ll see that there’s no single template. Rewilding looks different in different places. But at its heart, rewilding is always about restoring the natural processes that have been broken or disrupted.
And community rewilders aren’t just managing land and sea for nature. They’re persuading politicians, building alliances and connecting people.
For some communities, the journey will take them all the way to large-scale landownership, national influence or even international acclaim.
To make sure the guide is as accessible as possible to different groups, we’ve made sure the full text is available online – in English and in Gaelic too.
What the guide covers
Here’s a flavour of what you’ll find inside the guide:
- Getting started: there are many different ways to start a community rewilding project. You will need a group, agreement about what you want to do, a place you can make a difference, ideas for what you want to do, access to ecological know-how and a way to track progress. Lots of inspiration and support is available in Scotland.
- Connecting and organising: Think about who your community is. Even if you start with an informal group, as you grow, you might need to create a formal organisation. There are different models you can choose and different challenges you will face.
- Working on land and at sea: Different groups will have different approaches to making rewilding happen on land and at sea. Whatever route you choose, there is advice available.
- Communicating and involving: Your work will need to involve the wider community at times. There are different ways to do this – and different names for it, from ‘participation’ to ‘engagement’ – but the most important thing is to make sure everyone has a chance to be included.
- Rewilding your place: Rewilding is about helping kickstart natural processes on land and at sea. It can involve working with the unknown. Get to know your place, access knowledge and support – and take action to restore nature.
- Case studies: Communities have shared their real stories of how they set up their groups and helped them grow, including tips on everything from finding trustees to monitoring habitat changes.
This guide is an open invitation to every person in Scotland that wants to help create more space for nature. To help create a Rewilding Nation, where people and wildlife can thrive together. And although groups elsewhere in Britain may have different powers, I hope it’s also a useful compass for where to start rewilding.
As a member of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, Rewilding Britain’s role in Scotland is to work collaboratively with all those who want to see rewilding flourish here. By backing the Rewilding Nation campaign and helping to produce this guide, Rewilding Britain is playing its part in supporting rewilding in Scotland. A huge thank you to all those who donated to the campaign through our Big Give Green Match Fund appeal in April 2024 — you’ve enabled us to bring this vital resource into existence.
As you read the community rewilding guide, I hope you can see the incredible work going on to restore nature at scale, at speed, with love. I hope you can imagine the groups that will spring up in the future, even as the nature and climate crises accelerate. I hope it inspires you too to be part of the rewilding movement.
It all begins with one question:
Where do I start?
Here’s where.
Rewilding: a guide for community groups
Welcome to the community rewilding guide – a handbook to rewilding for community groups produced by the Scottish Rewilding Alliance.
Rewilding landscape image credit: scotlandbigpicture.com
