Ep. 050: The Future of Rewilding in Cymru (Wales) - Tir Natur

·45 min·3 clips

Wales scores 37% on biological intactness, and 90% of its peat bogs are emitting carbon.

1. Wilder Podcast episode 50 focuses on Tir Natir and the future of rewilding in Cymru (Wales). 2. Hosts Chloe and Tom speak with Gwenny Jenkins-Jones, Tir Natir’s fundraising manager, and Eben Mews, a volunteer, access conservation worker, Campaign for National Parks ambassador, and writer. 3. The episode asks what rewilding can do in Wales when a charity has just secured 1,195 acres in the Cambrian Mountains. 4. Gwenny says Tir Natir means “nature’s land” in Welsh and has been powered by volunteers before she moved into a full-time fundraising role. 5. Eben says he joined after frustration with Welsh policy and a visit to the site that left him “completely enraptured” by its potential. 6. The conversation frames Tir Natir as a flagship project meant to show rewilding working in a Welsh context rather than only in Scotland or England. 7. Gwenny defines rewilding as recovering whole ecosystems and natural processes, not focusing on a single species or habitat alone. 8. Eben adds that rewilding is also about turning back the clock on parts of the natural world that future generations risk losing forever. 9. The discussion turns to Wales’s ecological condition, including a 37% biological intactness index and rivers in unfavourable condition. 10. Eben cites agricultural pollution, poor peatland condition, and a 30 by 30 target that Wales is far from meeting. 11. Gwenny and Eben say public support for nature restoration exists, but policy and political culture have not matched it. 12. Eben points to a Plaid Cymru conference where a panel member said there is no room in Wales for landscape-scale nature restoration. 13. Gwenny says Tir Natir wants to learn from earlier rewilding efforts that may have lacked community engagement or felt imposed from outside Wales. 14. Eben argues that rewilding in Wales must be rooted in place, respectful of rural heritage, and clear about what it is doing. 15. The episode also links rewilding to rural change, including urbanisation, the loss of 8,000 farmers in 10 years, and an average farmer age of around 60. 16. Eben says that when rural communities hollow out, the Welsh language and local life can weaken with them. 17. Gwenny describes the new land as 1,195 acres, or about 750 football pitches, in the Elenydd/Cambrian Mountains. 18. She says the site includes two rivers, peat up to 2.2 meters deep, 55 historic features, ancient scheduled monuments, otters, water voles, salmon, and habitat for snipe and hen harrier. 19. The tone is conversational and advocacy-led, with recurring examples from the Grange Project and a practical, field-by-field explanation of how rewilding could work. 20. Listeners interested in Welsh land use, community-led conservation, and rural culture will get the most from it, while anyone wanting a light, quick nature chat may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Wilder Podcast