Introducing the Northwoods Nine

The Northwoods Rewilding Network was established by SCOTLAND: The Big Picture (SBP) to demonstrate that rewilding is a viable and rewarding land use for farms, crofts, small estates and community lands. The network’s partners are individuals, families and community groups seeking to rewild up to 1,000 acres and prepared to ‘walk the talk’. United by a commitment to improve the ecological condition of land under their stewardship and determined to help reverse the degradation of Scotland’s nature1, they are a growing community of rewilding ambassadors, dedicated to action.

Rewilding is an evolving process of nature recovery that seeks to restore ecosystem health, function and completeness. It is a journey without a fixed end point. Across the Northwoods network, SBP’s land partners find themselves at different stages of their own rewilding journey. This can be seen in terms of on-the-ground ecological uplift, but it is also a personal, philosophical journey. Often taking that first step is the most difficult part.

1 The UK was recently ranked 28th from bottom out of 240 nations in terms of Biodiversity Intactness (https://bit.ly/3Y2MOMF)

Joining the network means signing up to the ‘Northwoods Nine’ –the set of rewilding principles outlined in this booklet. In essence, it involves adopting an approach to ecological recovery driven by natural processes. It means celebrating nature’s interconnectedness and dynamism, and recognising that there are limits to the effectiveness of conservation, which is often too narrowly focused on the protection of individual species or habitats.

Although the fundamental principle of rewilding – returning autonomy to nature – is simple enough, well-intentioned rewilding efforts can sometimes fail to reach their full potential because of either a flawed approach or inadequate preparation. The purpose of this booklet is to help avoid such pitfalls, to increase wider public understanding of ecological processes, and ultimately to ensure that the Northwoods Rewilding Network continues to blaze a trail in Scotland for others to follow.