Wales’ largest ecosystem restoration project moves forward with crowdfunder success

Stephen Price

A Welsh rewilding charity backed by Iolo Williams has successfully raised over £90,000 following a community appeal to help establish Wales’ largest ecosystem restoration project.

Tir Natur (‘Nature’s Land’) made headlines in November 2024 after launching a crowdfunder to help secure over 1000 acres of marginal upland farm to showcase rewilding and the importance of large grazing animals in restoring depleted ecosystems.

On 6 January 2025, Tir Natur’s appeal, which began with an initial target of £20,000, ended having raised £70,000 from 662 individual donations , including matchfunding from Aviva.

The crowdfunder also offered a reward of sponsoring a 3 x 3m square of land through What Three Words for donations of £50 or more which are still available to sponsor.

One donor shared: “I have bought two squares for my grandsons for Christmas because rewilding is for their future and they will always know that I cared about the future of our land and people long after I’ve gone”

Gobaith i natur

Funds raised will contribute towards the deposit and associated costs, due in Spring 2025. The location of the land will be revealed after this point.

Besides rewilding with native broadleef trees and other native fauna, they hope to introduce ancient breeds of grazing animals to the land to roam and shape the landscape, allowing wildlife to flourish alongside thriving communities, while informing and inspiring further nature-led restoration.

More than anything, they say, “it would offer hope for nature – gobaith i natur”.

Tir Nature hope that the land will showcase ‘natural grazing’, with ancient, cultural breeds of cattle, ponies and pigs allowed to roam free, as their wild ancestors (the Auroch, Tarpan and Wild Boar) once did. These ‘ecosystem architects’ will drive the recovery of a diverse and dynamic landscape that sees wildlife and people flourishing alongside each other.

Crucially, nature will lead the way in a model of nature recovery that they say can be scaled up, and that confronts the scale of the nature and climate emergencies.

It also lays a platform for animal husbandry and food production, demonstrating the natural overlaps between rewilding and more traditional farm systems. ‘Wild range’ meat will serve local communities and contribute to the local economy.

With its vast provision of public goods, Tir Natur expects this approach to score highly with the new Sustainable Farming Scheme, due to be implemented from 2026. They hope to inspire conservationists and farmers alike to adopt the same principles of nature-led restoration.

Concern

Tir Natur was established in 2022 by a group of Welsh individuals deeply concerned about the state of nature in Wales, with the strong belief that a new way forward is possible.

Tir Natur is the only charity in Wales solely focused on rewilding and is the country’s leading voice for the movement.

Their mission is to rewild and regenerate Welsh landscapes, “providing hope and momentum for wildlife to flourish alongside thriving local communities” at a time of unprecedented biodiversity loss and the impact of climate change exacerbated by our misuse of the environment, as seen with the devastating floods in Wales this month.

Showcasing the key role that grazers play in regenerating our landscapes, and therefore the important part that farming has to play, is an important part of their work, as is advocating for nature recovery and climate mitigation in Welsh policy.

Solutions

According to the group, Wales is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world.

They say that, despite ambitious governmental targets, the response is still far from what is needed to deal with the scale and pace of nature’s decline with one in six species now at risk of extinction from Wales.

They write: “On top of loss of habitat, unpredictable and severe weather events caused by the climate crisis pose an additional threat to our wildlife, while making life harder for our agricultural communities, who play a vital role in sustaining Welsh language, culture and heritage, and whose livelihoods are already being affected by rising input costs and marketplace volatility.

“Rewilding methods offers solutions to both these challenges.”

The flagship site’s potential for large-scale rewilding is unmatched, according to Tir Natur, and has many natural features including, rivers, peat bogs and scarce ancient trees (many of which are in poor condition).

The land will bridge existing isolated nature reserves providing wildlife corridors fundamental to restoring and preserving biodiversity.

Community Founding Members Programme

Tir Natur’s Community Founding Members programme unites members of the public who have donated more than £5,000 to the project.

Chloe and Sophie de Haast, Community Founding Members, shared: “We could not be more delighted to be a founding member of Wales’ flagship rewilding site.

“Not only is it a privilege to play a role in restoring nature at such a scale, but the joy is being part of a community equally passionate about this opportunity.

“Like most things in life, it’s the shared journey which makes it special. Diolch yn fawr Tir Natur.”

Responding to the success of the appeal, Stephen Jenkins, Co-CEO of Tir Natur, said: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who donated to this appeal and for the wonderful comments of support, encouragement and gratitude.

“The appeal reflects the strength of public backing for this work and the team is working tirelessly to turn everyone’s vision into a reality. Diolch o galon.

“You have provided us with a strong start to our fundraising and it’s now crucial that we keep up the momentum.

“We are now making a direct call to those who want to bring wild nature back to Wales, to give what you can. We are also looking for further Community Founding Members who’d like to play a pivotal role in bringing this project to life, and deepening their involvement with exclusive updates and a private land visit”

Tir Natur ambassador Iolo Williams said: “I am hugely excited by Tir Natur’s efforts to purchase land and showcase the benefits of rewilding, not only to wildlife and the physical environment, but to farming, Welsh communities and culture.

“Nature needs this. This is one of the most significant wildlife appeals in Wales in recent years”

To find our more about becoming a Community Founding Member, making a monthly or one-off donation or sponsoring a square of Welsh wilderness, contact [email protected] or visit https://www.tirnatur.cymru/

Donations can still be made to the crowdfunder page which can be found here.