Community rewilding to take centre stage this World Environment Day
Communities from across the North East of England will come together in June for a special rewilding event at Ramside Hall Hotel. The day will celebrate nature and explore how restoring wild spaces can create a greener, wilder and more hopeful future.
The Rewilding Communities – Hope for the Future conference, organised by Climate Action North will mark World Environment Day on Friday 5 June. This year’s theme spotlights the climate crisis and solutions that deliver a safer, more resilient, and sustainable future. Community rewilding is part of the answer, helping nature recover, and reconnecting people with the natural world.
This conference will bring national speakers, local projects, and community rewilders together for a day packed with talks, ideas, and inspiration. Visitors can take part in Wild Hacks and a Wild Pledge wall, browse exhibitor stalls, discover local projects, and learn how to get involved in rewilding their own communities.
Speakers include Sara King, Rewilding Manager with Rewilding Britain, who will explain rewilding plans and exciting developments across the UK.
Sharon Lashley, CEO of Climate Action North, will talk about the North East Rewilding Network (NERN). She will show how it connects rewilding projects, people, and businesses across the region, and highlight the Marine Rewilding Network and the Young Rewilders Networking Group.
Heather Devey, Co-Director of Wild Intrigue, will show how everyone can reconnect with nature, inspiring people to ‘rewild themselves’ while learning practical ways to benefit local wildlife and wild spaces.
Headline speaker Peter Cairns, writer, communicator and founder of “At The Edge” a media platform that takes a deep dive into our relationship with wild nature, and with each other, will talk about how rewilding can change the way we connect with nature and encourage people to help restore wild spaces.
Sharon said: “This event will highlight the importance of connectivity across all aspects of community rewilding. That means looking at the bigger picture from species reintroductions and habitat restoration to supporting struggling insect populations, while connecting people, ideas, and communities so that nature restoration can happen at every scale. Each action gives hope that our wildlife and landscapes can recover.”
Communities can play a key role in connecting wild spaces and helping wildlife thrive. Initiatives like Climate Action North’s Pollinator Parks® are a great example, transforming business and retail park areas into colourful wildflower meadows at locations including Darlington Denes, Dalton Park Outlet Shopping Centre, Sunderland Enterprise Park, and The BIC in Sunderland.
Meanwhile, programmes like the CPD-accredited Rewilding, Nature & Us course give people hands-on ideas for making outdoor spaces wilder and helping wildlife flourish through a little ‘scruffination’, letting nature take its messy, beautiful course.
Sharon added: “Nature is changing fast, and communities need practical ways to respond. This event will show that rewilding isn’t just for large estates or remote areas, it’s an essential tool to accelerate global action to the climate crisis. This gathering will bring together communities to celebrate the global theme of World Environment Day. Together we will reconnect people with nature, help wildlife recover, and build a greener, wilder, more hopeful North of England.”
The event starts at 9.30am with registration and networking. Talks, exhibition stalls, and interactive activities follow. Refreshments and lunch are included. Tickets are available here.
The time for talking is over, today we need to act.