For more than a century, protected areas have been the backbone of European nature conservation. That is, protecting habitats and species from urban expansion, intensive agriculture, and the constant development of human infrastructure. However, no protected area can function in isolation. Healthy ecosystems depend on connectivity: passage for wildlife, permeable terrain, and the freedom of species to move and thrive.
Frans Schepers / Making Europe Wild Again
joint celebration
This year, Rewilding Europe collaborated with the EUROPARC federation to celebrate European Parks Day. This is an annual event aimed at raising public awareness of the importance of protected areas and their role. With the theme “Connected to Nature,” our rewilding landscapes and Wilder Parks are demonstrating how restoration can help restore nature on a large scale. By restoring natural grazing, stream dynamics, forests, wetlands, and wildlife populations, rewilding strengthens ecological resilience within and beyond protected areas.
For ecological processes to function naturally, scale and connectivity are important. Fragmentation of these relationships undermines the overall health of the ecosystem. Rewilding offers a practical and hopeful path for protected areas to no longer be isolated islands but living parts of connected, functioning landscapes.
European Parks Day commemorates the establishment of Europe’s first national parks on May 24, 1909, all of which were in Sweden. This year’s theme focuses on connectivity: between parks and the surrounding landscape, between people and wild nature, and between communities and the places they call home. It calls on Europeans to feel proud and deeply connected to their natural heritage. There are events to get involved with across Europe, in rewilding nature, wilderness parks and the wider protected area community.
reconnect with nature
By applying rewilding principles and actively working with protected areas, the restoration of Europe’s natural landscapes is showing that connectivity can be restored on a large scale.
In the Greater Côa Valley, rewilding efforts are creating a large-scale wildlife corridor along the Côa River, helping species move freely between Malcata Nature Reserve to the south and Douro International Nature Park to the north. In the Southern Carpathians, ecological restoration and the return of wildlife are helping to reconnect Europe’s largest remaining wild area – home to some of the most important herds of European bison.
In Croatia, Rewilding Velebit is creating a 30,000-hectare wildlife corridor linking North Velebit National Park and Paklenica National Park, providing important habitat for brown bears, wolves, lynx and Balkan chamois. Similarly, in the central Italian Apennines, our rewilding team is actively working to restore connectivity along four important ecological corridors between the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Parks, Maiella National Park, Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park and Sirente Bellino Regional Park for the benefit of the endangered Marsica brown bear, wolf and griffon vulture.
Bruno D’Amicis and Umberto Esposito
Towards Wilder Park
Wilder Parks is an ambitious initiative launched in 2025 by Rewilding Europe to help apply rewilding principles, scale up interventions and accelerate nature recovery in protected areas across Europe. Our first ten wildlife parks are leading examples of what wild nature can achieve within protected areas, demonstrating the benefits of wild nature for both people and wildlife. It spans a variety of scales, European landscapes and management challenges, from the Georgian steppes to the Mediterranean forests of the Iberian Peninsula.
Established in 1914, the Swiss National Park is one of the oldest protected areas in Europe. The mountains of southwestern Switzerland provide space for ibex, bearded eagles and wolves to thrive. This is the result of a strict no-intervention approach, no extractive activities and carefully managed visitor access. In some parts of Europe, nature is given the time and space to fully evolve on its own. In contrast, Lake Skadar National Park in Montenegro is in the early stages of applying rewilding approaches, including restoring habitat through natural grazing, improving hydrological connectivity, and exploring the potential return of Adriatic sturgeon to the sea.
“Protected areas are strategic partners in revitalizing our wild landscapes. The Wilder Parks initiative provides an exciting avenue to partner with protected areas beyond our core landscapes and expand the use of rewilding principles to restore nature on a continental scale.” Fabien Quétier, Director of Wilder Parks at Rewilding Europe, says: Just as no protected area can function in isolation, we at Wilder Parks have been actively sharing our activities across our network through event conferences, webinars, and directly with teams in natural restoration areas.
In May, Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse National Park visited the Central Apennines team for field knowledge exchange. For Johanna Breyne, Director of Belgian National Parks, it was “an inspiring week filled with rich exchanges, practical experience and new ideas for the future rewilding of our region.” Likewise, Croatia’s Lonjsko Polje Natural Park will visit Mount Velebit on May 26 to celebrate European Parks Day. These exchanges are vital for sharing resources, technical knowledge, and gaining inspiration from seeing rewilding in action.
Apennine revived
How can I celebrate?
This year’s theme highlights our connection to nature, from the physical pathways that allow wildlife to move freely through the landscape to the resilience of time spent in wild places. On and around May 24th there are many opportunities to get out, explore and reconnect.
- Joint webinar, Wildflowers in Europe and Europe, EUROPARC, 22 May.
The webinar “Connected by nature: ecological connectivity within and across protected areas”, co-hosted by EUROPARC Federation and Rewilding Europe, will explore how ecological connectivity is being restored across Europe. This session will feature presentations on the work of NaturaConnect, Maas-Schwalm-Nette Natural Park and Rewilding Portugal in the Greater Côa Valley.
- Rewilding in Spain, May 22-24
Together with the Alto Tajo Natural Park, Rewilding Spain in the Iberian Plateau is organizing “NatureTajo: Nature Observation Tourism Fair”, which will be held from 22 to 24 May in Corduente. The program of activities includes talks and excursions for the whole family.
- Font Rosa Natural Park, May 23
Valencia’s Wilder Park organizes family trips to discover the park’s birds, flowers and butterflies.
In collaboration with other French associations (SFEPM and OCA), we are celebrating International Lynx Day with a screening of Lauren Geslin’s Lynx documentary.
