In Ukraine, people are still releasing kulan, hamsters, and step marmots while war continues in the east.
1. Wilder Podcast episode 31 follows James Shooter across Europe and ties that trip to rewilding projects he visited for the Rewild podcast.
2. James Shooter appears as a photographer, filmmaker, and host of Rewild podcast, while Chloe and Tom frame the show as founders of a rewilding project in Monmouthshire.
3. The episode asks what happens when a science communicator, a family, and a motorhome spend a year documenting Rewilding Europe landscapes.
4. Tom says the Grange Project has moved from a “pea green desert” to a place where pigs have rootled, birds lift from the ground, and autumn colours now matter.
5. Chloe and Tom say the project needs revenue, so they discuss corporate sponsorships, the Grange Project website, and a corporate partnership brochure.
6. James explains that Rewilding Europe includes 10 landscapes across the continent, with local teams and third-party collaborators restoring nature.
7. He names Afrique Highlands, Iberian Highlands, Greater Côa Valley, Velabit Mountains, Central and Peninsular Italy, Southern Carpathians, Danube Delta, Oda Delta, and Swedish Lapland.
8. James says he wanted the podcast to be immersive, so he recorded in the field and joined activities like kayaking in the Netherlands and visiting a vulture release cage in the Iberian Highlands.
9. He says the format let him talk to two or three people per episode about restoration work, local communities, and the effects of rewilding.
10. James picks Sea Wilding on Scotland’s west coast as a highlight because it creates seagrass meadows and native oyster beds through community action.
11. He says people can turn up, handle baby oysters, and cast them into the sea before sharing a barbecue or beer.
12. He highlights the Greater Côa Valley’s rewilding wine and says sales from the bottle support the project.
13. James also describes a partnership between upland sheep farmers and Wilding Shoes that pays more for wool from farmers willing to coexist with wolves.
14. He prefers “co-prosperity” over “coexistence” because he wants wildlife and people to thrive together rather than merely tolerate each other.
15. James contrasts Europe’s big landscapes with the UK, saying nature there often feels separate from daily life and that road verges are strimmed very tightly.
16. He gives the figure of 4% native woodland cover in Scotland and says 10% would still be more than double current levels.
17. James says the Danube Delta discussion was shaped by the war in Ukraine, including a ferry that had been shelled once and remote interviews near the border.
18. He describes the episode as immersive and field-based, with travel setbacks, practical adaptations, and conversations tied to each landscape.
19. Listeners interested in rewilding, European landscapes, and nature-business partnerships will get the most from it.
20. Listeners wanting a tightly scripted story without travel, logistics, or project detail may skip it.
