By: Anna Bergen, Outreach & Engagement Intern
I have recently found myself wondering what exactly community rewilding truly means to me. At its core, community rewilding could be defined as the act of reconnecting people with nature and their local environments to foster resilience, community empowerment, and sustainable self-sufficiency.
Community Rewilding is a unique approach to environmentalism that reconnects people with nature and their local resources. But for me, it’s become something far more profound as the concept has led to a personal transformation.
In recent years, I found myself caught in a cycle of disconnection. My days slipped away while indoors, tied to a computer screen as the natural world continued without me. I did not realize what I was missing until I found myself yearning for more, yearning for the sand beneath my feet, the sweet song of birds, and simply a breath of fresh air. The whole world was out there waiting for me to explore. I realized I let too much time slip from my fingers, I had to make a change, and that is when I found community rewilding.
It does more than just heal and restore local ecosystems; it’s also helped me heal my relationship with Mother Nature. Over the years, I have implemented many things into my life to help me become more self-sufficient. I started by planting native species in my yard and then gradually moving to bigger projects like raising chickens. By doing so, I have started to notice things that I never had before, like the buzzing of honey bees in my garden and the previously
rare sight of humming birds. Community rewilding gave me more than a greener yard, it gave me
purpose.
This journey has filled me with hope. Hope that we can rebuild what has been lost. Hope for our communities and for our planet. Hope that we can embrace the wild world around us and rediscover that wild that lives within each one of us. It shows that healing is possible not only for harmed ecosystems, but for our connection to the Earth and to one another. So be the change you want to see in the world and join the Rewild NJ Movement!
Let’s get WILD New Jersey!
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