FREE Nature joins the Global Rewilding Alliance

Imagine European landscapes where nature thrives within and alongside villages, where wild horses gallop freely, bison roam woodlands, and meadows bloom with life. This year, FREE Nature joined the Global Rewilding Alliance, a worldwide organisation who strive just that. The Global Rewilding Alliance is a worldwide organisation working with rewilders on every continent to help nature heal itself and secure a thriving future for people, nature and planet.

The Global Rewilding Alliance is an expanding network of partner organisations around the globe. Their vision is a world where restored wild lands and seas provide a secure future for people, nature and the planet. The global community has pledged to protect at least 30% of the planet’s land and seas by 2030 – also known as 30 by 30. To achieve this goal, we need to put nature in the driver’s seat. Rewilding is a fundamental shift in our relationship with nature. It is a movement for the benefit of all life on earth; bringing back key animal species regenerates ecosystems and enhances the services we all depend on to thrive – from clean water to fresh air and thriving landscapes.

Last week, the Global Rewilding Alliance published a wonderful article about our work, welcoming us as one of their new Alliance partners. Find a snippet of the article down below:

The Magic of Natural Grazing

Founded in 2007 as part of ARK Rewilding, another of our wonderful Alliance Partners, FREE Nature is the largest private natural grazing organisation in the Netherlands. With over 25 years of experience, they specialise in reintroducing large herbivores—like Konik Horses, European Bison, and Water Buffalo—into ecosystems where they once roamed freely. Their mission? To let nature be nature, allowing natural processes to shape landscapes with minimal human intervention.

Historically, large herbivores such as Aurochs, wild Horses, and Bison have played a crucial role in shaping Europe’s diverse landscapes. Their grazing prevents overgrowth, maintains open habitats, and supports a rich tapestry of plant and animal life. However, their presence has been lost from many vast European landscapes. But, with a helping hand from rewilders and local communities, they can return along with the plethora of ecosystem services they kickstart.

Today, FREE Nature brings this vision to life by managing social herds of wild or semi-wild grazers. These animals live with minimal human interference, forming their own social structures and behaviours. This natural herd dynamic ensures that grazing is balanced, promoting biodiversity and preventing the encroachment of shrubs and trees.

Grazing Across Borders

FREE Nature’s impact stretches across more than 30 nature reserves in Europe. One of those is the Slikken van de Heen reserve in Zeeland, Netherlands. Here, a mix of Konik horses, European bison and Rod Geus bovines work together to maintain a mosaic landscape of reed beds, grasslands and wetlands. This dynamic grazing not only preserves the habitat but also supports a variety of bird species, including white-tailed Eagles and the European Stonechat. Delve deeper and learn more about these nature reserves.

As part of their longstanding commitment to the preservation of the European Bison, FREE Nature welcomed two new bulls into the De Maashorst nature reserve on April 15th of this year. The bulls journeyed from Pszczyna, Poland where a small herd has been living since 1865. This increases the herd at De Maashorst to 14 individuals encouraging genetic diversity which is crucial to the survival of this near threatened species. This recent addition is another example of the close transboundary collaboration, important to FREE Nature’s team.

Their work extends beyond borders, collaborating with partners across Europe to share knowledge and expand rewilding efforts. Through these collaborative initiatives, just like the bulls from Poland, FREE Nature contributes to a continent-wide movement of ecological restoration.

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Want to read the complete article? Then hop over to the website of the Global Rewilding Alliance, the full article can be found here: FREE Nature: Rewilding The Netherlands and beyond, one grazer at the time.

Photos: Arjen Boerman