EventRewildingFrankfurtPhotograph insects for Frankfurt biodiversity researchPhotograph insects for Frankfurt biodiversity research Frankfurt's Umweltamt supports SLInBio (Städtische Lebensstile und die Inwertsetzung von Biodiversität): researchers from Senckenberg, Goethe University, and neighbourhood partners study how everyday city life connects to insect diversity. Residents can join by uploading insect photos to the Insekten Hessen reporting portal. What you can do - Photograph bees, butterflies, or beetles in your garden, balcony, or park (no faces needed) - Upload sightings through the Insekten Hessen meldeportal - Follow project updates on insektenvielfalt-frankfurt.org and join open events when listed - Visit the Insect Embassy art installation by ISOE and HfG Offenbach to learn why urban insects matter How it works Scientists use crowd-sourced images to map distribution and population trends across Hesse. SLInBio links the data to questions about urban lifestyles, green yards, and shared stewardship with NABU Frankfurt, BioFrankfurt, and the Palmengarten. Why it matters Insects pollinate food, recycle nutrients, and signal healthy neighbourhoods. A few phone photos from many streets beat a lone expert survey.insectscitizen-sciencebiodiversity +2
VolunteerRewildingFrankfurtPlant a Miyawaki tiny forest at MainWäldchen in FrankfurtPlant a Miyawaki tiny forest at MainWäldchen in Frankfurt MainWäldchen is Transition Town Frankfurt's Tiny Forest pilot: a dense Miyawaki-style planting on about 110 m² in the Grünzug Feldscheidenstraße (Eckenheim). The mini-wood stores water, lowers heat, and gives birds and insects a permanent home neighbours can help tend. What you can do - Join planting and care days announced on mainwaeldchen.de and frankfurt-im-wandel.de/projekt/mainwäldchen - Observe which species colonise the young forest and share photos with the team - Adapt the pattern for another bare corner in your district How it works Volunteers work with the city park strip created in 2022, packing native layers tightly so the forest matures fast. The group hopes many more Wäldchen follow across Frankfurt. Why it matters Small urban forests turn leftover pavement edges into living shade and biodiversity without waiting decades for a single street tree.tiny-forestmiyawakiurban-nature +2
VolunteerRewildingRigaCare for Sporta Pils wild meadows, RigaCare for Sporta Pils wild meadows, Riga Sporta Pils Gardens keep biodiversity meadows on a central brownfield. Ask how to help meadow care beyond allotment plots. What you can do - Browse sportapilsdarzi.lv - Ask about meadow or biodiversity workdays - Visit the gardens and offer habitat help How it works Meadow care sits beside allotments. Confirm volunteer slots with the organiser. Why it matters Riga grows wild flowers where concrete once waited.rigameadowbiodiversity +1
VolunteerRewildingTallinnSteward biodiverse urban natureConnected green for people and pollinators Tallinn aims for biodiverse, blossoming urban nature: linked green networks, lifecycle-smart landscaping, and guidelines that keep species thriving alongside daily life. A connected green network lets people choose sustainable ways of living and getting around. What you can do - Plant native species in community plots; join district clean-ups that protect habitats. - Report invasive or damaged green space through city channels; volunteer with local nature groups. Why it matters Connected urban green supports pollinators, cooling, and daily wellbeing alongside concrete streets.biodiversitynatureurban
RewildingTallinnWalk green routes on everyday tripsGreenery within reach The strategy wants most daily journeys lined with trees, shrubs, or other vegetation, and a connected green network so residents can choose sustainable ways of living and moving. Parks, street trees, and linked paths should be reachable on foot from home. What you can do - Prefer routes through parks and tree-lined streets for errands and school runs. - Take part in district consultations when new landscaping or calm-traffic schemes are planned. Why it matters Visible everyday green makes walking pleasant, cools streets, and signals that nature belongs in the commute, not only in distant reserves.greenwalkingparks
RewildingVilniusSteward Antakalnis garden wildlife, VilniusSteward Antakalnis garden wildlife, Vilnius Miesto laboratorija stewards outdoor solutions: insect hotels, compost, and rainwater. Help habitat care in the Antakalnis yard. What you can do - Read tvarus sprendimai lauke - Ask about insect hotel or compost workdays - Visit Antakalnio g. 17-13 when a public slot is open How it works Habitat tasks sit in the same yard as the educational garden. Confirm open hours. Why it matters Vilnius keeps insects and rainwater in a yard neighbours can tend.vilniushabitatinsects +1
Starter ideaRewildingPortoGuerrilla Wildflower PlantingTurn grey corners into living colour Scatter native wildflower seeds in neglected urban spaces. Low cost, often legal, and surprisingly fast to bloom. What you can do - Choose native mixes suited to your soil and light - Target tree pits, verge edges, or vacant lots with landowner permission where needed - Document before/after photos and share the mix that worked Why it matters Pollinators get corridors through the city, and residents see that beauty can be a collective act, not a municipal contract.natureurbanquick-start
Join inRewildingPragueCare for Troja garden nature in PragueCare for Troja garden nature in Prague Komunitni zahrada Troja mixes community garden beds with nature contact. Help keep the Troja yard a habitat as well as a harvest. What you can do - Read o-nas - Ask about nature-care or habitat tasks - Visit Na Farkach 124 when members welcome guests How it works Community garden with nature focus. Confirm guest hours with the club. Why it matters Prague Troja keeps soil and wild edges in one neighbour yard.praguegardennature +1
CommunityWarsawPoland national Deposit Return System: launching October 2025Five years of advocacy, one national system After five years of sustained advocacy by the Polish Zero Waste Association, Poland's national Deposit Return System (DRS) is launching on 1 October 2025. The system will apply to beverage containers: bottles, cans, and cartons: across all retail points. For communities and municipalities, the launch creates both infrastructure (return machines, collection logistics) and a cultural shift toward thinking of packaging as something that goes back, not into the bin. What the DRS means for residents - A deposit paid at purchase is refunded when you return the container at a registered return point - Return machines will be installed at supermarkets and retail locations across the country - Manufacturers, retailers, and the state share responsibility under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) How to engage - Polish residents: return your beverage containers from October 2025 at the nearest registered return point: your deposit is waiting - Retailers: follow the official DRS operator guidance on installing return machines in time for the October launch - Municipalities: contact Polish Zero Waste Association for support preparing residents for the DRS launch with education campaigns Why it matters Poland's DRS is proof that persistent, evidence-based advocacy works. After five years, the system is real. It sets a precedent for EPR policy in Poland and demonstrates the path to other advocates working on similar legislation in CEE countries.deposit-returnpackagingpolicy +2
CommunityWarsawBaltic Sea coastal waste standards: building a replication model from UstkaTurning a Baltic port town's waste practices into a national template The Polish Zero Waste Association works with the gmina (municipality) of Ustka on the Baltic Sea coast, focusing on waste management standards suited to coastal environments: fishing debris, tourist-season surges, and marine plastic. The project aims to develop replicable standards for Baltic Sea coastal municipalities that other towns along the coast can adopt without having to start from scratch. What the project involves - Developing waste management standards specifically suited to coastal contexts - Collaboration with Ustka on ghost net management (see linked initiative below) - Knowledge sharing with the Pomeranian Region, which invited the Association to support circular economy models for residents - Documenting what works so that Darłowo, Kołobrzeg, Władysławowo, and other Baltic towns have a ready-made framework How to engage - Ustka and Baltic coast municipalities: contact Polish Zero Waste Association for the coastal waste standards framework - Coastal residents: support local waste sorting programmes, especially for marine debris: separate waste correctly and report illegal dump sites near the shore - Fishing communities: engage with the ghost net collection programme to ensure nets that are no longer in service enter the right waste stream Why it matters Coastal towns face waste spikes tourists never see on the map, fishing debris, ghost nets, and summer-season surges. Ustka's standards give every Baltic municipality a head start instead of reinventing the playbook port by port.coastalcircularstandards +2
SupportRewildingRostockVolunteer with the grey-seal coast team in RostockVolunteer with the grey-seal coast team in Rostock BUND Mecklenburg-Vorpommern trains Robbenschützer from its Rostock team at Hermannstr. 36. After the briefing you join a statewide coast network: keep people and dogs at a calm distance, help with temporary rest fences when officials ask, and report live sightings or strandings to the Deutsches Meeresmuseum. Rangers cover the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft national park; southeast Rügen has its own network. What you can do - Contact the Rostock Robbenteam for the next training - Volunteer on MV coasts after you are briefed; this is regional work, not only a Rostock beach - Use the seal-sponsorship link only as extra support. The builder path is the trained volunteer network How it works Training sits in Rostock. Coast shifts follow grey-seal rest on the Baltic shore. Solarpunker does not assign beaches. Why it matters Grey seals need quiet haul-out space. A trained neighbour on the sand is how busy coasts still leave room for rest.sealcoastvolunteer +1
VolunteerRewildingBernJoin Stadtgrun Bern urban nature careJoin Stadtgrun Bern urban nature care Stadtgrun Bern stewards municipal urban gardens and nature. Ask how residents can join urban nature care. What you can do - Read the Gartennetz Bern partner page - Ask Stadtgrun about volunteer or garden pathways - Visit Ostermundigenstrasse 116 when a public slot is listed How it works Municipal urban gardens. Confirm volunteer entry with Stadtgrun staff. Why it matters Bern keeps city nature under hands that also grow vegetables.bernurbannature +1
VolunteerRewildingAthensCare for Tritsis Park green spaces, AthensCare for Tritsis Park green spaces, Athens Tritsis Park hosts planting, cleaning, and education with Green Freaks and ESC partners. Join green care in Ilion. What you can do - Read the ESC opportunity - Ask about local volunteer planting or cleaning days - Meet at Spirou Moustakli 23 when invited How it works Planting, cleaning, education. Confirm whether the next day is open drop-in or ESC-only. Why it matters Athens gains a large park kept green by neighbour hours.athensparkplanting +1
RewildingAmsterdamRewilding principles: let nature leadEleven shared principles for a wilder Europe Practitioners across Europe co-created a set of rewilding principles that guide landscape recovery: letting natural processes shape land and sea, working at nature's scale, and building hope through action today. What you can do - Read the full Rewilding principles and discuss which apply in your watershed or valley - Start a local conversation: grazing, river dynamics, wetland recovery, or wildlife corridors near you - Share the principles with a land manager, park ranger, or councillor who stewards public green space Core ideas (paraphrased) - Letting nature lead: restored processes (flooding, grazing, predation) reshape places without a fixed end state - Working at nature's scale: enough connected space for species and processes to thrive - Building nature-based economies: livelihoods linked to living ecosystems, not extraction alone Why it matters Rewilding is a builder's invitation: less control, more curiosity, and landscapes where people and wild nature share the future.rewildingprinciplesnatural processes +2
Join inRewildingAmsterdamNatural grazing and the Wildlife Comeback FundRestore herbivore-led landscapes and fund translocations Natural grazing by wild or semi-wild herbivores rebuilds mosaic habitats. The European Wildlife Comeback Fund helps ERN members fund ready-to-go species translocations when permits and feasibility work are complete. What you can do - Learn how grazing shapes grasslands and forests on the natural grazing programme page - If you manage land, explore the Natural Grazing Facility to match herbivore supply and demand across network members - Support or follow comeback projects via the wildlife comeback programme and ERN updates Why it matters Hoofprints and horns are engineers, when grazing returns, flowers, birds, and predators often follow.natural grazingwildlife comebackherbivores +2
RewildingAmsterdamRewild abandoned farmlandLet retired fields become self-willed nature again Across Europe, marginal farmland is being abandoned. WILDCARD measures how natural vegetation recovery on those lands affects soil carbon, biodiversity, and community preferences. What you can do - Explore the abandoned agricultural land research stream - Map retired parcels near your town and ask who owns them, many regions lack a public conversation about wilding vs. development - Join local stakeholder forums where WILDCARD pilots dialogue with residents and decision-makers Why it matters When people leave the plough, wildflowers, scrub, and eventually forest can return, if communities choose patience over sprawl.abandoned landfarmlandsuccession +2
RewildingPhoenixLiving well with returning wildlifePlan for coexistence when carnivores and neighbours share a place Large carnivores and other comeback species need habitat, and communities need practical tools. Rewilding Europe promotes coexistence guides; The Rewilding Institute advocates for protecting keystone predators across connected wildways. What you can do - Read Rewilding Europe's scaling up rewilding section on Living well with wildlife and local adaptation - Learn why carnivores matter for healthy food webs on The Rewilding Institute: Carnivore protection - Host a neighbourhood discussion: livestock protection, crossing structures, and tourism opportunities Why it matters Fear fades when plans exist, coexistence is a craft municipalities and ranchers can learn together.carnivorescoexistencewildlife +2
RewildingPhoenixWildlife corridors and the Mogollon WildwayConnect mountain wildlands from New Mexico to the Grand Canyon The Mogollon Wildway (Wildlife Corridor) vision links forests and rivers along the Mogollon Rim, a continental step toward connected habitat for wolves, bears, and rivers that still run wild. What you can do - Explore the corridor vision on The Mogollon Wildlife Corridor programme page - Support land trusts and advocates working on Spine of the Continent connectivity in your bioregion - Map local barriers (highways, fences, subdivisions) that block wildlife movement near you Why it matters Islands of parkland are not enough, species need room to roam across gradients of elevation and season.wildwaycorridorMogollon Rim +2
VolunteerRewildingBelgradeTara National Park: fog catchers for Pančić's spruceProtecting a living fossil on Europe's last wild mountain Tara National Park won the Green Innovation Leaders 2026 award for conserving the unique Crveni potok peat bog, the only place on Earth where Pančić's spruce (Picea omorika) grows on sphagnum moss rather than rock. Rangers and biologists installed fog catchers to stabilise moisture as drought and heat threaten this relict Balkan forest. What you can do - Visitors: walk marked trails around Mitrovac and Zaovine; follow park guidance and stay on paths in protected reserves - Volunteers and students: contact Nacionalni park Tara about guided visits and conservation programmes - Neighbourhood groups: learn from Tara's fog-catcher pilot as a replicable tool for drought-stressed wetlands How it works Fine mesh nets condense atmospheric moisture into storage basins, supplementing the bog's water budget through dry seasons. The project partners with the University of Belgrade Faculty of Biology under the EU Green Agenda for Serbia initiative. Why it matters Pančić's spruce survived ice ages; climate change is its next test. Tara shows that local stewardship and appropriate technology can buy time for irreplaceable biodiversity.national-parkbiodiversityspruce +2
VolunteerRewildingBonnEmployee-led biodiversity teams at GIZ sitesVoluntary green initiatives on company properties GIZ supports voluntary employee-led initiatives for biodiversity at offices worldwide. By 2025, biodiversity strategies with action plans will cover owned properties in Germany; rented premises are reviewed next. Combined with paper reduction (65% in Germany, 40% abroad) and longer IT device lifecycles with repair and recycling. What you can do - Start a green team at your workplace: bird boxes, native planting, or a compost corner in the staff garden - Facilities staff: audit one outdoor area for pollinator-friendly planting this season - Neighbours of large campuses: propose a joint biodiversity walk with employee volunteers How it works Awareness campaigns and knowledge-sharing connect staff across country offices; local initiatives feed into corporate biodiversity action plans. Why it matters Corporate campuses can be micro-reserves when staff, not only consultants, own the planting plan.biodiversitygreen-teamworkplace +2
LearnRewildingSarajevoSupport Miljacka urban garden NbS, SarajevoSupport Miljacka urban garden NbS, Sarajevo Urban Garden Sarajevo links riverine nature-based solutions with intergenerational planting near the Miljacka. Support NbS garden days when listed. What you can do - Open the Ecodalli NbS page - Ask organisers about the next planting day - Offer help near the Centre for Healthy Ageing when invited How it works Riverine NbS plus garden workshops. Confirm street details with organisers before travel. Why it matters Sarajevo heals a river edge with gardens that also teach neighbours.sarajevonbsriver +1
LearnRewildingJakartaASEAN 3RproMar: Manado coastal waste pilotsReduce land-based plastic before it reaches coral reefs 3RproMar (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to Protect the Marine Environment and Coral Reefs) helps ASEAN states cut plastic leakage. In Manado, Indonesia, near Bunaken National Park, pilots combine community education, reusable-bag campaigns, and improved TPS3R community waste facilities. Lessons exchange across 130,000 km of ASEAN coastline. What you can do - Manado residents: participate in community waste-education sessions and pay local waste-management fees that fund collection - Coastal NGOs: use the Know Waste Knowledge platform for marine-litter toolkits - Divers and fishers: support no-litter norms and reusable utensils in port markets How it works National ministries, city environment offices, and 3RproMar teams co-design separation, collection, and circular-economy pilots; regional workshops spread what works. Why it matters Coral triangles need dry-land fixes, most marine plastic starts on streets and riverbanks.marine-litterASEANManado +2
VolunteerRewildingBarcelonaPlant seagrass meadows with Posidonia volunteersHelp Mediterranean seagrass meadows recover Posidonia oceanica meadows shelter fish nurseries, calm waves, and store carbon along Spanish and Italian coasts. Volunteer planting and monitoring programmes invite residents to restore underwater meadows bay by bay. What you can do - Join GreenLife4Seas citizen science and restoration calls along the Catalan and Apulian coasts - Learn safe planting techniques with local diving clubs and marine biologists - Map meadow edges and report anchor damage to harbour managers How it works Teams coordinate seasonal planting windows when water is clear. Volunteers with snorkel or dive certification plant shoots in marked plots and return to photograph recovery. Why it matters Seagrass meadows are living breakwaters: they protect beaches, feed fisheries, and keep water clear for everyone who swims nearby.seagrassrestorationmediterranean +1
VolunteerRewildingLondonRestore river banks through riparian rewildingLet native plants heal your river corridor Riparian buffers slow floods, filter runoff, and give kingfishers and otters room to return. Catchment trusts across Britain pair landowners with volunteers to fence off banks and plant willow, alder, and wildflowers. What you can do - Find your local Rivers Trust project and sign up for planting days - Adopt a short stretch: remove invasive species, stake saplings, and photograph wildlife returning - Invite neighbours to a walk-and-talk along a restored reach How it works Trust officers match volunteers with farmers and councils. Teams work in wellies for a morning: mulch, plant, and label plots so future stewards know what to protect. Why it matters Healthy river edges cool cities downstream, reduce erosion, and turn muddy banks into corridors children can explore safely.riverriparianrestoration +1
