in nature, nothing is perfect
and everything is perfect
ALICE WALKER
What is REWILDING?
Well, that depends on who you ask. The word has several meanings: sometimes it's used to describe the process of reintroducing native species of plants or animals to a particular place, from where they may have previously been eradicated; sometimes rewilding is used to describe the process of humans reconnecting with small-scale, bioregionally-specific, regenerative ways of living on a personal level. The term is being contemporarily defined, and re-defined, in an ongoing process by conservationists, naturalists, educators, activists and others around the world. If rewilding is not fully the process of undoing and reversing industrial domestication, then it is at least, basically, a process of reconnecting with nature-based life-ways. Fundamentally and ecologically, rewilding is the process of encouraging, allowing or otherwise assisting natural regenerative growth patterns on the land. On a personal level, rewinding could be defined as the process of reconnecting with more natural and unbridled ways of being alive.
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Regardless of the definition of the word, there is fathomless wisdom in our species' wild, expansive ancestry, and in the act of trusting the power of natural systems on planet Earth to sustain thriving life. Modernity, certainly, has made considerable developments in attempts to streamline specific systems, and yet, ultimately, evolution's wisdom is made evident by the unchanging utility of wildness: even now, cutting-edge theories like permaculture, unschooling and biodynamics attempt to steer us back to nature. Rewilding, then, may be understood as the process of making humans, or land, more wild; and also as an umbrella term covering other place-based movements.
Rewilding must always be, in part, a process of reconnecting to each other. Humans are social animals, unlike moose (or tigers or orangutans, etc.) All of our youth and adult programs are designed to create a container in which relationship an d community can safely grow among participants. Our classes and workshops are purposefully informal and egalitarian; our focus is to facilitate collective educational praxis in order to work together, support each other and deepen connections. The ideal instructor is a knowledgable and patient guide, not a bully or a pedant. We believe that removing invasive species, planting native plants, facilitating place-based craft classes, food-systems and earth-focused workshops, skill-shares, regenerative foraging, making useful things, and practicing open and honest communication may synthesize rewilding into some practical action. Even if that just means making a new friend.
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Rewild Maine is an educational 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Portland, Maine.
Our organization was originally inspired by, but is not officially affiliated with, Rewild Portland.
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regarding cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation is generally understood to be an unacknowledged, inappropriate or otherwise exploitative extraction of artifacts or skills, from a victimized people by members of a colonizing force. As a term, it is alternatively defined by different people and may be challenging to collectively understand.
Cultural exchange, by contrast, may be defined as any form of trade or sharing of practices or artifacts between members of disparate groups that does not result in exploitation. This interchange between peoples has allowed for the spread of various tools and skills around the world. Exchange between societies has existed in some form, to an extent, among various groups of humans for at least 295,000 years.
The reality is that colonization has been the vehicle used to spread industrial civilization since its inception, more than 12,000 years ago. Colonialism has been extremely harmful in many ways, and some utilitarians could agree that it'd be better if industrial civilization had never happened.
But, of course, colonization by civilization has happened. And, here we all are. The youth of today have spent the past several years of their lives, or more, online. Anxiety, depression, violence and judgment abound. We all need to do whatever we can to support each other, stop the harmful behavior where we can, teach peace, and try our best to improve the world. Regardless of what we believe.
We need to encourage ourselves, and each other, and every living person, to work towards growth and regeneration; to walk humbly with the rhythms of the world. We need to learn and teach each other how to be a part of this world without requiring the destruction of everything. We need to remember, and revitalize, those ways of living that do not require exploitation.
To continue to learn and grow, as we have for hundreds of thousands of years, we will invariably need to engage in some forms of cultural exchange.
W​e acknowledge the land, the history, the stories of the world, and the context we find ourselves in. We do not teach any specific cultural ceremonies, songs, stories, or traditions. We are most excited about skills that are present around the world throughout the historic and prehistoric record, and may be considered universal, like fire-making, basketry, and food. That said, we also do not endorse any racialized or identity-based exclusions or distinctions between those who may or may not practice the small-scale, place-based living skills that we teach in our classes and workshops.
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We cannot, nor should we, all go back where we come from. We can't un-eat the apple.
We need to connect, regeneratively, to the places we inhabit, and with the people around us,
in order to grow resilience and heal.
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We all - each of us, everybody, every one, regardless of our identity -
need to remember this stuff,
with humility, and gratitude,
again and again and again.
