Keyword Rewilding

Global wildlife experts fight to save Earth's most beloved animals from mass extinction and environmental collapse - armed with a radical new approach to conservation called ‘rewilding’ that aims to restore entire ecosystems from the ground up. In the cloud forests of Rwanda, local wildlife defenders work to protect the iconic mountain gorilla by expanding national park boundaries, while building a sustainable eco-tourism economy with tangible benefits to local communities. Along the Pacific coast of North America, state, federal, and tribal wildlife experts restore the native population of otters as a keystone species, anchoring a thriving kelp forest ecosystem that nourishes over 1,000 different species. But the clock is ticking, as threats to earth's biodiversity loom larger than ever - from climate change warming the oceans past the point of no return, to invasive species altering the biological balance of fragile ecosystems.

Robi Watkinson and Emma Hodson travel across Britain and the Netherlands documenting the story of the rewilding movement from its inception, to the return of the beaver, bison and perhaps one day, the lynx to Britain.

For 12,000 years wolves roamed Scotland. However, over three centuries ago, we exterminated them. This film reveals the rise and fall of the Scottish wolf and explores the question of whether they should be re-introduced. Wolves arrived as the last ice age ended, following the herds of deer and reindeer that crossed a now-lost land bridge from Europe. For thousands of years, wolves and humans shared the landscape as apex predators, with the wolf entering human art, myth and belief. However, farming put wolves and humans on a collision course, and, after centuries of persecution, wolves became extinct in Scotland. Since then, deer numbers have exploded, and many of Scotland’s woodlands have been stripped bare. Some argue for the wolf’s return. Could we, and should we, hear the howl of the wolf once more in the Highlands?

The film accompanies Flo, a young Scot from Glasgow, on an intensely personal journey, as she seeks out examples of nature recovery around Europe. Like many of her generation, Flo is concerned by the state of nature and fearful about an uncertain future. However, during her travels, she discovers places where nature is making a spectacular comeback, breathing life back into the landscape and revitalising human communities. Encouraged by these stories of hope and renewal, she is prompted to wonder: Why Not Scotland?

Three years in the making, this feature-length documentary shines a light on the perilous state of Scotland’s salmon, and tells the compelling story of a fish that once lived in the forest.