There was a time—not too long ago—when we didn’t need to “go into nature.” We were part of it. Our daily lives, rituals, and routines were woven with its rhythms. But today, for many of us, nature has become a destination rather than a relationship. Rewilding isn’t just about restoring forests—it’s about restoring our lost connection with the wild, both outside and within.
What Is Rewilding, Really?
Most definitions of rewilding focus on land: letting landscapes regenerate, reintroducing native species, and reducing human interference. But there’s another dimension to it—the personal. What if we rewilded our minds, senses, and habits to be in tune with nature again?
For me, rewilding began with silence. After a particularly stressful season, I spent a week in a forest rest house near Chakrata. There was no signal, no electricity—just tall deodars and time. By Day 3, my senses began to shift. I noticed spider webs trembling with dew, heard the faint tapping of woodpeckers, and felt time slow down. The forest wasn’t healing—it simply reminded me of what I’d forgotten.
Modern Life Has Domesticated Us
We’ve become disconnected not just from nature, but from our own intuition. We wake with alarms instead of birdsong. We scroll before we stretch. We walk with earbuds instead of attention. In trying to control nature, we’ve alienated ourselves from it—and from ourselves.
In Uttarakhand, elders still speak of “jangli gyaan”—a kind of wild knowledge. It’s not learned from books, but from the wind, soil, and stars. They know when rain is coming by the shape of clouds, when the bees are about to swarm, when a tree is ready to fall. Rewilding means listening to that wisdom again.
How You Can Begin
- Take regular tech-free walks in local green spaces.
- Grow a native plant on your windowsill.
- Learn to identify 5 birds or insects in your area.
- Read naturalist works like those of Dr. Salim Ali.
- Lie under the stars and relearn your place in the sky.
Rewilding doesn’t mean escaping modern life—it means grounding it. Even a rooftop garden, if nurtured with attention, can become your forest temple.
From Visitors to Participants
Our planet doesn’t need more visitors to nature. It needs participants. People who observe, protect, grow, and repair. People who remember that we are not separate from the wild—we are wild. We’ve just forgotten.
The hummingbird in our logo isn’t just symbolic. It reminds me to stay curious, light, and in constant motion with the natural world. Rewilding, too, is that kind of dance—subtle but powerful.
Suggested Read: The Green Women of Uttarakhand
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