We Now Walk Into the Wild: A Rewilding Dialogue

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a dialogue on the meaning and uses of rewilding, with a focus on Britain, from the perspectives of an ecologist and human geographer. Inspired by Barry and Maslin's (2016) dialogue on geoscientific and political conceptions of the Anthropocene, this dialogue does not seek a universal definition, but to deliberate on interdisciplinary approaches to ecology and wilderness. In the context of rising land use tensions in Britain, the dialogue traverses the concepts of historical baselines, experimental conservation, resilience, cultural understandings and autonomy. Amongst the differences in approach and research interests, the discussion on environmental discourse emphasises the imperative for interdisciplinary collaboration in approaching the question of rewilding.