Closer to Nature Rödån

Where Nature, Rewilding, and Local Engagement Meet

Closer to Nature Rödån

Where Nature, Rewilding, and Local Engagement Meet

Background to the initiative

Closer to Nature Rödåbygden is a locally rooted initiative in which we explore how ecological restoration, nature experiences, and local participation can strengthen one another. In the Rödån catchment, we aim to develop an approach where rewilding not only strengthens nature’s own processes, but also brings people closer to the landscape.

Through rewilding camps, guide development, support for local nature-based initiatives, and collaboration with landowners, associations, businesses, and other local actors, we want to make rewilding something people can experience, take part in, and build on together. The goal is to contribute to richer biodiversity, new livelihood opportunities, and more resilient local communities over time, while developing a model that works in Rödåbygden and can, in the long term, inspire more landscapes in Sweden.

Funding: Enetjärn Nature Foundation (ENF)

Partner organisations: SLU Centre for Nature Interpretation, Tavelsjö and Rödåbygden Development.

Experience rewilding up close

Our rewilding camps bring people together around practical ecological restoration work, outdoor life, and shared learning in the landscapes of northern Sweden. The camps combine concrete restoration efforts with guided experiences, dialogue, contact with nature, and community around the fire.

Whether you are curious about rewilding, work with people and nature, or simply want to experience new ways of encountering landscapes, nature, and community, the camps are open, inclusive, and closely connected to real rewilding work.

Contact us!Explore upcoming camps

Amanda Lund
Coordinator, Nature for People

The Initiative

The challenge

When habitats are degraded, rivers are affected, and natural processes are pushed aside, biodiversity is weakened. At the same time, there are often few clear pathways for people to become involved in restoring nature. As a result, nature conservation can risk being seen as something that happens alongside the local community, rather than something shaped together with those who live, work, and spend their everyday lives in the landscape.

Important restoration efforts are already underway in Rödåbygden. The next step is to strengthen the connection between nature’s recovery and people’s engagement, knowledge, and opportunities. For restoration to have lasting impact, more people need to understand what is happening, experience the change on site, and feel that they themselves can be part of the work.

The solution

Closer to Nature Rödåbygden tests a model in which restoration, local participation, and access to nature strengthen one another. When people develop a closer relationship with the landscape, their engagement in caring for it also grows.

And when restoration becomes visible, accessible, and relevant to more people, it can create values that are felt both in nature and in the local community.

The initiative is therefore built on several connected parts. Rewilding the landscape is the foundation, but the work also includes rewilding camps, place-based nature experiences, support for guides and local initiatives, and partnerships that allow the work to continue locally. In this way, we aim to contribute to richer nature, greater participation, and more nature-based opportunities in Rödåbygden.

Step 1: Restoration as the foundation

The work starts from ongoing and planned restoration in the Rödån catchment. When natural processes are given more space, the conditions for a more living landscape are strengthened.

Closer to Nature Rödåbygden does not replace the ecological rewilding work, but builds on it by creating forms of participation, learning, and local anchoring around the work.

Step 2: Rewilding camps close to nature

Through rewilding camps and other place-based activities, participants experience the landscape up close. This may involve hiking, exploring rivers, understanding the rewilding work, and encountering nature together with others.

The camps are a way to make rewilding tangible, engaging, and relevant for both residents and visitors.

Step 3: Guides, initiatives, and local value creation

We want to support local nature-based initiatives and create conditions for more people to contribute knowledge, hospitality, and experiences linked to a living landscape.

Through guide development, networks, and local collaboration, guides, associations, and small businesses can become an active part of the work while also strengthening the attractiveness of the place.

Step 4: Partnerships and local capacity

An important part of the initiative is building relationships between landowners, associations, local businesses, guides, and municipal actors.

Through dialogue, workshops, and joint development, we aim to create a locally rooted structure that can carry the work forward over time. In the long term, the goal is for rewilding in Rödåbygden to become something people actively seek out and feel part of.