The European Rewilding Awards celebrate some of the best rewilding-related images from across Europe. This year’s winning photo, taken by Swedish photographer Staffan Widstrand, highlights the importance of restoring natural processes and predator-prey dynamics.
Staffan Widstrand
Award-winning works
Rewilding Europe is pleased to announce, European Renaissance Award At this year’s ceremony European Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition has been selected. The stunning winning photo – titled ‘Iberian Lynx’ – was taken by Swedish photographer Staffan Widstrand. It charts the resurgence of one of Europe’s most iconic predators in its natural habitat, highlighting the importance of restoring natural processes and predator-prey dynamics in rewilding.
The European Rewilding Prize celebrates powerful images of the restoration of wild nature in Europe through rewilding. Launching in 2022. The Awards are a great way to connect people with nature and promote the achievements and wider benefits of humanity. The booming European rewilding movement.
Perfect wild snap
European Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition is presented by german nature photography association (GDT). Staffan Widstrand’s winning photo was selected from a range of entries by a jury including Rewilding Europe Director of Engagement and Public Relations Laurien Holtjer and renowned wildlife photographer Neil Aldridge. The panel also includes all members of the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year jury: Alexa Keefe, senior photo editor at National Geographic, wildlife photographer and podcaster Matt Malanocean photographer Rachel TalibatGDT Chairman Stephan Fürnrohr and conservation photojournalist Marcus Westerberg.
“Staffan’s photos perfectly capture the magic of rewilding,” said Laurien Holtjer. “His image is about more than just the beauty of bobcats. It’s about restoring the health and function of nature, and the broader benefits of restoring species that help shape the environment around them.”
healing water
This year’s European Rewilding Awards also highlight the importance of healthy river systems and ocean restoration. The second prize was awarded to the Austrian photographer Bernhard Schubert For his image”Hu Chen Habitat,” vividly illustrates how rewilding efforts can breathe new life into river ecosystems. Healthy, free-flowing rivers are vibrant corridors of life, demonstrating the importance that natural processes can and should play in shaping our landscapes effect.
Bernhard Schubert
British photographer’s acclaimed work “Seeds of Hope” Lewis Jeffries Capturing underwater seagrass meadow regeneration efforts. His photos illustrate the role of seagrass beds as critical habitat that supports marine biodiversity, captures and stores carbon, and improves water quality. While rewilding emphasizes natural regeneration, Lewis’s images show that initial intervention is sometimes needed to initiate the restoration of important ecosystems, laying the foundation for nature to flourish independently.
Lewis Jeffries
Acclaimed photo “Hope for the future of our rivers” by Dutch photographer Arthur de BruyneDepicts the release of juvenile European sturgeon in the Rhine River. Several species of sturgeon once thrived in European rivers, helping to maintain the health of aquatic ecosystems. Reintroduction of sturgeon to European waterways reflects Broader revitalization of rivers Across the continent.
Arthur de Bruyne
Promote natural grazing
The restoration of natural processes also provided the backdrop for the German photographer’s acclaimed photo “Kings of the East” Florian Smit. Florian’s photo celebrates a majestic European bison in Poland’s Bialowieza National Park extraordinary return This iconic cornerstone species in Europe, which is supported by ongoing rewilding efforts in many countries, including several European rewilding organizations Rebuilding the landscape. Reintroducing these large herbivores can promote the restoration of essential ecological processes and can support the development of nature-based economies.
Florian Smit
Connecting people to wild Europe
The annual European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition showcases the best nature photography from Europe and around the world. Today, the Rewilding Europe Prize is part of a competition that promotes photography that goes beyond aesthetics and champions the Rewilding movement’s European vision, in which people and nature thrive together. It celebrates photographers who capture not just stunning wildlife, but the wildlife stories behind them. As people and organizations across Europe work together to make Europe wilder, promoting these stories of recovery, resilience and reconnection can help inspire further efforts.
“The European Rewilding Award is more than just a photography award,” explains Laurien Holtjer. “It’s a way to connect people to the rewilding movement and support the expansion of actual rewilding. These images show us what’s possible when we take action to restore nature, and then let nature take the lead in managing itself. They demonstrate The resilience of our wild spaces and a call to action to create a wilder, healthier future.”
Promote rewilding to a wider audience
The main entries for this year’s European Rewilding Awards will be awarded at the 2024 European Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards. The event will take place during the GDT International Nature Photography Festival in the German town of Lünen from October 25th to 27th. The first and second prize winners will receive €1,000 and €500 respectively, and their works will be displayed in an exhibition that will tour Germany and Europe over the next three years.
