Two Years of Rewilding in Saksfjed Wilderness: 10 Things We’ve Learned

By Anders Holm, CEO of the Hempel Foundation

Saksfjed Wilderness – thewilderness.dk, aims to restore new, important nature and at the same time serve as a kind of living laboratory, where we work with researchers and practitioners to develop best practices that can be scaled up and applied elsewhere.

For us, rewilding is the answer. We don’t need to design nature, but rather to make room for its development.

Rewilding is essentially a nature restoration strategy aimed at reestablishing ecosystems by letting nature unfold on its own terms. It involves restoring natural processes, reintroducing key species, and removing as much human control and management as possible.

We are learning every day and are only at the beginning of our own learning journey.

But what have we learned in these two years? What do we want to learn going forward? And where is it taking us? We’ve gathered 10 key lessons:

1. We stand on the shoulders of others, building on the knowledge already generated

We are far from the first to rewild, and so we stand on a strong foundation of existing knowledge. When we started, we reached out to those who had worked in this field before us — to learn from their successes and avoid repeating their mistakes.

Thanks to Knepp Estate for inspiring us to get started, and for teaching us the importance of sharp and engaging communication and involving volunteers.
Thanks to Rewilding Europe for emphasizing the importance of thinking big — in terms of landscapes.

Thanks to the Mols Laboratory for leading the way in Denmark and showing us the importance of research and extensive year-round grazing.

And thanks to everyone else who has shared their experiences with us — fortunately, there are too many across Europe to mention individually here.

2. The same fundamental natural processes are crucial for biodiversity, no matter where in the world

We draw connections to our international work — the natural processes and key species are just as important in Danish nature as they are in East Africa, where the Hempel Foundation also works.

For an ecosystem to be intact, the natural processes and the species that drive them must be present. That includes large herbivores, which leave their marks, spread seeds, and dung. It includes insects that pollinate and break down organic matter. It’s the water that creates habitats, and the trees and shrubs that grow naturally, decay, and create deadwood.

Nature is incredibly complex — but also shares many similarities across continents.

3. Size matters

For rewilding to work, there must be enough space for these natural processes to unfold. Large, connected natural areas allow for more natural dynamics, greater variation, and thus more room for species.

We see this ourselves, and it aligns fully with scientific research: size matters!

4. It’s uplifting how quickly things move when we kickstart natural processes

For me, it’s been a huge eye-opener to see how quickly wild nature and species return when we not only stop plowing fields and cutting down trees, but also establish extensive year-round grazing and re-wet the land.

Rewilding works. When we let nature go, it responds immediately: small flowers like Lousewort (Pedicularis Sylvatica) get space, dung and dung beetles feed birds, and sightings of otters and blue-winged grasshoppers show just how meaningful and important it is to give space back. The species respond!

5. Not all species return on their own — some need a helping hand

Natural processes are heavily regulated in most places in Denmark, and our nature is also highly fragmented. That means populations of animals and plants can’t always recolonize new natural areas like Saksfjed Wilderness.

There are species that should be here, but even after 10 or 20 yearswouldn’t be able to make it on their own. These species can be helped along, and this will be a priority for us going forward. This might include butterfly species, wild plants, or reptiles and amphibians that need a helping hand.

6. The legislation is not designed to bring nature back

Our landscape is governed by a set of laws from another era, when Denmark was primarily a farming nation. Back then, the laws were about securing agriculture and forestry.

These laws do not suit large-scale natural areas — as we see when even protected nature areas with EU designation are required to ensure "dense canopy cover," even when our goal is for more open, wild, untouched forests.
The regulations were made to control farming and forestry— not to set nature free.

Even nature protection laws and conservation orders can be constraining for rewilding projects. In the nearly 40-year-old conservation order that covers Saksfjed Wilderness, large compromises were made to accommodate previous agricultural interests. The conservation was meant to manage farming and forestry and isn’t geared for wild nature and rewilding. The paradox is that everything we’re doing in Saksfjed Wilderness aligns fully with the conservation’s main goal: "to protect birdlife and secure botanical values."

7. There’s a lot we know — but also a lot we don’t. Luckily, we have some of the world’s best researchers

We’ve learned that Denmark fortunately has some of the world’s leading researchers in rewilding and biodiversity, and we work closely with many of them.

In 2024 alone, researchers and students established more than 100 test plots, stations, and transects in Saksfjed Wilderness. Making our land and facilities available for research supports the development of best practices.
We expect to get quite precise answers about the importance of herbivores for biodiversity, the effectiveness of various advanced automated monitoring methods, how best to set targets for nature restoration through rewilding, and what natural herd dynamics in wild horses and cattle mean for habitat development and species migration.

Practice and research must go hand in hand — and we will share and build on this learning at home and abroad.

8. Operational costs are not necessarily a burden — but the scalable business case is challenging

One of the many great things about rewilding is that once natural processes are restored and key species reintroduced — we’re supposed to keep our hands off.

It’s therefore a very cost-effective way to manage nature areas.
Where the previous owner received subsidies to cultivate crops and mow fallow fields, we can — for nearly the same EU support — let nature return and replace large machines with large, living herbivores.

However, scaling this up remains a challenge. Landowners are still largely dependent on public and philanthropic funding for their rewilding efforts.
In the Global South, we see large private investments via carbon credits, which have significantly boosted nature efforts. This hasn’t yet happened in Europe — except in the UK, where legislation already supports nature.

9. Interest is high — but we need to rethink nature communication

We’ve seen that many people are curious about Saksfjed Wilderness – or The Wilderness, as we prefer to call it.

Many follow us on social media, visit TheWilderness.dk, and we host many visits and guided tours in the field: other foundations, schools, associations, citizens, landowners, young people, etc.

We hear that The Wilderness has inspired our visitors to rewild themselves — and we’re glad for that.

We constantly seek new ways to communicate nature in ways that engage and create a connection with species.

We’re curious whether there’s a link between spending time in nature and protecting it — and especially, how we can strengthen that connection.

10. Hope and meaning

A tenth point we may not have learned, but certainly had confirmed — is how much meaning this work brings!

Personally, too. Life has existed on Earth for 3.8 billion years.
But according to WWF’s Living Planet Report, populations of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles have declined by an average of 73% in just 50 years.

Nature can return quickly — when the conditions are right.
For us, it makes great sense to contribute to understanding how to do this in the best and most cost-effective way, while also trying to motivate and engage others to do the same.

We’ve taken the first steps, but we still have a long way to go. We will therefore strengthen our efforts going forward, while continuing to learn and stay curious together with all of you who share this passion and goal.

About Saksfjed Wilderness

Saksfjed Wilderness is an area of over 800 hectares that has, since 2023, been undergoing a transformation from farmland and forestry into a wilderness with open woodlands, flower-rich grasslands, and wet meadows — all through rewilding.

The landscape engineers are the 40 Tauros cattle, 80 Galloway cattle, and 54 Exmoor ponies that roam freely and shape the area.

The site is Natura 2000-protected and has the potential to become one of Denmark’s most unique biodiversity hotspots.

Saksfjed Wilderness is owned by the Danish commercial foundation, the Hempel Foundation.

Learn more at www.thewilderness.dk

Read the full blog series Accelerating Change Together