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WILDLIFE RETURN TO RESTORED LAND
Australian couple bought a cattle farm and planted 34,000 trees. Years later, koalas and wildlife are returningIn 2020, Australian couple Brett and Lisa Vercoe bought a 30-hectare former cattle property near Coffs Harbour in New South Wales and began...
In 1970s, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin & his wife Paula bought barren land in Hawaii and turned it into 19-acre forest with 3,000+ palmsW.S. Merwin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, transformed a barren plot of land in Hawaii into a thriving palm sanctuary. Initially focused o...
In the 1990s, Disney bought 8,500 acres of Florida ranchland slated for commercial projects; decades later, it forms the core of an 11,500-acre wildlife preserveThe Walt Disney Company's generous donation successfully halted the development of Walker Ranch, transforming it into the Disney Wilderness...
For years, a Florida family used their 24,300 acres of land for hunting. In 1989, their decision to part with the ranchland helped save one of America's rarest big catsOnce the prominent Collier family, the biggest private landowners in Florida, used their vast acres of land for hunting and sport. However,...
In 1993, Louis Bacon bought a mostly undeveloped New York island; four years later, he protected nearly 90% of its 450 acresIn 1993, Louis Bacon acquired Robins Island, an exceptionally pristine marine island. He subsequently enacted a conservation easement that ...
A UK tenant farmer made environmental changes years ago. In 2024, she helped create England's largest temperate rainforest nature reserveIn a remarkable ecological achievement, Borrowdale, Cumbria, is now home to England's largest temperate rainforest reserve. This initiative...
Five generations of one Texas family cared for 1,029 acres of land. In 2005, they handed hundreds of acres over to wildlife instead of developers for protection of 2 species of America's rarest birdsA Texas family chose conservation over development, helping protect 1,029 acres of land cared for by five generations. The Trust for Public...
In 1998, over 1,000 truckloads of orange peels were dumped in a barren Costa Rica pasture, 15 years later it turned into a dense forestIn a groundbreaking initiative in Costa Rica, researchers turned orange waste into a remarkable tool for land restoration. This organic byp...
In 2014, California buried an abandoned airfield under 5.8 million cubic yards of harbor mud, then opened 998 acres to the tidesOnce serving as a military airfield, a site in Marin County, California, has evolved into a vibrant wetland. Engineers meticulously utilize...
A Massachusetts turtle vanished for 10 years after its 2011 release, then returned as an adult to the same wild habitat; 15 years later, two of its captive-raised offspring were released there to continue the storyA Blanding’s turtle vanished into the wild for more than a decade. Ivy was released in Massachusetts in 2011 after being raised at Stone Zo...
In 1992, Congress backed a plan to dechannelize Florida's Kissimmee River and restore its watershed. 28 years later, the project had restored 19 of 44 river miles and 6,500 acres of floodplain wetlands, with wildlife returningFlorida's Kissimmee River underwent a significant restoration after decades of channelization. This project aimed to revive its natural flo...
In 1988, English farmer stopped cultivating his entire 377-acre wheat farm; 35 years later, it became one of central England’s biggest refuges for scrub, woodland and rare wildlifeNearly 40 years ago, an English farmer made the decision to stop intensive wheat farming, paving the way for the Strawberry Hill nature res...
A Florida couple bought a 45-acre swamp to save it from development; 15 years later, 275 wood storks were nesting there in a thriving wildlife havenA Florida couple purchased a cypress swamp to protect its wildlife habitat. They actively managed the land, creating a thriving sanctuary f...
Tech billionaires Jack and Laura Dangermond donated $165 million to protect a stunning 24,000-acre stretch of California coastline visible from spaceJack and Laura Dangermond have made a monumental donation of $165 million to The Nature Conservancy, ensuring the permanent protection of t...
In 1903, Paul Kroegel patrolled a tiny Florida island by boat to save its Pelicans; President Roosevelt turned it into America’s first wildlife refugeIn Florida's Indian River Lagoon, Paul Kroegel took a stand against market hunters targeting nesting birds. His relentless advocacy caught ...
Since 2016, the Netherlands has used 37.2 million tonnes of lakebed sediment to build seven wildlife islands covering 1,300 hectaresIn the Markermeer region of the Netherlands, innovative artificial islands have been crafted using dredged materials from the lakebed. The ...
In 2015, Indonesia's devastating El Niño fires burned 2.6 million hectares and sent toxic haze across Southeast Asia. 11 years later, restoration efforts had helped cut burned peatland area by 70% in 2023 compared with 2019, showing the value of rewettingIndonesia is facing renewed wildfire concerns as a strong El Niño brings the prospect of reduced rainfall in 2026. The country’s devastatin...
In 2001, a scientist began rebuilding a rainforest on about 5,000 acres of burned Borneo grassland; the restored habitat became a refuge for orangutansA Dutch researcher regrew a rainforest on 5,000 acres of scorched land in Borneo. Willie Smits began restoring degraded land near Samboja i...
In the 1800s, Americans planted tamarisk for windbreaks and erosion control; by 2005, the tree had spread across western river systems and become a major management concernTamarisk was originally brought in for various practical applications, but it has since proliferated across western waterways. This invasiv...
Louisiana's decades-old Christmas tree recycling program is quietly helping restore thousands of acres of wetlandsDiscarded Christmas trees are now rebuilding Louisiana's eroding coastlines. These trees are bundled and flown by helicopter into fragile m...