The Hempel Foundation had been rewilding the Saksfjed Wilderness, an area of former agricultural land, since early 2023. Photo Credit: Henrik Egede-Lassen
Environment DenmarkThis Initiative Is Rewilding Nature to Improve Wildlife Here
Denmark’s new rewilding site, comprising meadows, wetlands, and woodlands, is intended to benefit many wildlife species, and it has become the latest member to join the European Rewilding Network.
“Denmark is a country with some of the lowest levels of wild nature in the world,” explains Anders Holm, CEO of the Hempel Foundation. “The Saksfjed Vildmark [Wilderness in Danish] initiative will help to change that – for the benefit of wildlife and Danish society. “We’re delighted to be joining the network. I believe we can learn a lot from other members, and I look forward to sharing our experience and expertise in return.”
At Saksfjed Vildmark, the Danish philanthropic organization Hempel Foundation works actively to rewild nature through natural processes. Eventually, a wilder area of open grassland with scattered vegetation, open forests, and wetlands will come to be grazed by bovines and wild horses. The 800-hectare site located at the southern tip of the island of Lolland neighbours the Saksfjed-Hyllekrog, one of the largest reserves of the Danish Bird Protection Foundation. Together, they form one of Denmark’s most crucial autumn migration sites for birds of prey, which could become a haven for birds, insects, and a wide range of other wildlife species. Including Saksfjed Vildmark, 92 members of the European Rewilding Network are now across 29 European countries.