Ok, so when I am bored I search the web looking for places I might like to rewild. In Europe civilization has had a lot of time to infiltrate the land, but there are still havens of the wild to be found.
I’v always been fascinated by the Pyrenees, the mountain range dividing Spain and France, and in particular the province of Huesca. It is sparsly populated, has abundant flora and fauna and most of it is very inaccsessible, which I count as a pluss!
“Covering a primarily mountainous area of 15,636 km², the province of Huesca has a total population of 218,023, (in 2006), with almost a quarter of its people living in the capital city of Huesca. The low population density, 13.94/km², has meant that Huesca’s lush valleys, rivers, and lofty mountain ranges have remained relatively pristine and unspoiled by progress.”
There are no major population centers nearby, Spain has a strong anarchist movement and the clima is paradisical… What are we waiting for?
How about the Scandinavian countries? Sweden Finland Norway Lapland. Plenty of room there. perhaps a bit cold during winter? I like the climate a lot , but i can imagine some don’t.
Yeah here in Norway only 7% of the country is populated and living of the land would be easy, however I kinda think the climate will be somewhat screwed up the next thousand years:-/ Would suck for my descendants to have to undertake a perilous journey to flee from the glaciers
I think scandinavia is fantastic. plenty of room especially to the north. I want to stay here. not go south or even to america like some people.
the cold is not really a problem. it is just a question of adapting.
about the future i dont think we can say so much + fleeing from/adapting to a even colder climate sounds like a great adventure!
Yes, rewilding in the city will pretty much HAVE to happen for many people. I for one want as much distance between me and any population centers as possible.
I will wind up here in Norway in the end anyways, this is after all the land that shaped me. Probably somewhere with mountains, and lakes full of trout. A secluded place, with stable climate, sheltered from wind, a place where I can transform the land around me into a garden of Eden, an abundant food forest for the benefit of me and all the animals and plants who share the land with me.
I will plant trees and brushes and herbs, I will build beds for different mushrooms, I will set up beehives, introduce rabbits and hares and foxes if there are none there from the start, and in the winter I will lay out hay for the deer if the cold is strong. I will tend the lakes, making sure the fish can grow to a good size. I will introduce grouse and wood pigeons, maybe wild boar too. In short, I wish to build the kind of ecosystem that existed everywhere here in Norway a few thousand years ago!
As I see it, this kind of living is the reason Man exists: To tend the wild, to be a gardener of forests.
If this sounds like a good way too live to you, then you are welcome to come and share the work, and the abundance, with me:)
I think the current consensus about climate change in Europe is that the south will pretty much dry up. So the norther you are, the better for you, especially considering the huge masses of climate refugees from the south. Areas that are secluded today (like the Pyrenees) might not be that in 10-50 years from now.
Hmm thats kinda cool, might lead to some great forests here up north! There’s a national park 7 hours drive from where I live, it strecthes for miles going over the border to Sweden. Will spend some time there this sommer, never been there before so it will be nice, I’m more used to coastal areas so going to the high mountains will be a total change of habitat. There’s bears and lynx and wolverines and occasionally packs of wolves around, hope I’l get to see some of them!
Norwegian side:
Swedish side:
The combined area is 5700 square kilometer of protected wilderness, the largest wild area in Europe. The area has the record for plant diversity of all norwegian and swedish national parks. I can’t wait to go there! If it’s as nice as I think it is I will check the possibilites of bying some land bordering the national park, that would pretty much ensure my future!
“Another point of interest is that the Swedish center of inaccessibility (i.e. the point where one is at a maximum distance from civilization) lies in Padjelanta.”
