"River restoration is essentially a violent act, what we do, but it's because it's undoing a violent act. It's essentially an equal and opposite violent act to what was done to the rivers in the first place."

Rivers are meant to be wild things but we have tamed them out of all recognition in the UK. Our rivers and streams have been straightened, buried underground, encased in concrete and are nothing like their natural incarnations.

But there is a widespread river restoration movement taking hold across the country. In this episode Ben Goldsmith is joined by Mike Blackmore from the Wessex Rivers Trust who is one of the people leading the charge in restoring waterways back to health.

Ben Goldsmith is a British financier and rewilding enthusiast. Join him as he speaks to people from all over the world who champion nature and are helping to restore habitats and wildlife to some of the most nature depleted parts of our planet.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes.

The Conservation Collective support locally-led environmental Foundations around the world. Together we'll protect and restore the wild places we know and love.