Dearest subscribers,
Spring is in the air. The wind and rain may still hide it, but the butterflies, bumblebees, and swelling leaf buds tell a clear story. It also means there is more to discover out there — so if you haven’t gone for a hike yet, plan one when the weather allows it. Just keep in mind: one sunny day won’t dry the muddy paths, so bring proper boots.
As 2026 seems to have started faster than previous years, we wanted to share a short update on one of our flagship projects: Baso Berria.
Baso Berria is currently in its feasibility phase, meaning we are exploring whether this vision can realistically become a project. Because we dream big, this takes research, meetings, persistence, and a lot of determination.
For those who don’t know: Baso Berria is a rewilding vision for the land area between Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Guéthary, stretching inland between Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle and Ahetze, up to Ustaritz, and potentially even Espelette. The area covers over 6,000 hectares, mostly forest and grassland (farms), and already includes two public forests: the Forest of Saint-Pée and the Forest of Ustaritz.
Nature restoration is ultimately about connection and collaboration — which is exactly why this area caught our attention.
Across Western Europe, land has been fragmented for centuries into smaller and smaller parcels. Nature does not care for property lines, but our landscapes are full of artificial boundaries that break ecosystems into isolated pieces. Roads, fences, and land divisions interrupt wildlife movement, water systems, and long-term ecological resilience.
The Basque Country, however, still has two important assets that many other regions have already lost: relatively small-scale farming and, especially on the French side, a landscape that often resembles a classic bocage mosaic — a patchwork of fields, hedgerows, and tree lines. Together, these features mean that the land is not yet fully industrialised or ecologically disconnected. Hedgerows have traditionally been maintained for practical reasons: to reduce erosion, retain water, and shelter livestock. As a fortunate side effect, they also create natural corridors for wildlife and help sustain biodiversity.
The Baso Berria area is not a biodiversity safe haven, but it has real potential. Rewilding here could mean strengthening natural corridors, restoring connections between habitats, improving water retention, and reducing barriers where possible. The goal is not to manage parcels individually, but to take a landscape approach in which natural processes are given more space, while still maintaining the current functionality of the land.
Another reason this area matters is its proximity to the coast. For humans, a connected and wilder inland landscape so close to the most urbanised part of the Basque territory has enormous public value. It could become a place where nature can thrive, where locals can walk, run, cycle and picknick, where children can play and learn outdoors, and where all of us can step out of our daily lives — while also strengthening the region’s resilience against climate pressures such as drought, heat, fire, and flooding.
Over the past weeks, we have started taking the first concrete steps. Since we do not own the land and do not write the law, we began by meeting with the SCoT (Schéma de Cohérence Territoriale), the long-term territorial planning framework that shapes how the Basque Country develops. The recently updated SCoT places stronger emphasis on land sobriety, climate resilience, and renaturation — and our meeting was extremely useful in clarifying whether a project like Baso Berria could fit within this direction.
The next logical step is to present our ideas with the CAPB (Communauté d’Agglomération Pays Basque), which plays a central role in coordinating territorial planning across municipalities. This will help us better understand the institutional landscape before we begin approaching landowners and farmers directly.
And this is where you come in.
If the Baso Berria vision sparks something in you — if you feel that this kind of landscape-scale project is exactly what the Basque Country needs — we would love to hear from you. And especially: if you have connections with local landowners, farmers, associations, or people active in this area, please reach out. Projects like this can only grow through trust, relationships, and collaboration.
We are optimistic by nature, and we know there are many opportunities in this landscape that could benefit all actors — first and foremost landowners and farmers. We are not reinventing the wheel: our aim is to build on proven scientific methods and practical rewilding experience, and to apply them here in a way that fits the local reality.
Thank you for following the journey. More soon.
Joost Hagedoorn
