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Rewilding takes root
Resorts are taking “rewilding” — the rehabilitation of natural ecosystems — further, making extensive efforts to bring back native plants and animals to their properties and winning praise from guests and ecologists.
Maine’s Inn by the Sea, similar to other resorts of its caliber, offers plenty of amenities that most luxury travelers might deem standard: an expansive pool, a full-service spa and an upscale restaurant.
But one far less conventional element that sets the Inn by the Sea apart from its comp set is its “rabbitat.”
The rabbitat — a portmanteau of “rabbit” and “habitat” — is part of the Inn by the Sea’s decadeslong effort to restore several acres of surrounding landscape, which overlaps with Cape Elizabeth’s Crescent Beach State Park and comprises a mix of wetlands, sandy dunes, wooded areas and meadow. Among the chief benefits of this ongoing restoration project, known as a “rewilding,” has been a return of the area’s highly endangered New England cottontail rabbit.
“They’re very shy, these bunnies, and they only come out at dawn and dusk,” said Rauni Kew, public relations and green program manager for the Inn by the Sea, which is part of Preferred Travel Group’s Beyond Green network of sustainability-minded properties. “But we do go into the woods after a snowfall and pick up bunny scat, and we can tell that the bunnies seem to be doing really well. There are more than anticipated.”
A sign near the Inn by the Sea alerts visitors to the property’s native habitat restoration area, which it has dubbed its “rabbitat.” (Courtesy of Inn By The Sea)
A sign near the Inn by the Sea alerts visitors to the property’s native habitat restoration area, which it has dubbed its “rabbitat.” (Courtesy of Inn By The Sea)
Creating a more rabbit-friendly environment, however, has been far from easy. In collaboration with Maine’s Department of Conservation and other state agencies, the Inn by the Sea has helped spearhead the reintroduction of native plants like milkweed, goldenrod and a wild rose variety known as Rosa virginiana. But the property has simultaneously had to combat a proliferation of Japanese knotweed, an invasive and extraordinarily hardy perennial that has a reputation for crowding out other plants and negatively impacting local biodiversity.
Most recently, the Inn by the Sea has gained an upper hand against the knotweed through a state program that enables the property to “borrow” and care for a herd of goats. The goats, according to Kew, feast on the invasive species, giving native plants room to thrive.
The Inn by the Sea’s goats make quick work of Japanese knotweed, an invasive species of plant that pushes out native varieties. (Courtesy of Inn By The Sea)
The Inn by the Sea’s goats make quick work of Japanese knotweed, an invasive species of plant that pushes out native varieties. (Courtesy of Inn By The Sea)
As an added bonus, the herd’s baby goats are brought in as guests of honor during the property’s general manager-hosted cocktail receptions, when guests are given the chance to interact with the kids.
“The goats become conversation starters,” Kew said. “It opens up the conversation to rewilding, the importance of biodiversity in a healthy coastal ecosystem and the threat of invasive plants. It’s about education, inspiration and fun all at the same time.”
An aerial view of Maine’s Inn by the Sea, which overlaps with Cape Elizabeth’s Crescent Beach State Park. (Courtesy of Inn By The Sea)
An aerial view of Maine’s Inn by the Sea, which overlaps with Cape Elizabeth’s Crescent Beach State Park. (Courtesy of Inn By The Sea)
Rewilding’s growth spurt
The concept of rewilding, or the rehabilitation of natural ecosystems, isn’t new. But according to Nina Boys, vice president of sustainability for Beyond Green, the practice has become more prominent across travel and hospitality in recent years.
“It’s certainly coming more to the forefront,” Boys said. “Historically, [rewilding projects have] been clustered where a tourism product or destination is really reliant on the health of its ecosystem for the guest experience, like with African safaris, for example. But we’re seeing it spreading across different geographical realms.”
That includes Europe. Laurien Holtjer, head of communications for the nonprofit Rewilding Europe, has seen various countries on the Continent take a renewed interest in rewilding, with a more balanced ecosystem seen as one way to enhance a destination’s appeal. She cited the example of the Greater Coa Valley, an under-the-radar area of northern Portugal where Rewilding Europe’s work with community partners has created a nearly 300,000-acre wildlife corridor and helped boost the destination’s profile as a nature-focused tourist attraction.
“Rewilding is growing and becoming more popular,” Holtjer said. “I think a few years ago, we hit a kind of tipping point. And I think the reason for that is a lot of nature conservation messages are focused on some sort of doom and gloom. But rewilding offers a sense of hope and empowerment.”
Beyond Green’s Boys added, however, that when it comes to nature conservation methods, rewilding can be an especially time- and resource-intensive approach.
“When we say rewilding, that can mean efforts to minimize and remove invasive species, restore ecosystems with native flora and fauna and really holistically promote the health of an ecosystem overall,” she said. “These efforts can be very expensive and may require extensive work across large swaths of land. But travel companies and hotels can also have the funds to help make sure that this work is taking place.”
Guests on a biking safari in the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, which is also home to the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club. (Courtesy of Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club)
Guests on a biking safari in the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, which is also home to the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club. (Courtesy of Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club)
Bringing back the mountain bongo
Since June 2022, the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, which sits within the 1,000-plus-acre Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy nature reserve in Nanyuki, has stepped up its sustainability focus, working in tandem with the conservancy to funnel more guest interest — and more guest dollars — toward rewilding.
“When we reopened after the pandemic, we started having more discussions about how we could go further and support the conservancy, the wildlife and the community,” said Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club general manager Veronique Delattre, adding that the property charges a $20 conservation fee per stay.
Although the conservancy’s land is home to a variety of wildlife, it has made it a priority to breed and rewild the mountain bongo, a critically endangered, forest-dwelling antelope. The mountain bongo breeding program, launched by the organization in 2004, began with the repatriation of a handful of bongos from U.S. zoos. Today, the conservancy expects to have successfully rewilded around 50 mountain bongos by 2025 in what is now a dedicated sanctuary for the animals.
A mountain bongo at the Fairmont Kenya Safari Club’s Animal Orphanage. (Courtesy of Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club)
A mountain bongo at the Fairmont Kenya Safari Club’s Animal Orphanage. (Courtesy of Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club)
The conservancy has also focused on planting Prunus africana (African cherry) and other tree species that mountain bongos find especially delicious.
To fuel guest curiosity, the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club encourages visitors to take safari tours of the surrounding reserve via bike or horseback, which unlike motor vehicles, “don’t over-stress the animals,” Delattre said. Guests can also purchase tickets to visit the property’s Animal Orphanage, which is home to animals that are either injured, too young to be rewilded or otherwise require extra attention. Proceeds from the ticket sales go toward orphanage operations and other conservation initiatives.
“To run our facilities, including the bongo program, requires about $1 million every year,” said Dr. Robert Aruho, head of the conservancy. “It’s a big financial budget. And that’s why the presence of the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club is so important, because by the time guests leave, they really see themselves as conservation partners with us.”
Giving guests a behind-the-scenes look is also a part of the playbook at the Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo, which opened in 2022 and is nestled within more than 3,000 acres of nature reserve on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
Resident biologist Francisco “Paco” Javier Leon Gonzalez helps oversee the reserve’s reforestation initiatives, which include the germination and planting of several endangered species of palm tree. According to Gonzalez, it can take around two years for a single palm to grow large enough to rewild.
“It’s a huge effort and time investment,” Gonzalez said.
That investment, however, is paying off, as a growing number of guests are expressing interest in joining Gonzalez on his nature Discovery Walks, which are complimentary and offered daily. In early 2023, the property also launched a Night Safari experience, giving guests the opportunity to get up close and personal with the reserve’s nighttime wildlife.
Guests at the Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo join a nature Discovery Walk. (Courtesy of Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo)
Guests at the Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo join a nature Discovery Walk. (Courtesy of Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo)
“One of the things we decided to do when it comes to activities is not put focus on the adventure [side of things], which many, many places already do,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve decided to focus on nature, how to appreciate it, how to enjoy it and how to protect it.”
In Rajasthan, India, the Six Senses Fort Barwara is similarly hoping to put its natural surroundings at the center of the guest experience. Opened in 2021, the property, which is housed within a walled fort, is still in the early stages of rewilding the relatively barren landscape just beyond its walls, which has suffered from long-term groundwater depletion.
Siddharth Chakravarty, director of sustainability at the Six Senses Fort Barwara, is leading the charge, which thus far has involved the creation of an irrigation network that will eventually be powered by solar pumps. The next stage involves the reintroduction of trees and other vegetation, including a flowering tree locally known as khejri (Prosopis cineraria) and another varietal known as babul (Acacia nilotica). Once completed, they hope this phase is followed by the return of native animals like leopards, foxes and civets.
Chakravarty, who helps lead a sustainability walk for guests three times a week, has seen guest interest in the property’s rewilding efforts increase over the past year. In November alone, he said, 665 Six Senses Fort Barwara guests opted to join the walk.
“We get bombarded with questions,” said Chakravarty, adding that he’s in the process of prepping colleagues to be better able to field guest queries related to rewilding and sustainability.
A sloth spotted near Costa Rica’s Nayara Tented Camp. (Courtesy of Nayara Tented Camp)
A sloth spotted near Costa Rica’s Nayara Tented Camp. (Courtesy of Nayara Tented Camp)
Bringing back the rainforest
Few luxury properties, however, have embarked on quite as extensive a rewilding project as Costa Rica’s Nayara Tented Camp, which is part of the Nayara Resorts portfolio. The brainchild of Nayara Resorts owner Leo Ghitis, the Nayara Tented Camp is located mountainside, overlooking Arenal Volcano National Park.
While photos on the property’s website show treehouse-like tented accommodations surrounded by lush rainforest, that level of greenery wasn’t always present. When Ghitis acquired the land roughly eight years ago, it was practically devoid of wildlife.
“The mountain had once been rainforest, but it had been decimated by cattle ranchers and dairy [production],” Ghitis said. “There was nothing. You wouldn’t see a bird or a butterfly.”
Bringing back an entire swath of rainforest after years of topsoil erosion was no easy feat.
“We had no idea what we were getting into,” Ghitis said. “You can easily buy all the ornamental trees or all the fruit trees you want, but to find the trees that grow in rainforests is particularly challenging. We actually failed with our reforestation for the first few years.”
In the end, the Nayara team achieved success by bringing in thousands of boulders to combat soil erosion and planting more than 30,000 trees, including trees relocated from other Nayara Resorts locations, over the past six years. The property made its official debut in late 2019.
The reforested mountain terrain that surrounds the Nayara Tented Camp. (Courtesy of Nayara Tented Camp)
The reforested mountain terrain that surrounds the Nayara Tented Camp. (Courtesy of Nayara Tented Camp)
“What we have now is not a mature rainforest by any stretch of the imagination, but the wildlife has come back,” Ghitis said. “We now have birds and butterflies, and even sloths and monkeys. And it didn’t take that long for them to come back. So that’s something that’s incredibly rewarding and makes me very optimistic about the future.”
Also rewarding, added Ghitis, is that many guests cite the rewilding project as one of their top reasons for wanting to visit the Nayara Tented Camp.
“We’re small, and we can’t change the world on our own,” he said. “But our hope is that if people read about the things that we’ve done, other hoteliers or owners will want to do the same. The new generation cares about sustainability. So even if it’s not a passion project for them, it’s good for business.”
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