Across Europe, rivers are being unleashed. In the Vindel River catchment, the Rewilding Sweden team oversaw the removal of three dams, restoring 102 kilometers of free-flowing water — part of a wider push that has taken down seven dams so far, with more to come.

Nature is responding quickly: crews have returned boulders and stones to the riverbeds, and thousands of juvenile crayfish and trout have been released, bringing the rivers back to life one stretch at a time.