Wilding

The Return of Nature to a British Farm

An inspiring story about what happens when 3,500 acres of land, farmed for centuries, is left to return to the wild, and about the wilder, richer future a natural landscape can bring

For years Charlie Burrell and his wife, Isabella Tree, farmed Knepp Castle Estate and struggled to turn a profit. By 2000, with the farm facing bankruptcy, they decided to try something radical. They would restore Knepp’s 3,500 acres to the wild. Using herds of free-roaming animals to mimic the actions of the megafauna of the past, they hoped to bring nature back to their depleted land. But what would the neighbors say, in the manicured countryside of modern England where a blade of grass out of place is considered an affront?

In the face of considerable opposition the couple persisted with their experiment and soon witnessed an extraordinary change. New life flooded into Knepp, now a breeding hotspot for rare and threatened species like turtle doves, peregrine falcons, and purple emperor butterflies.

The fabled English nightingale sings again.

At a time of looming environmental disaster, Wilding is an inspiring story of a farm, a couple, and a community transformed. Isabella Tree’s wonderful book brings together science, natural history, a fair bit of drama, and - ultimately - hope.

©2019 Isabella Tree (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

This beautiful book gives me hope

I listened this book directly after listening to North Woods by Daniel Mason.
I think every reader should do the same. They belong together.

Excellent!

Everybody should read/listen to this book. So much fascinating information about our natural world and the creatures who share it with us. It is full of ways we can do a better job of caring for our land & animals.This book is on par with Peter Wohlleben’s “The Hidden Life of Trees”. I will be listening to it again and have already recommended it to family and friends.

Nice information even in another continent

I am impressed with the amount of information shared
Enjoy the narration of the British voice as well

Encouraging and educational

The state of the world leaves me sometimes in despair. This was an uplifting and encouraging book. It tells the story of British landowners who “rewild” thousands of acres of their family estate. More than that, it is a fascinating and educational trove of information about nature, man’s impact on it, and working to achieve a balance between the two. It’s complicated!

Equal parts inspiring and alarming

The author recounts the startlingly deep and rich ecological benefits of returning her husband’s ancestral lands in Great Britain to a modern estimation of their original biological diversity by abandoning unprofitable modern farming practices and allowing the land to heal. Interesting to hear the story in the author’s own voice, and to weigh with her the considerable benefits of their rewilding project against the disasters awaiting us and future generations if similar measures aren’t taken on a worldwide scale.