Wilding | Book by Isabella Tree

George Monbiot’s Feral introduced me to the idea of (re)wilding, painting a picture of the real potential of our natural environment. Isabella Tree’s Wilding shows how we can can move towards this potential, describing the process of rewilding the 3,500 acres of intensively farmed land at the Knepp estate. 

Over 20 years the estate has gone from ploughed soil soaked with dozens of years of chemical-based pesticides and fertilisers to a paradise of nature, providing an environment for some of Britain’s rarest species (the Turtle Dove and the Nightingale, to name a couple). Wilding strikes a brilliant balance, inspiring with a wonderful story whilst also providing an explanation of the underlying processes and a blueprint of how rewilding can be scaled in Britain. It left me feeling hopeful and clearer about how we can convert that hope to real success.