Tree writes with grace about a legion of doubts, obstructions and delays. * Evening Standard *Ī hugely important addition to the literature of what can be done to restore soil and soul. is inspirational - and inspiration is needed. The project she writes about so winningly. Isabella Tree writes with infectious enthusiasm. The remarkable story of an astounding transformation. Life exploding again - the reverse of most stories today. I recently read Wilding, by Isabella Tree, where she and her husband take their over-farmed, not-profitable estate, and rewild it. Chris Packham, presenter of The Really Wild Show * Sunday Times *Ī poignant, practical and moving story of how to fix our broken land, this should be conservation's salvation this should be its future this is a new hope. an excellent primer, and anyone who is interested in how we share the planet - what it looks like, what we eat, and what nature can teach us - should read this book. Bel Mooney, 'The Year's Best Books on Nature' * Daily Mail *

the Knepp Conservation Project is world-famous: a beacon of hope. a narrative of conservation, courage, vision and miracles.

This must be the most inspirational nature book of the year. Personal and inspirational, Wilding is an astonishing account of the beauty and strength of nature, when it is given as much freedom as possible. The Burrells' degraded agricultural land has become a functioning ecosystem again, heaving with life - all by itself. Thanks to the introduction of free-roaming cattle, ponies, pigs and deer - proxies of the large animals that once roamed Britain - the 3,500 acre project has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife numbers and diversity in little over a decade.Įxtremely rare species, including turtle doves, nightingales, peregrine falcons, lesser spotted woodpeckers and purple emperor butterflies, are now breeding at Knepp, and populations of other species are rocketing. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope.įorced to accept that intensive farming on the heavy clay of their land at Knepp was economically unsustainable, Isabella Tree and her husband Charlie Burrell made a spectacular leap of faith: they decided to step back and let nature take over. In Wilding, Isabella Tree tells the story of the 'Knepp experiment', a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. Highly Commended by the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize Winner of t he Richard Jefferies Society and White Horse Book Shop Literary Prize In every chapter, new species return.' - Caitlin Moran (on Twitter) 'The most inspirational book I've read in years.

Wilding by Isabella Tree