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Birthdate: 1964
Gender: female
Nationality: UK
Agent: Georgia Garrett (AP Watt)

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Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm by Isabella Tree

There probably isn’t any higher praise for ‘Wilding’ than to say that, upon finishing it, I wholeheartedly wished I could buy a farm and let it turn into a wildlife haven. The story of a rewilded Sussex farm reminded me how grateful I am to have been taught by my parents to notice and appreciate wildlife. (Even though as a child I often complained about being dragged away from my books to see a meadow of orchids.) The aptly named Isabella Tree recounts how she and her husband abandoned intensive farming, which was losing them vast amounts of money despite subsidies, and switched to encouraging biodiversity. It’s an amazing story, as the rewilding has been much more successful than anyone dared to hope. Successive chapters joyfully recount the mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, insects, fungi, and plants that sprung up once given the chance. I found this detailed case study more uplifting than George Monbiot’s [b:Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea and Human Life|17160008|Feral Rewilding the Land, the Sea and Human Life|George Monbiot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388690343s/17160008.jpg|23584322], although I enjoyed that very much, as it demonstrates so specifically how well rural biodiversity can bounce back from a monoculture. It also suggests that the agricultural sector can evolve to support rather than undermine the environment. Tree is evangelistic about the approach she took - and justifiably so.

Of particular interest is the detailed explanation of challenges and difficulties that the project faced, some practical (how to move wild deer), some institutional (Natural England were wary), some cultural (local objections to the ‘mess’ and ��waste’ compared to arable land), and some philosophical (allowing control of the land to lapse). Tree devotes time and careful discussion to the academic theories and popular perceptions that make rewilding especially hard to achieve in Britain, relative to other parts of Europe; George Monbiot also observed this peculiar tendency. Defining ‘wildness’ is fraught with difficulty, as is deciding which species have lived here long enough to be considered ‘native’. I found the argument that Britain was not covered in closed-canopy forest during pre-history convincing, as well as useful. Tree also points out (as I’d recently read in this Citylab article) that the changing climate is forcing species to relocate, so rather than try to replicate the past we should allow wild space to accommodate whatever species can find a niche. In short, stop over-managing for the sake of single species and instead interfere as little as possible. Counter-intuitive in such a heavily managed landscape as Britain, yet the results are incredible.

I was particularly struck by this commentary on shifting baseline syndrome within living memory:

We were familiar with the usual reaction from our own generation, the forty-to-sixty-somethings. Children of the agricultural revolution were aghast at what we were doing. The twenty-somethings were often more responsive. For them the idea of national food security, of digging for victory, was an anxiety from a bygone age. [...]

But the real surprise came from the oldest generation. Those in their eighties could remember the agricultural depression between the wars, when marginal land across the country had been abandoned… To them, clumps of dog rose and hawthorn, thickets of hazel and sallow - even swathes of ragwort - were not offensive at all. The landscape recalled them, instead, to their childhood ramblings in a countryside heaving with insects and birds, to the days when there was a covey of grey partridges in every field. There was nothing threatening or alarming in what they were seeing. Quite the reverse. To some, it was positively beautiful. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” one old boy berated his son - a baby during the war - who insisted that what they were seeing was “unnatural”. “This is how the countryside always used to look!”

I hope that in the future more of it looks this way. As a child in East Anglia, I remember vast fields of oilseed rape, with isolated snippets of uncultivated land sheltering wild species. How much more diverse, useful, and beautiful the countryside could be if our values and perceptions of land use shifted a little. The possibilities of rewilding are spectacular and I can only hope this book inspires other farmers to give it a try.… (more)

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annarchism | 12 other reviews | Aug 4, 2024 |

When The Storks Came Home (Volume 2) (Nature’s… by Isabella Tree

A beautiful picture book that means well and does fairly well.

Little Beanie loves all kinds of birds and spends time at the local nature preserve bird-watching. But when her parents bring home a baby brother, she discovers a new bird on the congratulatory cards they receive – a white stork. When she learns from Andy, an employee at the nature preserve, that white storks no longer visit Britain, Beanie gets disheartened. Andy and she decide to work together to ensure the return of white storks. And their plan works!

The book is a fictionalised account based on true events. Beanie is a fictional character, but the stork-related events are true. It mainly focusses on the “White Stork Project” in Sussex, which managed to successfully get wild storks back to England after more than 600 years. It also borrows from other true events that are connected to storks but not to the White Stork Project. For instance, it borrows one idea from the two storks who were helped by a local in Croatia – he built them a nest on the roof of his house. (You can read the wonderful story of these storks in ‘Feathers Together’.)

I liked how the book details out the approach towards the reintroduction of animals in their old natural habitats in an easy-to understand way. The author is a conservationist, and the content of the book makes her knowledge amply clear. Her note at the end reveals the actual events and also contains some photos of the storks who are now regular at Knepp, West Sussex.

The water-colour-style illustrations amply support the content. As all the sketches are in nature tones (browns and greens), they emphasize on the core theme of the story.

At the same time, there are a couple of things that could have worked better for me:

⚠ The target group is ages 4-7, but the subject matter is slightly difficult for the younger readers in this segment. Unless an adult familiarises them with the idea of conservation and reintroduction, they won’t get the significance of the events.

⚠ Beanie doesn’t meet with a single hurdle after taking her decision. The very day after she makes a plan, there are injured storks in Poland looking for a new home. When Andy and she decide to have fundraisers, the results look almost instantaneous and easy. I wish it had incorporated some of the challenges of these endeavours so that kids would have got a more realistic perspective of how difficult it is to implement these ideas successfully, how the best of intensions fail at times, and why we need to be more vigilant about animals and their needs.

⚠ There are too many things happening too quickly, and sometimes, these affect the smoothness of the story.

Nevertheless, this is a beautiful story that will surely be a favourite of little animal (and bird) lovers. Recommended for sure, to be read with adult guidance.

4.25 stars.

The printed book will be printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper – I love these nature-friendly gestures.

My thanks to Ivy Kids, Quarto Publishing Group, and Edelweiss for the DRC of “When The Storks Came Home”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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RoshReviews | Jul 30, 2024 |

Wilding: Returning Nature to Our Farm by Isabella Tree

The synopsis for the book made it sound like the book was going to dwell much more on the economic difficulties the Knepp estate faced in pursuing their rewilding project. That deterred me from reading the book for some time. Happily, the focuses far more on the evolution of the estate: the plants, insects, birds, and animals that are benefiting from the unmanaged approach to land ownership. This slim book provides a quick and painless education to a number of important ecological points.

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Treebeard_404 | 12 other reviews | Jan 23, 2024 |