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 … 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.
more
This is probably the first book I’ve ever read where I consider it an honour that it exists for me to read.
The rewilding of Knepp Castle Estate should be a blueprint for every council, government, municipality, environmental organisation, livestock owner, farmer, consumer.
The words Isabella Tree uses to describe the journey from unprofitable farm, to a haven for endangered species and reintroduced species are magical. This book is not a heavy scientific tome but it contains enough information to make you question your purchasing decisions at the supermarket, and what you consider beautiful in the natural environment.
What to do from here? Pay more attention to local environmental initiatives, get involved. Don’t just succumb to tree planting outings, because they aren’t the answer.
This book has left me distraught, hopeful, happy, sad, angry and overjoyed at what can be achieved.
And if I had enough money to buy every Member of Parliament a copy, and the ability to force them to read it, I would.
So yes. this is my review. I loved it, and unlike me, I didn’t skim read any passages. I absorbed every word.
The world can be saved, one farm and hedgerow at a time.
Wilding moved me to tears several times, overcome by the beauty of the rejuvenation it describes, the loss of nature it struggles against, and also by the gorgeous clarity of the writing. Wilding is a crucial, important book for everyone to read, especially in how it pushes back against foundational assumptions we all make about wilderness, nature, and how animals live. It is quite simply one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Wilding is one of the most exhilarating books I know. Knepp Castle is a modern marvel, a wild ancient landscape in a modern domestic country, a place filled with birds and animals leading their own independent and remarkable lives. Isabella Tree, who lives there, tells the rich, complicated story of Knepp. As a writer, Tree is both elegant and deeply informed, and the story is full of poetic awareness and scientific foundations. This story will delight anyone who’s interested in nature, wildlife, and hope.
Wilding is the best and most challenging books I’ve read in more than a decade. Author, Isabella Tree, entrances and teaches the reader, with every turn of the page, the lessons learned at Knepp Castle on rewilding, turning most of their 3,500 acres from intensive, damaging and unprofitable farming to a thriving natural habitat for species, some of which were on the brink of extinction. Every page reveals a new way of thinking about the value of returning land to nature without poisons, chemicals or the need to supplement feeding for animals introduced into their land. Interestingly, the most fascinating and hopeful chapter near the end of the book was the chapter on soil. Not usually a thrilling subject, however, it offers hope for a solution to climate change. As I mentioned, the best book and extremely relevant in our damaged world.
Buy it. Read it. Practice in some way or other with your own gardens or land. Recommend it. Give it as a gift. Highly recommended.
Every farmer (and perhaps every conservationist) in Britain needs to go and spend a day at Knepp. The Knepp ‘wilding’ project is a vitally important experiment for working out what we can do to let nature back into our farmed landscapes…. This book tells this vital story and deserves to be widely read.
The remarkable story of an astounding transformation.
Isabella Tree’s detailed account of the restoration of a piece of dying English farmland is gripping, informative, and uplifting. My heart soared with each new species of plant, animal, bird, and insect that returned to the land.