Interesting reading, listening and watching
Books
Wilding by Isabella Tree
'Wilding - the return of nature to a British farm' tells the story of Knepp Estate, the pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, England, started by her husband, environmentalist Charlie Burrell.
English Pastoral by James Rebanks
English Pastoral is the story of an inheritance: one that affects us all. It tells of how rural landscapes around the world were brought close to collapse, and how the age-old rhythms of work, weather, community and wild things were lost. But this elegy from the northern fells is also a song of hope: of how, guided by the past, one farmer began to salvage a tiny corner of England that was now his, doing his best to restore the life that had vanished and to leave a legacy for the future.
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware.
Rebirding: Rewilding Britain and its Birds by Benedict MacDonald
Rebirding takes the long view of Britain’s wildlife decline, from the early taming of our landscape and its long-lost elephants and rhinos, to fenland drainage, the removal of cornerstone species such as wild cattle, horses, beavers and boar – and forward in time to the intensification of our modern landscapes and the collapse of invertebrate populations.
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures, by Merlin Sheldrake
Entangled Life is a mind-altering journey into this hidden kingdom of life, and shows that fungi are key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel and behave. The more we learn about fungi, the less makes sense without them.
Dirt to Soil: One Family's Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture, by Gabe Brown
Dirt to Soil: One Family's Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture Gabe Brown didn't set out to change the world when he first started working alongside his father-in-law on the family farm in North Dakota. As he and his family struggled to keep the farm viable, they found themselves on an amazing journey into a new type of farming: regenerative agriculture.
Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson
Published in 1962, Rachel Carson‘s Silent Spring is one of the most effective books ever written about the destruction of wildlife through the widespread use of pesticides. It is now recognized as one of the most influential books of the twentieth century.
Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the Wisdom and Intelligence of the Forest, by Suzanne Simard
From the world's leading forest ecologist who forever changed how people view trees and their connections to one another and to other living things in the forest--a moving, deeply personal journey of discovery Suzanne Simard is a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence; she's been compared to Rachel Carson, hailed as a scientist who conveys complex, technical ideas in a way that is dazzling and profound.
Native: Life in a Vanishing Landscape, by Patrick Laurie
Desperate to connect with his native Galloway, Patrick Laurie plunges into work on his family farm in the hills of southwest Scotland. Investing in the oldest and most traditional breeds of Galloway cattle, he begins to discover how cows once shaped people, places and nature in this remote and half-hidden place. This traditional breed requires different methods of care from modern farming on an industrial, totally unnatural scale.
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Podcasts
Planet Pod
An independent, not-for-profit podcast whose mission is to inform, inspire and entertain. Guests from every walk of life and every sector share their knowledge, expertise and ideas to help us all be better guardians of the planet. Whether you are a sustainability expert or a concerned consumer, Planet Pod is for you.
The The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
The Sustainable Food Trust podcast questions current food production methods and sheds light on the future of farming. Chief Executive Patrick Holden hears from a range of voices, including policymakers, business leaders, food producers and campaigners, about some of the issues facing farming systems across the world.
The Stubborn Light of Things
Beautiful podcast and book where nature writer and novelist, Melissa Harrison, documents the wonder and richness of the natural world, and brings it into as many homes as she can.
Documents
The Story of Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve
Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve (NNR) lies in the southeast corner of Loch Lomond, in the southern part of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. The Reserve includes some of the woodlands for which Loch Lomond is renowned, including the wooded shores on the mainland and on the islands of Inchcailloch, Clairinsh, Torrinch, Creinch and Aber Isle and the wetlands at the mouth of the River Endrick.
Back to the future: rethinking socioecological systems underlying high nature value farmlands
Farmlands are currently among the dominant uses of the land. When managed under low‐input farming systems, farmlands are associated with diverse cultural and natural heritages around the world. Known in Europe as high nature value (HNV) farmlands, these agricultural landscapes and their associated farming systems evolved as tightly coupled socioecological systems, and are essential to biodiversity conservation and the delivery of ecosystem services to society.
Wild Ken Hill Land Use Model
Wild Ken Hill, based in west Norfolk, combines rewilding, regenerative agriculture and traditional conservation in a single, radical land use project of around 4,000 acres. This document seeks to illustrate the Wild Ken Hill ‘model’, and to explain the benefits of such a model as part of their ongoing commitment to sharing thought leadership on land use, rewilding, and regenerative farming in the UK.