Wilding, by the aptly named Isabella Tree, is a positively wonderful book. In fact, I’d argue that it should be mandatory reading for absolutley everyone and studied at length in schools.

I have to admit, though, that my attention has only recently found its way to Knepp: after watching a re-run of the feature length documentary about the estate that was recently on television. In hindsight, I find that I’m actually surprised to have not caught the feature sooner. Though, more than that, I find myself miffed that I don’t live closer to Knepp itself. If I did, I’d be making a nuisance of myself at their front door, eagerly signing up to volunteer immediatley!

As is the usual case with me, the gorgeously detailed cover art caught my attention first. It is what made me pull the book down off of the shelf at the library I volunteer at. I’ll admit that I was stunned when I realised the contents of the book, however, as I had only just recently watched that documentary for the first time weeks prior and had not realised that there was a book out about the Knepp estate.

The feature had left a lasting impression on me and, not to be superstitious, but it almost felt like some kind of sign.

The book, having been published in May of 2018, is a triumph. And a lesson in loving nature. It is a fascinating read and incredibly informative, bringing with it a hope and positivity that is very much needed in todays world.

It follows two struggling Sussex farmers, Isabella Tree, and her husband, Sir Charles Burrell, as they make the tough decision to give up farming upon realising that it was losing them thousands of pounds. Instead, they fully commit their land to rewilding efforts. It was a terrifying decision for them, and one that was constantly met with challenges and opposition; bureaucratic, practical, and even cultural. There was also the risk that it might not even pay off, in the end.

But it did, and nature took over completley: returning to the once over-farmed land was rich and healthy soil that was aided by the spawning fauna; repopulating insects; and restored biodiversity.

Which was such a joy to read about because Britain’s biodiversity has been in such a steep decline and has massively reduced in recent years. It is hard to imagine, sometimes, that animals that remain thriving in other parts of the world, like wolves, bears, lynx, bison, elk, and aurochs, all used to roam Britain as well.

There are ongoing efforts and good people and good charities doing their best to bring such diversity back to Britain: beavers and bison are slowly being reintroduced in controlled environments, and Knepp’s own efforts to repopulate storks to the country have proven very successful indeed.

But we definitely have a ways to go yet.

I always find it funny looking out the window to our own backgarden, and comparing it with our direct neighbour’s. We have plants everywhere and wildflowers that we actively sowed. The cherry tree goes crazy each year and, hanging from many branches, are bird feeders and shallow bird baths. During spring, if you stand beneath those branches, you’ll be serenaded by the constant humming of bumblebees; any other amount of insects; and see many butterflies dancing past gently. We have a small pond that we know is home to a frog or two; a submerged stick in there just in case a hedgehog manages to fall in (or our tortoise). We have too many visiting birds to count: pigeons and doves and tiny, tiny robins and wrens. Bluetits and sparrows and an endless amount of parakeets and crows and magpies. We’ve had ravens, and a woodpecker at our feeders a few times; and once, even a sparrowhawk on our garage roof. Squirrels run back and forth along the fence and often a fox will hop right over to scavange on the fallen bird food and rile up our dogs.

By comparison, our neighbour’s garden is pristine and consists almost completley of clipped-short grass. The contrast is mindboggling.

Such differences leaves behind a bitter taste and an awareness in me that, too many of us think that nature should be ‘neat’. That anything that is “growing out of control”, or that is “unkempt”, and “unorderly” needs to be trimmed, cut back or removed all together.

But nature is messy, and it’s beautiful; and more of us need to make space for it!

I also learned a few things about myself upon reading this book. One that I’ll mention, is that I hadn’t realised how I took oak trees for granted. There’s a few around where I live, and while I’ve always appreciated their beauty and towering size, I’d not really understood how much they did for us, and have done. Obviously, oak was used in ship building, house-making and in building furniture; their acorns would feed farm animals and be used in making bread as well as other delicacies, too. All of which is self-explanatory in hindsight, but like I said, I’d taken their presence for granted.

Most importantly, though, the way that oak trees support ecosystems and so many animal habitats puts them even higher on the protection list! Because the oak tree decline in Britain is something that needs more attention. The changing environment adds stressors that they are struggling to adapt to, and they also have to contend with pests, pathogens and human inteference, which are all causing deterioation and oak populations to dieback at an alarming rate.

I think stepping in to help in such situations is very much needed: because in this man-made world, sometimes there will be the need for man-made solutions to help the flora and fauna cope. So much of human existence is about just taking things and dominating landscapes without a care in mind for anything else. I do think it’s time to try and do our best to correct these past mistakes and put an early stop to possible future ones.

What Knepp did, for example, was let the land do its thing. In doing so, they were inundated with wildlife! Some of which which had not been seen in the south of England in years.

And what Isabella Tree learned and shared in her book by leaving nature be, is that even some modern conservation efforts have got it wrong – which was a complete surprise for me to read! But it seems that even those trying to do good sometimes find themselves inevitably falling back into doing too much; “driven by the mentality that man knows best”.

Sometimes, too many misinterpretations and too much meddling can prove to be far more detrimental to conservation and rewilding efforts than not doing anything at all, it seems.

I just really think that this book should be mandatory teaching. It certainly left a lasting impression on me; left me wishing that I was in a position to buy up a plot of land or an old farm and fully give it over to nature and let it run its course.

And after nearly dying in 2024 (and after all the travelling and volunteering that I did last year to make up for that riveting experience), I think that I’ve finally realised what I want to do with my life!

I really just want to do my best to support nature in any way that I can. I want to do my part in supporting the environment, and work to improve the chances for flora and fauna to thrive again in Britain. I’ve always loved nature and wildlife and being outdoors, but I didn’t really realise that it was something that I could pursue myself without having a degree in it, until recently of course. I do wish I’d studied it in university, but I’ve also come to the understanding that it’s not the end of the world that I didn’t, and that it’s also not too late to pivot and start now!

I’ve tried, but I don’t see myself doing anything else other than working in conservation; which is kind of scary, kind of brilliant!