Warm, personal, political and detailed, Wild Fell invites people into the evolving conversation about the future of our natural world." There’s a conflict between the desire for the National Park to be a place of natural beauty and the needs of farmers to make a living. I’m no expert on the challenges on either side, they are deep seated and long in the forming, but I would like to understand more, hence the reading pattern.

This is a book about rewilding and joins a growing list of good books on the subject which are essential reading for all those engaged in present-day UK nature conservation ( Feral, Wilding (my book of the year for 2018), Rebirding (one of my books of the year for 2019), Regeneration(one of my books of the year for 2021) and The Implausible Rewilding of the Pyrenees (my book of the year for 2021)). Where eagles dared. Second article in Shadow Species series focuses on golden and white talked eagles. Cumbria Life/July 2020. Version also available as a WildHaweswater post Thrown to the wolves. Final article in Shadow Species series focuses on the wolves of the Lake District. Cumbria Life/Feb 2021. Version also available as a WildHaweswater post Lee also learnt not to blame the custodians of the past for the sins of the present. The State of Nature report, first published by the Government in 2013 (and updated twice), makes depressing reading - 44 million fewer birds in the UK than 50 years ago, 97 percent of wildflower meadows lost since the Second World War, half the hedgehog population gone since 2000. Climate breakdown, pollution, invasive non-native species and disease all played a part but the single most important factor was intensive agriculture. It may come as a surprise to that room of angry farmers but Lee's now one of their staunchest defenders.There's plenty of enjoyable reads out there. And I enjoyed this. But far more than that, I learnt a great deal about why our national parks are a natural disaster in the making, and what can be done to not only restore hope but to also take real action for nature's recovery. Wild Fellleaves you in no doubt thatif we don’t protect our wild blooms, there won’t be any bugs and there won’t be any birds and, ultimately, any people” Author and photographer Amy takes us behind the scenes of her award-winning Lakeland Book of the Year Forty Farmsthat takes readers behind the scenes of 40 Cumbrian farms. With anecdotes from the project, insights into how farmers are managing in an increasingly d ifficult economic climate and the highs and lows of Lakeland farm life, Amy will also talk about how she captured some of her iconic farming shots. Wild Fell is a beautiful, powerful book that subtly navigates great and complex challenges. George Monbiot One aspect of the book that particularly moved me was Schofield's account of how personally distressing his job can be sometimes, as farmers and others in the Lake District resist what he and the RSPB are trying to achieve. This kind of admission is something I rarely seem to read in books by male nature writers.

Thank you Greta’: natural solutions to UK flooding climb the agenda. Interviewed as part of wider piece on natural flood management. The Guardian/April 2020 As well as I hope this book does, and it has made the Wainwright Longlist, purely selfishly, I hope it doesn't result in a huge influx of visitors to the area. It is an extremely beautiful area, and most readers will want to visit having read this, let's hope they just don't all come at once.. On a visit, we talked him through our nature-friendly farming system, our plans for tree planting, hay-meadow and bog restoration, and how we believed it could all be done in sympathy with farming traditions. I thought we'd done a decent job." From last year’s Wainwright Prize shortlist. I took it along on a trip to Cumbria earlier in the month and got a photo with it on location at Haweswater. I enjoyed reading Part 1 while in the area, but once I got home I had lost the impetus, so just skimmed to the end; Part 2, about inspiration drawn from other regenerative projects in Scotland, the Italian Alps and Norway feels less essential anyway. Warm, personal, politicaland detailed, Wild Fell invites people into the evolving conversation about the future of our natural world”Avisionary, practical and lyricalbook on restoring land, fromone of the best in the game, on thefront line of nature restoration.” The abuse hurt but Lee didn’t give up on his Lakes dream. Interviewed for an article about the personal aspects of Wild Fell. The Daily Express/February 2022