Overview

'Hearty and hopeful' ALICE VINCENT 'Profoundly uplifting' BEN GOLDSMITH 'Thoughtful and insightful' NEIL ANSELL When James Canton moved to a farm labourer's cottage, he knew that the two-acre patch of earth behind it held potential as a place for nature to return and flourish. While 'rewilding' requires vast landscapes to become self-sustaining, he wondered what might be possible on the scale of his field - or even that of a garden or a window box. Renaturing is the story of how he learned to dig a pond, forge meadowlands, create habitats for birds and insects and encourage plants that support wildlife. Gradually, what was once just a grassy space was buzzing with life. The process revealed that rather than rewilding, we could all 'renature': even on the smallest scale we can create habitats to support diverse ecosystems. Above all, it shows how we can all make positive change, however large or small, in caring for and restoring the natural world.

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9781837261116

Table of Contents

Reviews

A wry and open-minded interrogation of human interventions in the landscape -- RICHARD MABEY A timely and urgent message made warm and accessible; in Renaturing Canton tells us that bringing back nature in any and all places is the best way to fix the biggest challenges of our time. This is a profoundly uplifting and empowering book -- BEN GOLDSMITH A charming account of one man's decision to get his hands dirty and try to play his own small part in trying to make the world a better place. Thoughtful and insightful -- NEIL ANSELL What James Canton promises is something hearty and hopeful: a clear-eyed way forward for the outside world and those who live in it, beyond the binaries of the rewilding debate and into an inspiring demonstration of how we can make a difference -- ALICE VINCENT A balm for any nature-lover, Renaturing provides a meditative, practical and beautifully-observed account of restoring a small yet significant patch of land. Canton takes us with him on a journey of learning that offers plenty to any reader, whether steeped in the lore of rewilding and ecology or a newcomer curious to know more -- CHANTAL LYONS It's impossible to feel what we should about the gigantic problems of our age: climate change, mass extinction, and so on. They are too big, and we are too small and too tired. But James Canton shows us a way to feel properly again when we look at the wild world - by looking quietly and closely at the wilderness on our doorsteps and in ourselves. A tender and important manual of intimacy and revolution -- CHARLES FOSTER Renaturing presents an important, heartfelt message that there are things that we can all do to improve the current and evermore concerning state of nature. It is a book appealingly relatable in its content and deeply encouraging in its outlook. Enjoyable start to finish -- MATT COLLINS A lovely, meditative, quietly inspiring book. There is a haikulike quality to the writing, in the focus it brings to the seasonal tasks of attending to a meadow - scarifying, sowing, scything - and the way these tasks resonate, reach out to a wider community of people caring for nature with the same diligence and love as Canton -- JAMES MACDONALD LOCKHART If you too own a patch of earth, from a windowsill box and up, then this book is a must. It is simply told yet so powerful and thought-provoking. Renaturing is an inspiring and pleasurable read, full of love for our natural world. Highly recommended * * LoveReading * * A beautifully written book that encourages action that we can all take however large or small our ownership of land, from a window box to Knepp. I feel empowered to renature and to tell all my friends how to do it too. An essential book for our times -- MATTHEW SHAW, The Stone Club

Author Information

James Canton is Director of Wild Writing at the University of Essex. He is the author of Grounded: A Journey into the Landscapes of Our Ancestors (2023), The Oak Papers (2020), Ancient Wonderings: Journeys into Prehistoric Britain (2017) and Out of Essex: Re-Imagining a Literary Landscape (2013), which was inspired by his rural wanderings in East Anglia. He has written for the Guardian, reviews for the TLS and Caught by the River, and is a regular on television and radio. @jamescanton | @jrcanton1 | jamescanton.co.uk

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