Julia Hailes MBE

Sustainability Pioneer

Our Wilding Weekend Was Wonderful! (Jun23)

It was tremendously exciting to get such positive feedback from visitors to our Wilding Weekend – some were ecstatic. It wasn’t just about the wilding we’ve done – they loved meeting other like-minded people and finding out more about what wilding might mean for them. As many of you will know not everyone has the […]

COME TO OUR WILDING WEEKEND ON 17TH & 18TH OF JUNE 2023

During the weekend there will be guided tours, talks, exhibitors and stalls with information and advice about wilding, as well as things to buy. Conservation experts will show you the wildflower meadows, ponds, and grasslands identifying the insects, birds, reptiles, and amphibians that they find. Julia will be telling visitors about the challenges and successes […]

Dorset Life interviews me! (Jun23)

I loved being described as ‘probably the most effective person you’ve never heard of’! I wondered if it was too flattering for me to post the article or promote it in any way. But I overcame my doubts, and here is the Dorset Life article about my life! It not only covers the forthcoming Wilding […]

Our Wilding Weekend in June 2023 (Mar Update)

On 17th and 18th June 2023, my husband Jamie Macdonald and I will be hosting the second Wilding Weekend at our home in Dorset. Find out more about it here. WE WILL BE SUPPORTING – THE NATIONAL GARDEN SCHEME Ticket sales will be donated to the National Garden Scheme (NGS) charities. Here’s a link to […]

INSPIRATIONAL HOTELS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA (Feb23)

We weren’t far from Singapore, but it was another world.  Two tropical Indonesian islands to the East of Bintan, which is just South of the Asian city-state.   I have to admit that I’m a very critical tourist – I generally challenge hotels on everything including what’s happening to their sewage, how they source their […]

Wild about Wilding (Jan23)

We organised the very first Wilding Weekend in June 2022, at our home in West Dorset. It was also the first garden opened through the National Garden Scheme (NGS) that was included primarily for its ‘wilding’ rather than for beautiful borders, impeccably mown lawns and other attributes of more traditional gardens. The next Wilding Weekend […]

Second Wilding Weekend in June 2023 (Jan23)

Come to our next Wilding Weekend on 17th and 18th June 2023. We’ll be opening our garden and land through the National Garden Scheme, offering lunch, tea and cakes as well as showing what we’ve done to create more wildlife-friendly habitats. Stalls, Talks and/or Tours will include:

Woohoo – A barn owl has nested in our box! (Feb22)

I can’t believe it. We put up the barn owl box in an old ash tree about a year ago. I have to admit that I was extremely doubtful that it would get any inhabitants. In part, my doubt was because it isn’t in the ideal location. The box is supposed to be facing into […]

Rewild schools before it’s too late (Jul21)

Rewild the world before it’s too late!  I’m supporting Operation Future Hope in their mission to change the devastating impact of current land management practices in schools. School grounds have become wildlife deserts. They’re chopped, mown, poisoned and slashed. The brief is for well ‘managed landscapes’ – neat and tidy. What this means in practice […]