Julia Hailes MBE

Sustainability Pioneer

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:

Wild about Knepp (May22)

My trip to Knepp was a revelation.  For those who do not know this 3500-acre estate, in East Sussex, is leading the way in Rewilding.   Isabella Tree and her ground-breaking book, ‘Wilding’ has become so famous that Netflix is making a docudrama about her and her husband Charlie Burrell. With actors playing the younger […]

Where the Rainforest Meets the Sea (Apr22)

It felt magical. We walked through the thick tangled forest and yet only meters away were the waves crashing onshore and brightly coloured crabs scuttling into their holes. We were watching monkeys swinging through the trees – there are four species indigenous to the Osa Peninsula in the South West corner of Costa Rica. We […]

Pura Vida Costa Rica (Apr22)

Having successfully navigated a rapid as we rafted away from Pacuare Lodge in Central Costa Rica, we put our oars together and joined our guide in a celebratory shout of ‘Pura Vida’. Literally the pure or natural life. Leaving the lodge, we started the trip in a relatively narrow gorge, the rocks on either side […]

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 […]