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:
Welcome to our Wilding Weekend (Jun22)
Find out more about what’s happening at our Wilding Weekend. How it started, who is involved, who will be here and the schedule of talks etc.
The Bat Egg at Hooke Farm (Jun22)
The Sweet Track at Hooke (May22)
Our Hibernaculum at Hooke (May22)
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)
A halloween crab – photo not taken by me! 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 […]
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 […]
Eco-anxiety is disempowering (Oct21)
Schools should do more a lot more to prevent eco-anxiety from becoming the biggest mental health issue of our time. Over 70% of 18-24 year-olds feel eco-anxiety, according to research carried out by Force of Nature – an NGO founded in 2019 by 19-year-old climate activist, Clover Hogan. Talking to children around the world, the […]
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 […]
Frogs, toads and newts (Jun21)
I’ve just sent my first recording of toads and newts to the Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC Trust). Spotted the toads hiding in dark places by our compost heap. And the newts in one of the smaller new ponds we’ve created. They’re humming with tadpoles too. I found a big and small Common Toad […]