2020-October - Wilding by Isabella Tree

Notes on this book.

Marks  7,7,7,7,8,8 = 7.

How the author and her husband took an ancestral property and stopped farming it, and let it return to the wild state. The book is very interesting, but overlong. Some parts of it are given in such great detail that you have to read it in sections. About how the history of the earth was not all forest cover, about Microrhizomes underground, about the effects of different types of earthworms. She makes a strong case for rewilding to restore trace elements iin the soil and food. At the end you feel that she is a real campaigner for rewilding Britain. I don't know that I would reread it, but I will certainly remember it, and i would pass it on.

Very well researched, We learnt a lot, glad we read it, but wouldn't have picked it up by ourselves.  There is so much that we ( and this means the world) don't know about  soil and fungus and the good and bad effects.  And who decides what is an alien species? 

It was well written, even if it did go into long detailed explanations of things. A comment that  they enjoyed the early bits but not the lists.

Chris had heard of it years ago and fancied going to visit. He suggests that after the current situation has passed that we all go on a road trip there, and then also to where the Crawdads sing! Otherwise A &C are keen to go, and when they do they will report back. 

Campaign for more organic farming? Getting Venison from the shop is a positive contribution, slight discussion here of grain versus grass fed cattle.  When we come out of the EU CAP, Britain will have to invent our own subsidy system.  we diverted to compare coastal erosion to chemicals on farm land. 

What I got out of it was that it was an experiment, keen on measuring the effects of what they did. It could not properly be called wilding as it was controlled wilding, like around the perimeters. 

 We think that they were ambivalent about the tourist industry effects, but they wanted to do it. Uncontrolled dogs on the land was mentioned. 

O didn't expect to enjoy it but she did. It was more interesting than expected, and not written in a sentimental way. The bureaucracy was quite interesting.  There is an argument in favour of this type of land management. 

[MArgaret] Hi All. Finished WILDING by Isabelle Tree and returned it to the library last week.

Mixed feelings really, did not like the begining with all the long and unreadable words although I suppose the history of agriculture was relevant.

The farm in Sussex was a huge risk to dispose of all his machinery and begin again, however he received help from many areas including Government financial help. The introduction of Longhorn cattle deer, pigs and reintroduction of others like beaver did work, along with allowing hedges to grow wild  with brambles, elder to give cover to seedling trees like the oak.Also it took several years to encourage more wildlife and while I enjoyed Chapter 16 and all the new species and would like to see more of nature allowed to prosper, but how many farmers could afford to drop everything and wait up to 10 years to see if the public would pay to view their achievements or would the government be expected to foot the bill. An interesting thought that the vitamin reductions in fruit and vegetables according to the author is too large if this is true.