''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.

Autorentext

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

Klappentext

'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.