Wild Fell: Fighting for nature on a Lake District hill farm

Product Information

This book is subtitled “Fighting for nature in a Lake District hill farm” – while I find the word “fight” to be a bit over-combative, having read the book, it’s certainly a struggle. The farming community is a loyal group and having outsiders come in was never going to be an easy journey. The book outlines those challenges, but also the inspirational successes that can be achieved when you work with people. When Schofield writes about this, it is brilliant and makes for a riveting read. Unfortunately, he is two thirds of the way through the book before he even starts on this topic. The first two thirds is given up to accounts of various situations where he notices the decline in species compared to his childhood, an account of a month's plant hunting in Norway and an account of a family holiday in Italy. All this is interspersed with complaints about local farmers opposing what Schofield is 'trying to do' at Haweswater (except that he never explains what he IS trying to do!) and how he's had to have therapy to boost his self esteem because of the opposition. National Parks, Beauty & Riches. Guest blog for Mark Avery following the launch of UK National Parks in 100 Seconds film. markavery.info/12 Feb 2022

Warm, personal, politicaland detailed, Wild Fell invites people into the evolving conversation about the future of our natural world” But in the contested landscape of the Lake District, change is not always welcomed, and success relies on finding a balance between rewilding and respecting cherished farming traditions. This is not only a story of nature in recovery, it is also the story of Lee's personal connection to place and the highs and lows of working for nature amid fierce opposition. The first thing that stands out in this book is his knowledge of (and love for) plants – ferns, mosses, lichens, trees, even grasses, and above all, flowers; but more, how floral diversity in the uplands is the key, first to insect diversity and then to avian diversity. Get the plants right and everything else follows, all the way up to the eagles. A poetic journey of restoring nature in an iconic landscape. Wild Fell informs and inspires. Jake FiennesOf tooth and claw. Seventh article in Shadow Species series focuses on wild cats. Cumbria Life/Dec 2020. Version also available as a WildHaweswater post Warm, personal, political and detailed, Wild Fell invites people into the evolving conversation about the future of our natural world. Cumbria Life This very good book will certainly be in my shortlist of books of 2022 even though we are only in February – it’s that good. Like the rivers it has rebent, the Haweswater project is re-wiggling farming into a more sustainable alignment with nature. And by similarly refusing to operate in siloed straight lines, Schofield's own journey towards greater collaboration may have lessons to teach both of the UK's rural tribes. * New Statesman *

The silencing of summer. Third article in Shadow Species series focuses on corncrake. Cumbria Life/August 2020. Version also available as a WildHaweswater post Beautifully written, with an urgent sense of the need to protect our endangered landscape, this is a manifesto for a wilder future.”As the competing needs of agriculture and conservation jostle for ascendency, land management in Britain has reached a tipping point. Candid, raw and searingly honest, Lee Schofield offers a naturalist's perspective of the challenges unfolding in the ancient yet ever-changing landscape of Haweswater and shares with us his gloriously vibrant vision for the future. -- Katharine Norbury

Like the rivers it has rebent, the Haweswater project is re-wiggling farming into a more sustainable alignment with nature. And by similarly refusing to operate in siloed straight lines,Schofield’s own journey towards greater collaboration may have lessons to teach both of the UK’s rural tribes” Thrown to the wolves. Final article in Shadow Species series focuses on the wolves of the Lake District. Cumbria Life/Feb 2021. Version also available as a WildHaweswater post

Most read

Authentic, honest and clear-sighted – Lee Schofield offers a practical and hopeful example of how to return nature to all our landscapes using imagination, compromise, humility and sheer hard work. This is an important book and fully deserves its place alongside James Rebanks and other contemporary Lakeland classics."

Avisionary, practical and lyricalbook on restoring land, fromone of the best in the game, on thefront line of nature restoration.”

Tickets

Wild Fell leaves you in no doubt that if we don't protect our wild blooms, there won't be any bugs and there won't be any birds and, ultimately, any people. * BBC Countryfile Magazine * It is a very contested landscape. Interview for Inkcap Journal, talking about work at Haweswater and land management elsewhere in the Lake District. First interview in the Future Land series. Inkcap Journal/Jan 2021 It has been a while since I have been to the Lake District but I remember walking the fells and enjoying the fresh air and views. Whilst it feels wild and bleak, it is a landscape that has been managed by man for hundreds of years. I have very little recognition of seeing much in the way of wildlife, thinking about it now, it just seemed to be a partially sterile landscape, with not much opportunity for life to thrive.