NEW Book REVIEWS
(£20, hardback, Bloomsbury Publishing)
ENCASED IN THIS BEAUTIFULLY illustrated hardback book are some ugly truths about the state of our nature. Wild Service – brought to you by the Right to Roam movement – sets the scene: of 14 European countries, Britain has the worst biodiversity, wellbeing and nature connectedness. Nature is hurting, as are we. The threat to nature comes not from our people but from our culture, the text argues. Within the collection of essays and poetry, 13 writers share experiences – some troubling, some tragic, all profound – which led them to understand that nature doesn’t serve us, but we it.
Wild Service is an antidote to the commodification of nature through outdoor recreation, but you won’t find misanthropic tropes in these pages. Reading this will not leave you feeling guilt-ridden for stepping foot on and loving our green and blue spaces. Expect, instead, to be inspired by stories of individual heroism and community action. You’ll meet rebel botanists, Peak District poets, 12-year-old butterfly enthusiasts and – would you believe – Worzel Gummidge.
Of course, this is also a book about trespass (both as a means to connect to nature and an evidence-gathering exercise to uncover the wrongs being done to it). Unlike ‘tabloid-style slanging matches’ about access on social media, in these pages you’ll find nothing but nuance and empathy. A heady mix of our troubling history of enclosure and teachings from the 370 million indigenous people who are protecting 80% of the world’s biodiversity on 20% of Earth’s land and water, thus demonstrating effective stewardship, proves the movement’s point once and for all.
If you’ve ever questioned the legitimacy of the singular right of wealthy men to exclude the public from nature, read this book. Whilst many claim the countryside is a place of business in order to justify exploitation, sheep farmer Romilly Swann’s adamance that the risks of opening up access to nature are outweighed by the benefits (precedence for this argument comes from the Church and are presented in the introduction to Wil
