My favourite book in 2024

I reviewed Wild Service for the Organic Gardener and for the newsletter of Rewilding Magazine

Please read this book! Especially the chapter called Rope Swing.

For the last year or so I’ve been reading everything I can about rewilding. The concept is fundamental to life on Earth. Wild Service is not a technical book, it’s not about rewilding in the usual sense of the word. When I read the introduction I felt many things, including gratitude, a sense of homecoming and wonder. When I saw the illustrations I dropped into another, so lovely zone. It’s a book of stories and enchantment, gentle and wise, if a little desperate underneath.

Wild Service speaks to the truth that is embedded in all of us, but which many have forgotten. Alienation from nature has alienated us from ourselves. The degradation and wounding of nature has left us spiritually degraded and wounded. Reconnection via building the relationship through access, culture, care and play is the answer. We need to rekindle our sense of belonging to our Home.