Rebirding: Winner of the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation: Restoring Britain's Wildlife

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Only when we understand what once lived here can we begin to restore these natural wonders, mostly by declaring large parts of our seas off-limits to commercial fishing. But because policymakers and the public know so little about what a thriving marine ecosystem looks like, we accept and normalise a state of extreme degradation. It is time to restore the lost glories of the ocean. The Hidden Universe: Adventures in Biodiversity by Alexandre Antonelli This means that his vision, while sometimes controversial, is also fresh. And it has been a phenomenal success. The book was recently awarded the prestigious Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation. The winner for the much-loved Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing has been announced at a virtual awards ceremony on September 8 th. Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty chronicles the turning of the then 15-year-old’s world and breaks the mould of modern nature writing. As the youngest ever winner of a major literary prize, Dara’s book is an extraordinary portrayal of his intense connection to the natural world alongside his perspective as an autistic teenager juggling exams, friendships and a life of campaigning. Mike Parker’s beautiful On the Red Hill was awarded highly commended in the category.

Swifts are surprisingly long-lived, on average for 10 years and sometimes double that, and possess an incredibly powerful migratory instinct which we do not yet fully understand. That means the birds that alight here from Africa each May will in all likelihood be the very same ones that left the previous year. Macdonald believes that this model is the way forward; and he thinks that the owners of grouse moors and deer estates, in particular, should abandon their old ways and restore nature to the depleted landscapes in their care. Julia comments: “ The Diary of a Young Naturalist is a significant nature book – made all the more so because it is Dara McAnulty’s first, completed before his 16th birthday. Our Wainwright Prize winner this year is nuanced, passionate and caring. It’s a wonderful diary that fits around Dara’s personal endeavours and family experiences, but ultimately, shaped by the nature that surrounds us all. The judges were almost breathless from reading it and would like to call for it to be immediately listed on the national curriculum. Such is the book’s power to move and the urgency of the situation we face.”

There is no substitute, with such species, for afull restoration of our vanished invertebrate abundance, something, again, that is being seen at Knepp with its small herds of free-roaming animals. Dung beetles, in particular, benefit from the presence of free-roaming cattle herds, but most farms are now deserts for them. Avermectins, the standard worming drug, sterilise modern cow dung and wreak immense damage on insect communities in thesoil. We have basically driven birds to extinction via starvation, by removing their food from their environment. We have measured the drastic decline in insect biomass since the 50s. If you feel dizzy or experience any other negative effects as a result of this type of breathwork, stop doing it immediately. The poet Ted Hughes famously wrote that the return of swifts to Britain in May is a sure sign that ‘the globe’s still working’. So their increasing absence, is evidence of something seriously amiss.

There is no research in the medical literature to support the use of rebirthing for mental health symptoms. It is not recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics or the American Psychiatric Association.Over the last few years, the notion of rewilding has risen to prominence. One doesn’t need to go further than social media to see this concept on a micro-level: the angst at a recently trimmed roadside margin or roundabout, the frustration of anti-birding netting on hedges and so on.Such reactions are, in their own way, an expression of the wish to reconnect with nature and let wildlife simply do its own thing. When considering this technique for yourself or your child, be sure to weigh the evidence against the risk. While a few hours of supervised shallow breathing will probably not hurt you, there is little to no evidence that it will lead to a definitive, cathartic experience. A lot of really interesting facts and arguments are put forward in this book. Some I knew about, agree with or would love to see happen. Other arguments I feel more conflicted about. Nature, however, is inherently scruffy. It does not respect human rules. Willow tits, for example, require festering decay in elder, birch and willow. This only happens by literally leaving ahabitat torot.

At this stage, a lot of these people are making big leaps, by coming out of what you might call conventional positions into more radical ones,” he says. “We want to make sure that we've got a proper coherent platform, before rushing out and going public. These things take time. But you'd be amazed at the extraordinary level of interest there is out there, not just among the public, but among landowners.”For anyone who still needs winning around to our planet’s beauty – and wants to know how we can save it – this is the book they should read. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson