Isabella Tree’s book Wilding was published in 2018 and quickly became a best-seller. It tells how she and partner Charlie Burrell transformed their 3,500 acre estate in the Sussex Weald from a heavily subsidy-dependent arable farm into a haven for wildlife. It is tempting to say they did it by simply selling the farm machinery and letting nature take over. There was more to it than that, and interventions such as the introduction of free-grazing Longhorn cattle and Tamworth pigs were vital to the success of the project. The result was the return of many rare and threatened species and ultimately a profitable visitor attraction that employs more people than the farm did.
The book has inspired a film, also called Wilding, which is being shown at the Mackenzie Hall, Brockweir on Sunday 27 October at 2pm. It is followed by a filmed interview with Isabella Tree, which helps to put the film into perspective and complete the story of Britain’s best-known rewilding project. If you loved the book or haven’t read it yet, the film is definitely worth catching at the Mac.