Philip Lymbery, author of works such as Sixty Harvests Left and Dead Zone, introduced the three authors briefly. With a bit more detail, they are:
Isabella Tree, author of 10 books so far, is responsible for the exceptional book Wilding, the story of a 3500-acre farm at Knepp in West Sussex which has become an exemplar for the Rewilding movement. In 2000 it was converted from conventional farming, becoming a much-visited site for all those interested in trying to put into practice what was achieved there. There is also a film called Wilding and The Book of Wilding: a practical guide to rewilding big and small by Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell.
Michael Morpurgo has written over 100 books, primarily for children and often with environmental themes. Together with his wife, Clare Lane, he set up the charity Farms for City Children in 1976. The charity has three farms which have been visited by over 100,000 children on so far.
Chris Packham has written extensively on the environment and presented many TV programmes on nature and the natural world, including The Really Wild Show and Springwatch. Packham has also authored a number of books on nature and the environment.
Questions and answers
Philip Lymbery started the session with a broad ‘why should we care’ question about nature. This led to a series of other questions; for the reader’s convenience, each author’s contributions are summarised as follows:
Isabella Tree
Birdsong in a rewilded environment
Tree placed great value on hearing birdsong at Knepp. Numbers of migrant birds arriving there later in the year would create birdsong powerful enough to make you feel vibrations in your chest.
She suggested that Knepp should also be noted for the way it absorbs and cleans run-off water from roads. The 3500 acre is now also a carbon sink. She concluded by adding that we cannot have polarised food versus nature arguments: we must have both or we won’t be here.
Inspiration during a transformation
Knepp had terrible farmland and 17 years of farming had led to an accumulated debt of £1.5m, so the turn to wilding was a pragmatic choice. Tree and her partner Charlie Burrell were open to change and specifically exploring the question of whether life could be brought back to their land. Their rewilding experiment developed with results which blew their minds. In short, Tree commented, “nature will bounce back if you let it.”
Solutions for the present moment
Tree thought that there must be a change of narrative from a false dichotomy between nature and other forms of land use. The big problem is vested interests such as agribusinesses and others obstructing positive change. There is a paralysis in the current situation, which is recognised by many farmers, if not by the National Farmers Union. She emphasised that the private sector did have a role in putting things right.
After a visit to Knepp, people are galvanised – they want to do something for nature themselves. As individuals we can take small actions, e.g. rewild a window box. Small actions can be empowering.
Takeaways from the session
Yes, people can rewild in very different places – from something as simple as a window box and beyond.
Michael Morpurgo
Nature is us
Morpurgo said we should care about nature because it’s us. Links to nature for children were critical in his view. There must be general access to nature so that people can discover it is for themselves. He felt that introducing young children to nature was vital.
Inspired by working with children
Farms for City Children has the benefit of connecting children to farmland through actually working on it. Morpurgo and his wife, Clare Morpurgo, are both teachers and have noted that only about half of parents seem to talk to their children to any significant extent about nature and environment. Now retired, they are both committed to feeding birds as a worthwhile contribution. Considering wider environmental activities, including those involving children, Morpurgo suggested it’s the ”only way this revolution will happen.”
Solutions whilst the wrong politics is still in place
Morpurgo observed that democracy is not working; we have bad political leaders. There is only one solution when the right politics are not in place: the population must love and understand nature to foster changes. Connection can be made through education, which is happening in some European countries already.
We are very divided among ourselves, including country versus town. People do not generally go where their food comes from. A new consensus about how we farm is needed, with water as a key issue. At present, ‘we make money from it’ is overriding all other considerations.
Chris Packham
Solace in nature
Packham said that nature offered him solace and respite from a world difficult to inhabit. Nature provided him with both mental and physical health benefits. He feels good in woodland and most comfortable there. From his time spent listening to rain falling through trees, he has learned to identify trees by the sound of rain passing through them.
The National Security Assessment the Government did not want to release
Packham drew attention to the Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security report issued by the Government in January 2026 in a short summary of 14 pages, with the rest of the material unreleased to date. The risks outlined included more conflict, more migration, and economic collapse. He asked why, in general, are leaders not acting of such evidence?
The report is grim reading, and bold and brave action is needed at this point. This action is not happening and Packham believes that our government is terrified. He had addressed an All-Party Parliamentary Group meeting of about 40 MPs who were apparently unaware of issues raised in the assessment. He thinks they don’t want to be aware of them.
MPs are used to separate catastrophes occurring every 15 years or so. At present, such catastrophes are occurring every 3 years. If global warming increases by 2℃ (3.6℉), this frequency will increase to every other year. Politicians need to be brave and act quickly. He noted the extraordinarily rapid transition to a war economy which the United States achieved after Pearl Harbour. We need bold and brave leaders – we don’t currently have them.
Solutions when the media is failing us
Packham believes more education is critical. However, he thinks the media is failing us all woefully. It is not that solutions do not exist, it is that speed of action is required. Choices could include raising taxes on tobacco and on sugar. He raised the idea of putting pictures of how animals are reared on meat packaging to help people make informed decisions on whether to eat meat. Addressing the audience, he reminded them that when David Attenborough addressed world leaders at COP26 they listened, but very quickly forgot what he had said. He asked the audience not to forget what they heard today as soon as tomorrow. He said, “We have to fix it; we [the speakers] have offered hope.”
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