Land Healer, a title from Witness Books, tells the story of one man’s mission to change the face of the English countryside and his desire to be the “leading” light of a new British nature movement.
As conservation manager at Holkham in Norfolk, one of the country’s largest historic country estates, Jake Fiennes’ radical habitat restoration and agricultural work has nurtured its species and risen its crop yields.
He has brought back wetlands, hedgerows, birds, and butterflies across 25,000-acres of land.
His debut book tells of his ambition to bring back our flora and fauna – by reclaiming traditions and trialling new experiments which could restore symbiosis with land and save our shared future.
According to a spokesperson for the publishing company, the book is “a unique combination of nature writing and environmental manifesto, of passion and policy, it is a rallying cry for rethinking our relationship with the natural world before it is too late”.
The author himself said: “We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to readdress the balance, where our agricultural food systems can make space for nature.”
“I have witnessed the demise of our natural environment, and I have repeatedly brought nature back; it really is possible,” he remarked.
Reviews
Matthew Parris commented: “With mud on his boots and hope in his heart, Fiennes tells a powerful and uplifting story of food, farming and living with nature.
Isabella Tree added: “Jake Fiennes is changing the face of farming in Britain… a revolutionising force.”
About the author
From a thirty-year career in conservation, game-keeping and land management, an increasing number of key players in the conservationist and agricultural fields are seeking his advice and expertise.
They include the Ministry of Agriculture, the NFU, the Prince of Wales, the National Trust, the RSPB, and Natural England, among others. Previously, he worked at the Raveningham Estate, implementing high-quality, high-yielding crops sitting alongside high-value nature.
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