Wild Fell: Fighting for nature on a Lake District hill farm

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A poetic journey of restoring nature in an iconic landscape. Wild Fell informs and inspires. -- Jake Fiennes The first thing that stands out in this book is his knowledge of (and love for) plants – ferns, mosses, lichens, trees, even grasses, and above all, flowers; but more, how floral diversity in the uplands is the key, first to insect diversity and then to avian diversity. Get the plants right and everything else follows, all the way up to the eagles. Lee Schofield's Wild Fell is a soaring elegy to nature, a book infused with a deep love of place, and a stirring call to restore wildlife to our landscapes. Written with wit, verve and humility, Wild Fell is above all a story of hope, weaving together deep insights about botany and the history of the land with a wisdom won through years of practical experience. Guy Shrubsole The Lake District countryside has been shaped over thousands of years by two things farming and mining. Mining may no longer be economic; the farms, however, are still there. It may look like an idyllic way of life, but all is not well.

It's one of many successful projects Lee has overseen. Using drone technology and ancient maps, straightened rivers have been returned to their natural meandering course and salmon numbers have swelled because they are now able to lay eggs in sheltered bends.Like the rivers it has rebent, the Haweswater project is re-wiggling farming into a more sustainable alignment with nature. And by similarly refusing to operate in siloed straight lines,Schofield’s own journey towards greater collaboration may have lessons to teach both of the UK’s rural tribes” Avisionary, practical and lyricalbook on restoring land, fromone of the best in the game, on thefront line of nature restoration.” Farmers have always done what society has asked of them," he says. "For the past 70 years, the demand has been to produce as much food as possible, particularly post-war. Their success has been extraordinary - a rise in productivity of 150 percent."

A thrilling nature-led recovery in the Lakes. Interviewed by John Craven for an article about Haweswater. Countryfile Magazine/August 2022 Schofield, L. (2005). Public Attitude Toward Mammal Reintroductions: A Highland Case Study. MSc. Imperial College, University of London. Accessible online In a country defined as the seventh most nature depleted on Earth, in a region plagued by flooding and climate-chaos, here comes Lee Schofield’s brilliant book full of positive action and hope for the future. Wild Fell is a record of environmental achievement, of the RSPB’s mission to restore the places and wild nature of Haweswater. But it’s also a political tract, and throws down a gauntlet to us all to make the Lake District a national park that is genuinely worthy of the title.”Ratty’s return. Fourth article in Shadow Species series focuses on water voles. Cumbria Life/Sept 2020. Version also available as a WildHaweswater post