We’re talking online about rewilding, Ben Goldsmith at his London home. Ben is activist, rewilding advocate, financier, farm owner and host of the podcast Rewilding the World. Ben talks about rewilding cities, and the work for the Mayor of London’s taskforce, and how access to open spaces brought him close to nature as a child. Less tidiness is needed, he says. He describes the rewilding of his Somerset farm, and how the tragic and traumatic loss of his daughter Iris led to a whole new approach. He and other farmers/landowners have hopes for a rewilded corridor from Stonehenge to Avalon. He most magical moment, a July night two years ago, walking on a path by beaver ponds at the bottom of the farm, and seeing glow worms for the first time. I expect there to be lynx in the UK soon, he says. Maybe wolves too. 

Ben recommends “Feral” by George Monbiot, and Jonathan Thomson’s rewilding handbook called “How to Rewild Manual.” He also recommends reading any of the works of Richard Jeffries from the late 1800s to understand what nature abundance used to look like.

Ben’s book is called “God is an Octopus: Loss, Love and a Calling to Nature” (2023). 

His top recommended action: spend time in nature, and appreciate it. From there, all else flows. Also, apply pressure on your political candidates: make sure they care. 

My new book will be supporting this podcast, and will be published in March 2027 by Unbreaking/5m. It’s called "Bamboo and Butterfly: Transformation and Story for Climate and Nature Recovery."