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Showing posts from November, 2017

Rewilder’s Toolkit: some texts that got me thinking critically about a radical new future for human life and the planet.

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These are some texts that I read while studying Environment, Development & Policy at the university of Sussex that I feel helped formulate my own ideas on rewilding as a conservation strategy. There are definitely more out there that are explicitly about rewilding, but I feel these helped me form my own personal opinion. To follow up, the works of Franz Vera, Sergey Zimov, David Foreman, Josh Donlan et al. and Mauro Galetti have helped form some of the earlier writings on rewilding. Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding - George Monbiot The first text on rewilding I read. I was turned on to Feral by a piece written by Monbiot in the Guardian, which I think was an adapted excerpt in the run-up to the books launch. Monbiot has written fairly extensively on environment and society, with a previous book, HEAT, focussing on climate change. This book offers an extensive and emotive look at rewilding in a holistic British landscape, selecting areas o

Autumn Products

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Although I have put together the odd jam or syrup every year for at least three years now, I still consider myself an amateur at best when it comes to making preserves. Nevertheless, I feel I have got the gist of making certain products and what defines them in ingredient and technique. These are products that I consider 'autumn' products. Savoury I have made chutneys and ketchups before, but not many times. This year I made a Hawthorn ketchup with some added Sloes (the fruit of the blackthorn plant) as part of a gift bundle of foraged preserves (mainly because I am stone broke!) The ketchup came out brilliantly, with a subtle berry sweetness perfect with cheeses. I prefer it with halloumi or a goats cheese, but have had it in sandwiches regardless. I did not use many sloes, and they are more commonly used to make gins. Hawthorn has many medicinal attributes, mainly to do with the health of the heart and circulation.   A jar and a half of Haw & Sloe Ketchup. I m