'I found myself turning the pages with an inward leap of joy' -
Isabella Tree
*Highly Commended in the James Cropper Wainwright Prize for
Conservation*
In 2015, England's last and loneliest golden eagle died in an unmarked
spot among the remote eastern fells of the Lake District. It was a
tragic day for the nation's wildlife, but the fight to restore the
landscape had already begun.
Lee Schofield, ecologist and site manager for RSPB Haweswater is leading
efforts to breathe life back into two hill farms and their thirty square
kilometres of sprawling upland habitat. The farms sit at the edge of the
region's largest reservoir, beneath which lie the remains of a submerged
village. The area's history has been a turbulent one for both its people
and its wildlife, leaving its habitats in tatters.
In the search for inspiration, Lee sought out England's rarest mountain
flower and travelled from the wild fells of Norway to the pristine
meadows of the Alps. Informed, too, by the local land, its history and
the people who have shaped it, Lee and his team have remeandered a
straightened river and are repairing damaged wetlands, meadows and
woods. Each year, the landscape is becoming richer, wilder and better
able to withstand the shocks of a changing climate.
But in the contested landscape of the Lake District, change is not
always welcomed, and success relies on finding a balance between
rewilding and respecting cherished farming traditions. This is not only
a story of nature in recovery, it is also the story of Lee's personal
connection to place, and the highs and lows of working for nature amid
fierce opposition.
Wild Fell is a call to recognise that the solutions for a richer world
lie at our feet; by focusing on flowers, we can rebuild landscapes fit
for eagles again. A landscape of flowers is a landscape of hope.
