Renaturing: Chloe Dalton and James Canton in conversation with William Sieghart

James Canton and fellow author, Chloe Dalton, will explore their different approaches to nature writing. Dalton’s Raising Hare is a charming account of unexpectedly raising a leveret during lockdown and a feel-good, life-affirming treat. Canton’s Renaturing shows how the concept of rewilding can be adopted by us all. We can all make positive change, however large or small. We can all be involved in caring for and restoring the natural world. In this session, we will discover how their experiences – of nature and writing – have intersected.

Saturday 14th June, 10.00am

Venue: Hedingham Castle, Bayley Street, Castle Hedingham, Halstead, CO9 3DJ

Tickets: £20

Box Office: eafestival.com

 

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Renaturing: Small Ways to Wild the World by James Canton

James Canton’s journey into developing an accessible and everyday approach to rewilding that can be adapted by anyone from the ambitious gardener to the casual window-box owner.

‘A wry and open-minded interrogation of human interventions in the landscape.’ – Richard Maybe

‘Renaturing presents an important, heartfelt message that there are things that we can all do to improve the current and evermore concerning state of nature… Appealingly relatable in its content and deeply encouraging in its outlook. Enjoyable start to finish.’ – Matt Collins, head gardener at The Garden Museum

 

Twenty years ago, James Canton moved from London to the English countryside. Behind his farm labourer’s cottage was a small, abandoned field with a ‘for sale’ sign. James knew that the two-acre patch of earth held more potential – as a place for nature to return and flourish.

Here is the story of how, over a number of years, he undertook a project to ‘rewild’ the field: digging a pond, forging meadowlands, creating habitats for birds and insects, encouraging flowers and plants that support pollinators and wildlife. Eventually what was once just a grassy space was again buzzing with life.

The process raised some interesting questions. Rewilding is about bringing a large landscape back to a natural, self-sustaining state. But that wasn’t possible on the scale of a field, a garden or a window box. What if we rethought the term? What if we aimed for ‘renaturing’ instead? Even on the smallest of scales we can create habitats to support a greater diversity of nature. A single window box planted with pollinator-friendly flowers can provide a mini-habitat to support honeybees; a tower block with a window box on every balcony becomes an acre of bee-friendly ecosystem.

Renaturing shows how the concept of rewilding can be adopted by us all. We can all make positive change, however large or small. We can all be involved in caring for and restoring the natural world.

 

Order a copy of Renaturing by James Canton at the Essex Book Festival bookshop at bookshop.org

 

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James Canton

Dr James Canton is Director of Wild Writing at the University of Essex. He is the author of Grounded: A Journey into the Landscapes of Our Ancestors (2023), The Oak Papers (2020), Ancient Wonderings: Journeys into Prehistoric Britain (2017) and Out of Essex: Re-Imagining a Literary Landscape (2013), which was inspired by his rural wanderings in East Anglia. He has written for the Guardian, reviews for the TLS and Caught by the River, and is a regular on television and radio.

@jamescanton | @jrcanton1 | jamescanton.co.uk

 

 

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Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton

The instant Sunday Times bestseller shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year 2024
A Book of the Year for the Hay Festival, Sunday Times, The Times, Financial Times, Spectator and iNews

‘A beautiful book’ – Angelina Jolie

‘I will be recommending this to everyone’ – Matt Haig

‘Quietly profound, beautifully written, Hare is now lodged in my heart’ – Tracy Chevalier

 

Imagine you could hold a baby hare and bottle-feed it. Imagine that it lived under your roof and lolloped around your bedroom at night, drumming on the duvet cover when it wanted your attention. Imagine that, over two years later, it still ran in from the fields when you called it and snoozed in your house for hours on end. This happened to me.

When lockdown led busy professional Chloe to leave the city and return to the countryside of her childhood, she never expected to find herself custodian of a newly born hare. Yet when she finds the creature, endangered, alone and no bigger than her palm, she is compelled to give it a chance at survival.

Raising Hare chronicles their journey together and the challenges of caring for the leveret and preparing for its return to the wild. We witness an extraordinary relationship between human and animal, rekindling our sense of awe towards nature and wildlife. This improbable bond of trust serves to remind us that the most remarkable experiences, inspiring the most hope, often arise when we least expect them.

 

Order a copy of Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton from the Essex Book Festival online bookshop at bookshop.org

 

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Chloe Dalton

Chloe Dalton is a writer, political adviser and foreign policy specialist. She spent over a decade working in the UK Parliament and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and has advised, and written for and with, numerous prominent figures. She divides her time between London and her home in the English countryside. Raising Hare is her first book. It was selected as Hay Festival Book of the Year 2024, shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year and a Critics Best Books pick for The Times, Financial Times, Guardian, Spectator and iNews.

chloedalton.uk | @chloedaltonuk | @raisinghare

 

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EA Festival

EA Festival is back on the beautiful grounds of Hedingham Castle, located on the border of Essex and Suffolk in the charming village of Castle Hedingham. With a star-studded line-up, it will be a dazzling smorgasbord of subjects – from AI and longevity to Christianity and art fraud. We are delighted to be partnering with EA Festival on two fabulous events.

Visit eafestival.com for EA Festival 2025 Programme, Line-up and to book tickets.