Hope for the wild

“Perhaps you can be the first to pass these wild isles on to the next generation in better shape than you found it.”

This is Sir David Attenborough’s rallying call in the BBC’s flagship spring series Wild Isles. The series is a celebration of the astonishing natural wonders we can still find within the British Isles – and Patrick Barkham does a fine job of summing these up on page 48. Equally, the series contains a powerful message, reflected in Sir David’s words. Yes, we have marvels to treasure, but we’ve lost so much through carelessness, greed and neglect. It’s astonishing, for example, that within my lifetime, nightingales could disappear from our woodlands (page 38). Or that we’ve allowed so many of our rivers to become open sewers or polluted with farm waste. Meanwhile, battles still rage over the constraints that are placed on people when they want to explore the countryside (page 46).

Ultimately, Wild Isles is a message of hope. There is still time, will and energy to restore some of the essential building blocks of our natural systems – we cannot grow food or generate energy without a vibrant, healthy natural world. That these systems are often beautiful in their own right is the icing on the cake. We just need to care and, as Patrick says “there are simple ways we can all play our part”.

You’ll find ideas and advice in every issue of this magazine, as well as our email newsletter and award-winning podcast: The Plodcast.

Fergus Collins, editor@countryfile.com

Don’t miss our nature and countryside Plodcast – available on all podcast providers.

THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS

Fiona Gell, page 18

“The Manx landscape is full of reminders of the island’s colourful past: Viking ship burials, Neolithic stone circles and coastal forts.”

---

Patrick Barkham, page 48

“These islands are home to a bewildering array of habitats, from temperate rainforests to pine woods, vast lowland estuaries and heather uplands.”

---

Cerys Matthews, page 56

“It becomes abundantly clear when you distil down the text [of Under Milk Wood] that this is a love letter to life, wherever you’re from in the world.”

Photo: Alex Board