Chelsea Green Publishing UK – serie

There are an infinite number of possible futures that lie ahead of us—like threads stretching out into the distance. Rob Hopkins, cofounder of the international Transition Network movement, invites us to travel to future worlds we would actually want to live in.In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every aspect of daily life, climate activist and Transition Network cofounder Rob Hopkins responded the way a lot of people did: by starting a podcast. But it wasn’t any ordinary podcast. In each episode, Hopkins and his guests would “time travel” together to the year 2030—walking down imagined future streets, talking with imagined future neighbors, visiting imagined future local businesses. While Hopkins’s guests came from all walks of life—economists, politicians, bakers, comedians, novelists and more—they all shared a willingness to suspend their worries about the future long enough to mentally inhabit and then describe a world they were thrilled to be a part of.What Hopkins discovered was no less profound: this simple exercise of visiting a positive future forced him to rethink the work he’d been doing as a climate activist for decades.How to Fall in Love with the Future is the result of that radical disruption—and Hopkins’s deep dive into the people and movements throughout history who have used visions of the future to inspire positive change on a large and dramatic scale. From the life and writings of musician Sun Ra and the history of Black utopian movements to the latest neuroscience on what goes on in our minds—and hearts—when we “time travel,” Hopkins brings essential new thinking to anyone overwhelmed with dread and anxiety for the future. He asks us to consider: what would the world look like if we all got to work imagining—and then building—a world we were deeply in love with?“Rob Hopkins puts imagination back at the heart of future-dreaming, offering us an irresistible invitation to dream bigger and then make those dreams a reality.”—Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics

‘A windswept love letter to Scotland’s heritage sheep and to the Orkney farming community too.’ Cal Flyn, author of Islands of AbandonmentThe Lost Flock is the story of the remarkable and rare little horned sheep, known as Orkney Boreray, and the wool-obsessed woman who moved to one of Scotland’s wildest islands to save them.It was Jane Cooper’s passion for knitting that led her to discover the world of rare-breed sheep and their wool. Through this, Jane uncovered the ‘Orkney Borerary’ – a unique group within the UK’s rarest breed of sheep, the Boreray, and one of the few surviving examples of primitive sheep in northern Europe.As her knowledge of this rarest of heritage breeds grew, she took the bold step to uproot her quiet suburban life in Newcastle and relocate to Orkney, embarking on a new adventure and life as farmer and shepherd.Jane was astonished to find that she was the sole custodian of this lost flock in the world, and so she began investigating their mysterious and ancient history, tracking down the origins of the Boreray breed and its significance to Scotland’s natural heritage.From Viking times to Highland crofts and nefarious research experiments in Edinburgh, this is a so-far untold real-life detective story. It is also the story of one woman’s relentless determination to ensure a future for her beloved sheep, and in doing so revealing their deep connection to the Scottish landscape.An unforgettable story of a heritage breed and the importance of its existence.‘Rare-breed sheep, Scotland’s most dramatic landscapes and a woman on a mission. All the perfect ingredients for an ovine true-life adventure.’ Sally Coulthard, author of A Short History of the World According to Sheep

WITH A FOREWORD FROM TIM SPECTOR, author of The Diet Myth, Spoon-Fed and Food for LifeRadio 4's The Food Programme Book of the Year, chosen by Dan Saladino‘A pioneering approach.’ ANNA JONES, cook and bestselling author of Easy Wins‘This exciting and important book now brings Natoora and all its ingredients not just to restaurants like ours but … to everyone’s home.’ RUTH ROGERS, chef and co-founder of The River CafeLet flavour guide our food choices – and lead us to a better food future. In Search of the Perfect Peach shows us how this simple desire can bring about a healthier, tastier and brighter future for our food, the people who produce it and the soil it grows in.That first bite of a perfectly ripe peach can be truly transformative – a joyful moment that will stay with you forever. For Franco Fubini, founder and CEO of Natoora, this encounter also leads him to realise that flavour is not simply a fleeting, visceral experience but a window into the farmer, a connection to our natural environment and a taste test for our food system.What makes a great-tasting tomato? Why is scarring on a greengage a good sign? Does ‘eating local’ narrow our priorities to the exclusion of others? In Search of the Perfect Peach follows Franco as he navigates the food system in pursuit of this elusive element. As he takes us from Sicily’s citrus groves to the streets of Mexico City, he shows how we have allowed the wider industry to compromise on more than just flavour.Franco’s search for the Greta peach culminates in his own clarity and conviction: by looking to flavour, we can unpick the industrialisation of our food production, restore nutrition and seasonal diversity to our plates and the craft of growing back to our landscapes. And, above all, we can find that perfect peach every summer.‘By valuing and reclaiming flavour, Franco argues that we can transform the system and also enrich our relationship with food. Essential reading.’ DAN SALADINO, journalist, broadcaster and author of Eating to Extinction‘An incredible read for those who love food and care about its future. In Search of the Perfect Peach is both a love story and technical guide.’ KYLE CONNAUGHTON, chef and owner of SingleThread Farm, Restaurant and Inn

Longlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2024 for Nature Writing⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Telegraph‘One of the most remarkable figures in British conservation.’ The Observer‘There have been several books on the fate of British wolves, but this is the best.’ The Spectator‘Beautifully crafted, fascinating and unbearably poignant, I totally loved this book.’ Isabella Tree, author of Wilding'A dazzling romp through the turbulent history of wolves in Britain.' Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell'Gow's anecdotes will leave you howling - and his historical detective work to track down the shadow of the wolf is as gripping as any thriller.' Guy Shrubsole, author of The Lost Rainforests of Britain‘Gow reinvents what it means to be a guardian of the countryside.’ GuardianAuthor of Bringing Back the Beaver and Britain’s favourite maverick rewilder Derek Gow embarks on an adventure to uncover the mythology, mystery and history of wolves in Britain.Derek Gow’s dream is that one day we will see the return of the wolf to Britain. Wolf rewilding projects have been successfully implemented across the world – so what is holding us back in the UK?Hunt for the Shadow Wolf is Derek’s quest to uncover the true nature of this magnificent creature. As Derek worked to reintroduce the beaver, he began to hear stories of the wolf, both real and mythical, and his fascination with it grew. He pieced together fragments of information, stories and artefacts to reveal a shadowy creature that first walked proud through these lands and then was hunted to extinction.What Derek came to realise was that the underlying motives behind our hatred were actually rooted in power and profit. We turned the wolf into a savage beast and saw its extirpation as a civilising mission. But the wolf endured and Derek tells of his sightings through folklore and mythology, the records of grand estates and parish churches as well as wolf heads, both real and recreated.With bitingly funny but also tender stories, Hunt for the Shadow Wolf makes clear why we must reconcile our relationship with this majestic animal before we can begin to bring it back to these lands.‘Gow has a fire in his belly. We need more like him.’ BBC Wildlife Magazine

Winner of the Garden Media Guild Practical Book of the Year Award‘A cornucopia of sage advice and cunning tips.’ Tom Heap, BBC Countryfile‘Mark’s enthusiasm is infectious and . . . will give you confidence and knowledge.' Charles Dowding, author of Skills for Growing and No Dig GardeningGrow delicious fruit, vegetables, herbs and salad in containers, pots and baskets – in any outdoor space, no matter how small!Do you want to grow your own tomatoes, chillies, strawberries and more but thought you didn’t have the space or know-how? Mark Ridsdill Smith, creator of the wildly popular Vertical Veg website and online community, will show you how to make the most of walls, balconies, patios, arches and windowsills to create your own kitchen garden.With over ten years’ experience of growing and teaching people how to grow bountiful, edible crops in small spaces, Mark will help you produce a serious amount of nutritious food while saving money on grocery bills and discovering a lot of joy along the way. You’ll find:Mark’s ‘Eight Steps to Success’, including ‘Keeping It Simple’Planting projects for beginnersWhat to grow and where to grow itHow to draw up a planning calendar so you can grow throughout the yearFertiliser recipes and wormery guide for the more experienced growerTroubleshooting tips for the specific challenges of growing in small spacesBeautiful crops that support pollinators and other wildlifeDon’t be confined by the space you have. Create beauty, life and flavour in the heart of the city and beyond.

‘A windswept love letter to Scotland’s heritage sheep and to the Orkney farming community too.’ Cal Flyn, author of Islands of AbandonmentThe Lost Flock is the story of the remarkable and rare little horned sheep, known as Orkney Boreray, and the wool-obsessed woman who moved to one of Scotland’s wildest islands to save them.It was Jane Cooper’s passion for knitting that led her to discover the world of rare-breed sheep and their wool. Through this, Jane uncovered the ‘Orkney Borerary’ – a unique group within the UK’s rarest breed of sheep, the Boreray, and one of the few surviving examples of primitive sheep in northern Europe.As her knowledge of this rarest of heritage breeds grew, she took the bold step to uproot her quiet suburban life in Newcastle and relocate to Orkney, embarking on a new adventure and life as farmer and shepherd.Jane was astonished to find that she was the sole custodian of this lost flock in the world, and so she began investigating their mysterious and ancient history, tracking down the origins of the Boreray breed and its significance to Scotland’s natural heritage.From Viking times to Highland crofts and nefarious research experiments in Edinburgh, this is a so-far untold real-life detective story. It is also the story of one woman’s relentless determination to ensure a future for her beloved sheep, and in doing so revealing their deep connection to the Scottish landscape.An unforgettable story of a heritage breed and the importance of its existence.‘Rare-breed sheep, Scotland’s most dramatic landscapes and a woman on a mission. All the perfect ingredients for an ovine true-life adventure.’ Sally Coulthard, author of A Short History of the World According to Sheep

Radio 4's The Food Programme Book of the Year, chosen by Dan SaladinoAn Irish Times Best Gardening Book 2023Shortlisted for the Garden Media Guild’s Garden Book of the Year Award 2023Longlisted for The Art of Eating Prize 2023‘If you’re a vegetable growing addict or just curious about their origins, there’s something for everyone in Adam’s new book.’ Rob Smith, TV presenter'[This book] is a clarion call to think about our food in new ways and carefully consider where it comes from.' New ScientistMeet the Indiana Jones of vegetables on his quest to save our heritage produce.Have you ever wondered how everyday staples such as peas, kale, asparagus, beans, squash and sweetcorn ended up on our plates? Well, so did Adam Alexander. Adam’s passion for heritage vegetables was ignited when he tasted an unusual, sweet and fiery pepper while on a filmmaking project in Ukraine. Smitten by its flavour, he began to seek out local growers of old and near-forgotten varieties in a mission to bring home seeds to grow and share – saving them from being lost forever.In The Seed Detective, Adam tells of his far flung (and closer to home) seed-hunting adventures and reveals the stories behind many of our everyday vegetable heroes. How the common garden pea was domesticated from three wild species over 8,500 years ago, that the first carrots originated in Afghanistan (and were actually purple or red in colour), how Egyptian priests considered it a crime to look at a fava bean and that the Romans were fanatical about asparagus.Join The Seed Detective as he takes us on a journey that began when we left the life of hunter-gatherers to become farmers. Sharing storiesof globalisation, political intrigue, colonisation and serendipity, Adam shows us the vital part vegetables have played in our food story – and how they are the key to our future.‘Informative, enlightening and entertaining but also important.’ Mark Diacono‘One of the most inspirational books I have encountered.’ Darina Allen

Understand the practical and emotional impact of your symptoms and learn to organise every step of your health management.If you’re dealing with a range of complicated and confusing health problems following a Covid vaccination, this guide is for you. An adverse reaction to a Covid vaccination can be a deeply distressing experience. It may leave you mystified as you attempt to deal with a range of physical, cognitive, and psychological symptoms that few seem able to explain, diagnose, treat, or even acknowledge.The Covid Vaccine Adverse Reaction Survival Guide is here to help, taking you through this stressful experience in a way that will help you feel more in control of your life. The CVARS Guide addresses key areas of recovery to maximise your healing potential. It is also essential reading for anyone providing personal or professional support to someone who is dealing with an adverse reaction.Packed with recipes, worksheets, symptom charts, appointment records, and diary pages, the CVARS Guide demystifies nutrition plans and advice and includes ways of keeping track of symptoms so that you can tackle them without feeling overwhelmed, while you develop your own unique recovery plan.

‘Fabulous.’ Dan Richards, author of Holloway‘Terrifically strange and thrilling.’ Melissa Harrison, author of All Among the Barley'A modern-day bard.' Madeline Miller, author of CirceThis is a book of literary activism – an antidote to the shallow thinking that typifies our age. In Courting the Wild Twin, acclaimed scholar, mythologist and author of Smoke Hole and Bardskull, Martin Shaw unravels two ancient European fairy tales concerning the mysterious ‘wild twin’ located deep inside all of us. By reading these tales and becoming storytellers ourselves, he challenges us to confront modern life with purpose, courage, and creativity.Martin summons the reader to the ‘ragged edge of the dark wood’ to seek out this estranged, exiled self – the part we generally shun or ignore to conform to societal norms – and invite it back into our consciousness. If there was something we were meant to do with our few, brief years on Earth, we can be sure that our wild twin is holding the key.After all, stories are our secret weapons – and they might just save us.

Getting Healthy in Toxic Times is the first book to connect the health of our planet with our own well-being, and asks the question that very few doctors do – how can we protect ourselves from the pollution, chemicals and toxins that pervade our environment?We’re all too aware of the traffic pollution in the air, the chemicals in our water, the toxins in the soil (and therefore our food) and the electromagnetic energy emanating from our gadgets. But if we can also understand how they affect our health, not least in the worrying rises in asthma and allergies, infertility, obesity, heart disease, behavioural and neurological disorders as well as cancer, then we can take positive steps to avoid them.We can safeguard ourselves with protective measures, minimise our interactions with those pollutants we can’t get away from, ensure our bodies have the right anti-toxin nutrients and take collective action to fight for our health and that of the environment, both local and global.Backed by the latest scientific and medical research, Getting Healthy in Toxic Times will empower you to look after your own health – and that of the planet. Let’s put the good stuff in and take the bad stuff out!

‘One of the most remarkable figures in British conservation.’ Observer‘Gow reinvents what it means to be a guardian of the countryside.’ Guardian‘Courageous, visionary, funny.’ Isabella Tree‘A brilliant read.’ Benedict Macdonald‘He gets stuff done. . . . Highly entertaining but also a heartfelt plea for a wilder, more inspiring Britain.’ Hugh Fearnley-WhittingstallBirds, Beasts and Bedlam recounts the adventures of Britain’s favourite maverick rewilder, Derek Gow, and his single-minded mission to save our rarest wildlife – one species at a time.Author of Bringing Back the Beaver and Hunt for the Shadow Wolf, Derek shares his personal, courageous and highly entertaining tales in Birds, Beasts and Bedlam, including how he raised a sofa-loving wild boar piglet, transported a raging bison bull across the UK, got bitten by a Scottish wildcat and, together with Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell, restored the ancient white stork to the pioneering Knepp Estate.After a Shetland ewe captured his heart as a boy, Derek grew up to become a farmer with a passion for ancient breeds. When he realised how many of our species were close to extinction – even on his own land – Derek tore down fences literally and metaphorically, transforming his traditional Devon farm into a 300-acre rewilding haven for beavers, water voles, lynx, wildcats, harvest mice, wild boar and more. A project that is still ongoing today.Birds, Beasts and Bedlam continues the rich tradition of great British nature writing and is a natural bedfellow to Gerald Durrell’s A Zoo in My Luggage. Passionate, subversive and unforgettable, Birds, Beasts and Bedlam will leave you imagining a rewilded landscape filled with our lost native birds and wildlife.‘A do-er, not a dreamer, Gow has become one of our most outspoken rewilders.’ Countryfile Magazine‘In this warm and funny autobiography, [Gow] writes with a whimsical fluency about the moments of humour and pathos in an unusual life.’ Country Life

‘An important book, brimming with insight.’ Nicholas Evans, author of The Horse Whisperer‘Material is generous, wise, fascinating and fundamentally humane.’ Dan Richards, author of OutpostThrowing a pot. Building a bench. Sewing clothes. Creating a linocut illustration. Carving a spoon. What does it mean to make things with your hands in a digital age, full of mass-market, disposable items?Following the path trod by bestselling authors Lars Mytting, Robert Macfarlane and Barn the Spoon, craftsman Nick Kary explores what it means to be a maker. Through beautifully crafted writing filled with memorable craftspeople, landscapes, stories and scenery, Material is a rich celebration of what it means to imagine and create.Nick champions the voices of artisans across the UK, from potters to woodworkers, reminding us of the rich vein of knowledge and skills that defines our common human heritage. He tells the stories of makers and explores the challenge of making a living out of a practice that was once a necessity, asking them why they make and what it means to create in a world where consumers are disconnected from the creative and material process.Underlying his visits to meet fellow makers are the author’s own reflections about what and who influenced him to value materials from the earth for the past forty years.Perfect for fans of Countryfile or Norwegian Wood, Material is a rich, inspiring read for woodworkers, potters, craftspeople, bibliophiles and anyone who enjoys working with their hands.

‘A modern-day bard.’ Madeline Miller, author of Circe and The Song of Achilles‘Shaw has so much wisdom and knowledge about the old stories, it emanates from his pores.’ John Densmore, The Doors‘Through feral tales and poetic exegesis, Martin Shaw makes you re-see the world, as a place of adventure and of initiation, as perfect home and as perfectly other. What a gift.’ David Keenan, author of Xstabeth‘I can still remember the first time I heard Martin Shaw tell a story. The tale that emerged was like a living thing, bounding around, throwing itself at us there listening. I had never heard anything like it before.’ Paul Kingsnorth, Booker shortlisted author of The WakeToday, as we are confronted by not one, but many crossroads in our lives – identity, technology, love, seduction, politics – celebrated mythologist and wilderness guide Martin Shaw delivers Smoke Hole – three ancient myths that serve as metaphors for our world today. Assailed by the seductive promises of social media and shadowed by a pandemic that brought loneliness to an all-time high, Martin argues that we are losing our sense of direction, our sense of self.He invites us to use these stories to help find ‘a commons for the imagination, a place to breathe deeper, feel steadier and become acquainted with rapture.’ Smoke Hole is a passionate call to arms and an invitation to use these stories to face the complexities of contemporary life, from fake news to parenthood, climate crises, addictive technology and more. Available now as a podcast! Subscribe to Smoke Hole Sessions to hear amazing conversations between Martin Shaw and some of our most admired writers, actors, comedians, musicians and more, including Sir Mark Rylance and Tommy Tiernan (Derry Girls).

Longlisted for the 2026 Wainwright Prize for Nature WritingShortlisted for the 2025 Richard Jefferies AwardA Book of the Year 2025 — The Spectator An urgent telling of a kind of real-life haunting of two rural women who both wanted to become farmers—one in 1940s Britain and one in the present—by award-winning author Nicola Chester."Nicola Chester will come to be seen as a Nan Shepherd of our time."—Nick Acheson, author of The Meaning of GeeseThis is the story of Miss White, a woman who lived in the author’s village 80 years ago, a pioneer who realised her ambition to become a farmer during the Second World War, and how she worked to become accepted within this community. Nicola Chester, too, dreamed of becoming a farmer but working with horses was the only path open to her. Was it easier for women to become farmers in the 1940s than it is now?Moving between Nicola’s own attempts to work outdoors and Miss White’s desire to farm a generation earlier, Nicola explores the parallels between their lives – and the differences. Miss White buys a derelict farm and begins to renovate and modernize it. As ghost (barn) owls flit between these two worlds, Nicola draws connections with farming and rural life in both times, from the role of women in rural communities in the modern day to Miss White’s experience in the 1940s. And how those farming modernizations have left the modern day with both a denuded landscape and farming community and a disconnect from nature.Increasingly, Nicola’s research into past and present interlinks and illuminates her own battles to raise awareness of rural communities, outdoor work and the ongoing loss of farmland birds that were so familiar to Miss White."An absolutely fascinating insight into women and farming. Nicola Chester really knows how to bring the past alive."—Claire Fuller, author of The Memory of Animals

"A truly original perspective on Italy." Helena Attlee, author of The Land Where Lemons GrowFull of surprise and discovery, This Beautiful Country paints an unforgettable picture of Italy heretofore unseen - one wilder than you can imagine. Italy is renowned for its antiquities, classical literature, philosophy, and modern-day culture, cuisine and fashion. What has gone largely overlooked – and undocumented, even by its people – is its unique biodiversity. Italy has the widest variety of wildlife in Europe with over 60,000 different species, and around 4,800 of these are found nowhere else on Earth. It has more grape varieties than France, more wheat that the United States, over 300 local tomatoes, and dozens of citrus and chestnut varieties. Edward Cutler, co-founder of the Tuscany Environment Foundation, began to explore Italy's history on his Tuscan farm. Starting with a small salamander endemic to the surrounding Apennine Mountains, he opened a trove of discoveries. Alongside a dedicated community of Italian biologists and conservation scientists, Edward traces a journey of the country's geological past to its present-day landscape and beauty, architectural heritage and gastronomic wonders. This eye-opening guide makes a compelling case for prioritising Italian conservation and ecosystem services while highlighting the country's profound ecological impact on Europe as a whole. "A deep dive into how hundreds of millions of years of evolution and Earth history have shaped the beauty of modern-day Italy. This engaging and enlightening book will give you a whole new perspective on how one of the world’s most fascinating countries and cultures came to be." Steve Brusatte, New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs