Future Rural, Imaging Tomorrow’s Countryside. Editor Adrian Cooper. 2026. Little Toller Books.  218pp. ISBN 978-1-915068-57-6.. This is an ‘uncorrected proof’ copy. From 28 April: Hardback. £25 

 The CPRE (Campaign for the Protection of Rural England) has become of age, at least now that it is a 100 years old. This is not a prospectus of their way ahead. Instead it has offered an indulgence to 33 ‘contributors’ to write about their feelings of the countryside and how it has moulded their expectations, with a few nostalgic photos. The photos show earliest days or impressionistic landscapes of remembered pasts; they generally do not add a lot to the text, as they are small and not always very good. This is an ‘Uncorrected Proof’ that I am reviewing here, so this might be sorted in later revisions. The CPRE have moved from use of the words ‘Council’ to ‘Campaign’ and from ‘Preservation’ to ‘Protection’ reflecting new beliefs. Preserving the countryside is clearly not a sound policy as the countryside is always changing and one would not want to preserve what has become stark and ugly and not biodiverse.  The CPRE’s campaigns remain the same, trying to check the gross loss of the countryside and the anthropmorphic effects on nature, including the decline of flora and fauna (anthropocene). CPRE like to oppose solar farms in favour of PVs on factory roofs, but they have warmed in recent years to embracing biodiverse solar farms. Michael Morpugo writes a Foreword from deepest rural England estolling the virtues of wide open landscapes, hedges, sheep and how children will grow up to ‘becoming the greatest protectors’ of the countryside. Of th 33 contributors, and those who work for CPRE are noted naturalists, such as Richard Mabey who provides a potted history of his life between his beloved Chilterns and North Norfolk coast, Isabella Tree with her special rewilding experiences at Knepp, to Guy Shrubsole, environmental campaigner and author of the Lost Rainforests of Britain and his revealing book on who owns what land.  There are quite a few academics and directors of nature reserves who have done their bit for nature conservation, or have written plenty of nature books. Clearly they are all sympathetic of ‘preservation’ whatever that really means (not preserving everything in aspic), Fiona Reynolds giving her experience with the National Trust, Cambridge University and private landowners. All have a different take on the way the land is managed and proportioned and how wildlife tries, or is enabled to fit in to an every reducing and constrained optimal habitat. Generally nature and wildlife come off badly with such competing aims of everybody. Of course commentary on sustainability and the effects of climate change have been discussed. However there is no summary of all views or chapter to demonstrate how the CPRE’s campaign has been going. There is no index which is a pity. The only colour for the future, or indeed, in the book, is the cover, which acknowledges our current countryside gay with yellow fields of Oilseed Rape, ploughed fields, walkers, joggers and sheep in fields, and, last but not least people working allotments, with raised beds to come face to face with the fruits of the land.  They show swifts screaming over the yellow fields as something to remember right now. Enjoy it while it lasts, when swifts are experiencing a 57% decline, and House Martins a 47% decline.  It all paints a jolly picture of life on the land in 2026 acknowledging  intensive agriculture alongside man. It is not getting better. That is the pessimistic view.  UK, we have a problem. CPRE do their best. Their mission.

Nuts About The Rainforest, The Brazil Nut (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.) its role in the ecology, ethnobotany, and economy of Amazonian Brazil with an emphasis on the indigenous peoples. By Pedro B.L. Lisboa and Ghillean T. Prance. Published by Redfern Natural History Productions Ltd. 2026.  484pp  with dustjacket.

 A huge amount of time, energy and decades of exploration in the Amazon rainforest has gone into this magnificent work, compiled by two authors. The first is Pedro Lisboa who was Director at the Goeldi Museum in Belem, and Professor Sir Iain Prance who was Director of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew 1988-1999. Both love trees; particularly this one. Between them they have published 43 books and about 700 scientific papers. For a while, Sir Iain seemed to be forever in Amazonia since he clocked up 39 expeditions and collected over 350 new species of plant; a rare and superlative record for field botany in the thick of it. He has 15 honorary doctorates.

But this tome is almost as heavy as the fruit of the tree that they have compiled, the Brazil Nut. So why this species?  The answer is because it is simply the ‘greatest symbol of sustainability and conservation in the Amazon Basin’. It certainly is distinctive and magnificent, an ‘eye-stopper’, towering over other vegetation, growing on a straight trunk and flowering amongst the canopy, 20-30 metres up. This is a killer nut, the size of a child’s head, that has claimed several lives and fractured skulls.

The nut is made of hard wood, and its evolutionary origin is fascinating, perhaps being so hard to avoid the ravaging skills of the megapods before man evolved, or simply to deter large herbivores, or both: a consequence of evolution.  The nut has a lid which detatches to allow the fruits to tumble out, and the whole fruit is a pyxidium, a device also shared by the delicate and humble Scarlet Pimpernel.

Cracking the nut in the wild has been achieved in a symbiotic relationship with the agouti  – the main disperser – which helps to spread the species. This rodent has such strong teeth it can gnaw its way to the softer centre of the nut. This is coevolution at it is best.  The nut it nutritious for indigenous peoples and explorers alike, for instance saving Humboldt men from starvation when they came up the Orinoco into Amazonia.

Pollination of the flowers is done by strong-bodied bees of five genera, able to fly up to 20km, thus increasing gene flow and ensuring good genetic variability. Germination takes a while; when Kew tried germinating the whole capsule it took up to six years to get a few seeds to germinate out of the pericarp. In the wild the hard nuts can lie around in the leaf litter for a few years before germination.

Knowledge of the Bazil nut came late to Europeans; the first mention being Carolus Clusius (1526-1609) who established it in Leiden, Netherlands. But this book digs very deep into its origins of the Brazil nut in the ordinary lives of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. There are 331 indigenous lands in the ‘Legal Amazonia’, of an increasing population (730K in 2022), and most collect Brazil nut as part of their diet, usage (i.e. matting) and for sale. The authors describe the nut productivity of indigenous peoples along all the main river basins. There is no other book that has meticulously catalogued the profit and loss accounts, and vagaries of the world trade in these nuts. The book thus presents historical, ecological, anthropomphic information and commercial data on the species. It is no wonder that Robin Hanbury-Tenison, Founder of Survival International, has endorsed the book.

The nut crop is so important that models have been worked up to show that of the indigenous people could produce 34,608 tons of Brazil nuts a year, as an reliable economic gain. This has been worked out as a means of proving that this reliance of one single food source may restrain the progressive loss of the rainforest by preserving and conserving rainforest. After the nut have been taken from the wooden capsule a modern usage of the capsules has been to make organic bioplastics.

Harvesting of nuts is done from existing rainforest trees, so the harvest is entirely sustainable. We learn than there are no plantations in the Amazon, that there are great swathes without the species, and that its origin is a little obscure, there are conundrums and enigmas and false declarations and there is a lack of fossils which is an evolutionary botanical mystery.

These two botanists have ‘cracked’ the story of Brazil nuts…..yes, they have become nuts about the nuts on this botanical literary expedition. There is nothing quite like this botanical masterpiece on such a key rainforest species. The book has many colour photographs, and there is a General Index, Index of Scientific Names, Index of Indigenous tribes cited, and  a Glossary.

 Every botanical and ethnobotanical library in the world should have a copy.

Ponds, Pools and Puddles by Jeremy Biggs & Penny Williams, 2024. New Naturalist’s Series No. 148. London, William Collins. 615pp. ISBN 978-0-00-220085-1.  £65

The authors are founders of the ‘Freshwater Habitats Trust’ which was formed out of ‘Pond Conservation’ initially formed in 1988 by Jeremy Biggs, now Prof. Biggs. It’s a very big and comprehensive book compiled by these two go-to pond experts. The fruits of pond research have been trawled to bring up to date information, graphs and maps of changes in the landscape, and the rise and fall of pond organisms at the hands of man manipulating the landscape. It is not only a good read but it provides a resumé of the state of populations of native and introduced wildlife, with especial detailed information of amphibians. GCNs (Great Crested Newts) we learn are the ‘pantomine villains of British nature conservation’ and ‘more money has been spent on this animal than other, often ‘without much success’ and of Natterjacks we learn are ‘perhaps the most intensively studied of Britain’s amphibians,” but one that is least seen I would add.  A dive into the book for obvious topics such as pingoes, the 1 million ponds project and fairy shrimps are all there with further information.  The history of ponds in Britain provides a fascinating insight into the how aquatic wildlife has worked its way into different habitats, even coastal ones, and abroad, too with information on now toads have evolved into old wet woodland. What the book will be particularly useful for practicing ecologists is that management strategies for looking after, enhancing and making new ponds and what to do with old terrestrialised ponds is all there with illustrations. The book carries many colour photographs demonstrating different types of ponds and wildlife from birds to dependant invertebrates – but no mention of ‘Buglife – The Invertebrate Trust’ in the index. There are indexes to common names and species and a big section on references typical of these NNS books which never disappoint.

The Education of a Prince, The Diary and correspondence of Frederick Waymouth Gibbs: tutor to King Edward VII. Edited by Ghillean T. Prance and Rachel J. Crosby. 2024. pp141.  ISBN 978-1-908787-50-7 and ISBN 9 781908 787507.

The papers of Mr. Gibbs (1821-1898), including his diary, letters and prints have come directly down the family tree to these two authors, Prof. Sir Ghillean T. Prance (Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 1988 to 1999) and his daughter (manager of international projects in Africa and South America), Frederick Gibbs being Prance’s second cousin of his grandfather.  Gibbs’ claim to fame was that he was the tutor to Queen Victoria’s two eldest sons, from 1851-1856, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and Prince Alfred.

And what a hard life Gibbs seems to have had. It was not an easy teaching job, since the Prince of Wales was particularly truculent, aggressive and prone to throwing things around. These transcripts of diary entries and letters (some originals are shown written in a spidery quill hand) are revealing and deal mostly with everyday life in royal Victorian circles. Most of the political issues of the day are not included. There are timetables and strict work schedules, often metered out by Victoria who insisted on seven hours teaching, sometimes seven days a week especially if the princes were especially naughty. There were many “wishes of the Queen on a number of small points and generally the host of nothings which become important only when neglected” said Gibbs in a letter home from Windsor Castle in 1852. There were “Rules for Meals” and regulations, such as not being rude to their sisters, how not to fidget with cutlery at the table, and never to interrupt people speaking at mealtimes, and when precisely to wear a kilt.   The Queen also provided approved lists of suitable boys (17 are listed) who the Prince of Wales could have round to play during the summer – and  eight listed for Prince Alfred.  Eton, being next door to Windsor Castle had been a source of teachers and appropriate playmates.

Day to day entries in his diaries are sometimes like entries in a school report…”the impulse to oppose is very strong and offers great difficulties in his education”, and  “nothing makes a deep impression, and he forgets the greatest part of what he learns”…  It seems hard work for Mr. Gibbs considering all the non-cooperation he had with the Prince of Wales, all for an annual fee of £1,000. He took over from a master at Eton who was regarded as being too lenient with the boys, which is why the Queen wanted someone a little more stricter. This did not go down well with the boys so Gibbs took a while to settle in. The diaries show that Victoria gave him presents, and that he dined with her on some evenings. In his role as a teacher he had to work at Buckingham Palace, Osborne House and Sandringham and took voyages around the coast following his subjects. In 1852 the Queen had a phrenologist look at the princes’ heads to see if they were developing correctly. “The predominant organs are still combativeness, destructiveness, self-esteem, firmness and conscistiousness. Concentrativeness also is large, and the cerebellum is of considerable size having increased since May 1851.”  Phrenology was highly regarded at the time.

The book is illustrated with very good sketches from Albert Edward, and black and white photographs of the boys later in life, and Queen Victoria.  There is correspondence between the princes after Gibbs left when he continued to write to them, and received letters from them with presents, and others, including Tennyson residing at Henley on Thames. He was given £400 rising to £800 for his pension after four years.

The book provides a valuable insight into royal life during this snapshot of Victoria’s life. The entries will provide historians with a wealth of finer detail from ‘upstairs’ as seen by a teacher, as well as shining a light on the abundance of courtesy, etiquette and behaviour amongst the royals.  As a teacher Gibbs clearly earnt his keep within the household and the princes obviously appreciated his efforts as they continued to send him presents during his retirement; so did the Queen. This was not an ordinary life of a teacher, but a privileged one.

Groundbreakers, The return of Britain’s wild boar. By Chantal Lyons. London, Bloomsbury Wildlife. 2024. ISBN  978 3994 0163 0  &  9 781399 401630.  288pp

 Having almost been shot by a chasseur, whilst he was stalking me as a wild boar, and I was stalking him, I am fully aware of how keen the French are to kill les sanglier. The British wild boar was always native to Britain but then it went extinct, then reintroduced. This book picks up the European story. Chantal Lyons has French blood, and whilst visiting family in SW France has embraced what it is like to get inside the way of life of this large herbivore, which also doubles up as an omnivore and carnivore. Lyons says they are 90% herbivorous. Tell that to the French farmer rearing boar decades ago who said if a gendarme fell into the corral there would be nothing left except his pistol.  Her particular boar habitat of study is The Forest of Dean (Gloucestershire) where there is a viable population, and made Sus scrofa her subject of at least two dissertations. Why Dean? She says it is ‘The biggest unintentional field experiment in Britain’s nascent rewilding history’ (steady on). On bluebells she provides evidence that boar eat the bulbs, and help to wreck woodlands, which is understandable as they search for invertebrates in wet woodland. Incidentally she refers to geophytic bluebells, so I am left wondering where the epiphytic ones might be in our delicate Atlantic climate. One very important aspect of boar’s rotavating the soil is that they enhance biodiversity as wildflowers spring up from seeds brought to the surface. Biodiversity is only mentioned in the index in the sense that Britain is in its own Anthropocene where it is declining. I like the book; it follows Ramamoto’s 2017 book ‘Wild Boar’ (Reaktion Books) which has a more historic worldwide edge. I would like more on male ‘solitaires’ which do their own thing, or on ‘ear-tagging’ data, and on cross-country movements in France, and ‘motorway tunnels’ that boar do through impenetrable thick scrub.  I don’t like the flannelly paper used in the printing of this book, already foxed within the year, and which smells!  (not of foxes)  There are no illustrations or references, but there is an index.

Sus scrofa, the wild boar in captivity, with young

Crane, N. 2016. The Making of the British Landscape, from the Ice Age to the Present. W&N, Orion Books. 581pp.

I had to fact-check with The Making of The British Landscape by Nicholas Crane on the populations of large mammals that roamed these isles before man arrived. All fine and amazing. Crane is familiar with British TV audiences for his walks along the coast (there is a book on coasts along with his other six titles).  He takes a very forensic and mathematical look at all the dwellings he describes from the earliest times to the present. He can read the landscape better than anyone, and can describe the lumps and bumps and the travails that man has had in eeking out a living from the soil and rocks.  If you have watched countless archaeological programs on fascinating discoveries, this book knits them all together to make a good read. From early block houses, natural gathering places, enclosures, roundhouses, urban grids, the influence of the Romans in Britain and when they left are all covered. Crane blends all these together to make sense of them all, a sort of drone’s eye view of how they are all connected. From earliest times (when Britain was attached to the continent) he takes us up the Thames and westwards through the Cheddar gorge visiting all sorts of locations that make sense with the wandering Home sapiens forever chasing food and foraging. By the time William the Conqueror arrived in 1066 he says that there were 100 market towns in Britain ‘by the time the Normans showed up’  ‘By doomsday, maybe as little as 15 per cent  of the 27 million acres of land covered in the 1089 returns were wooded, rather less than the proportion of woodland seen today in France.’  The Forest of Dean was probably felled in the 12th century. I think that Crane cannot look at any earthwork or man-made structure without making a calculation of how many people were needed, and how many man-hours and days were needed to get the job done. For example he says of Windmill Hill around 62,000 worker-hours would have been involved labouring 10 hr a day, in groups of 50 people to make the mound. And this was continued for over 50 years involving generations of families and lots of food and timber. There were about 80 of the temenoi (sacred places) in Britain, and Glastonbury, Aintree and Wembley Stadium locations were built on these important sites. These were places that people gathered for all sorts of social engagements. At this period, by 3,000yrs ago man had felled more tree than raised walls and all the elms had gone he says. The book has a general reference list per chapter, plenty of photographs and an index. It is a comprehensive book much recommended.

The State of Nature report is a massive document (108pp) profusely illustrated in colour (mostly RSPB images) with numerous graphs (mostly showing downwards trends), and covering what is happening in the UK as well as the Overseas Territories (OT) and Crown Dependencies (CD).  Sixty-six government bodies and NGOs supplied information.

There are plenty of references to key works that present the accumulated evidence.  The trajectory of the state of nature is definitely downwards, and the 280 references to ‘decline’ is testament to that. In contrast it was surprising that the concepts of ‘natural capital’ and net loss and net gains are hardly mentioned.  It is perhaps early days to expect any of the mitigation that supports the net gain initiatives that will go live in January 2024 to buck the downward trend, are mentioned.

The review assesses the ‘major pressures on the UK’s nature over the past 50 years.’  What has driven the declines is down to ‘ , significant and ongoing changes in the way we manage our land for agriculture, and the effects of climate change, are having the biggest impacts on our wildlife.’

Knowing that a dozen SSSIs have been impacted to make way for the HS2 railway, I looked for reference to this, and accompanying mitigation to see how the net loss and net gain had been calculated, but there is no mention, and no mention of impacts from infrastructure, railways and roads per se. The nearest reference is under ‘pressures and responses’, but the SSSIs comments are wrapped up in a graph showing that about 40% of SSSIs are favourable across the four countries, leaving ‘unfavourable’ or ‘unknown’ statements for most. Not a good record.

This is what the authors said about various groups.

Flora & Bryophytes:  ‘Since 1970, the distributions of 54% of flowering plant species and 59% of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) have decreased across Great Britain’

Lichens: ‘Strong decreases in plant and lichen distributions. Since 1970, the distributions of 47% of flowering plants, 62% of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) and 57% of lichens have decreased, compared to 27, 25 and 34% of flowering plants, bryophytes and lichens respectively, that have increased in distribution.

Invertebrates:

• Across 4,979 invertebrate species, there was an average decrease in species’ distributions of 13% between 1970 and 2020
• Distributions of 2,149 invertebrates increased by 15% on average since 1970. This was driven by climate change and large average increases in the distributions of aquatic insects
• Pollinating insects (bees, hoverflies and moths), which play a critical role in food production, show an average decrease in distribution of 18%
• Average 15% decline in species’ abundance, for 407 terrestrial and freshwater species, abundance across Scotland has fallen by 15%, on average, since 1994
• Of the 62 species assessed in the 2010 and 2021 butterfly Red Lists, 11 species became more threatened and five became less threatened.
• Average 15% increase in the distributions of invertebrate species.

11% of species are threatened, of 7,508 species in Scotland that have been assessed using IUCN Red List criteria, 11% have been classified as threatened with extinction from Great Britain

 It is worth noting, separately, that Buglife-The Invertebrate Conservation Trust, state in a flier received Nov 2023 that ‘today ..for every four insects around 20 years ago there is just one.

 Birds:  The abundance of 11 seabird species in Scotland has fallen by 49% on average since 1986. These results pre-date the current outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza’  There is nothing on swifts, house martins and swallow which are all know to be in decline.

Mammals: Between 1970 and 2016 the distribution of small mammals (mice, voles and shrews) decreased on average by -29%, those of mid-sized mammals (eg mustelids and hares) showed a similar but not significant change of -15%’

Amphibians and reptiles: there was not a lot on these herps, more information on them in the Overseas Territories and Dependencies.

So, overall  the state of UK’s nature is not so good!