Twenty years ago, James Canton moved from London to the English countryside. Behind his farm labourer’s cottage was a small field with a ‘for sale’ sign. At first it was a site for family picnics and cricket matches with friends, but 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.

“It’s impossible to feel what we should about the gigantic problems of our age: climate change, mass extinction, and so on. They are too big, and we are too small and too tired. But James Canton shows us a way to feel properly again when we look at the wild world – by looking quietly and closely at the wilderness on our doorsteps and in ourselves. A tender and important manual of intimacy and revolution.” — Charles Foster

“A wry and open-minded interrogation of human interventions in the landscape” — Richard Mabey

“A charming account of one man’s decision to get his hands dirty and try to play his own small part in trying to make the world a better place. Thoughtful and insightful.” — Neil Ansell

“A balm for any nature-lover, Renaturing provides a meditative, practical and beautifully-observed account of restoring a small yet significant patch of land. Canton takes us with him on a journey of learning that offers plenty to any reader, whether steeped in the lore of rewilding and ecology or a newcomer curious to know more.” — Chantal Lyons

“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. It is a book appealingly relatable in its content and deeply encouraging in its outlook. Enjoyable start to finish.” — Matt Collins

“A lovely, meditative, quietly inspiring book. There is a haikulike quality to the writing, in the focus it brings to the seasonal tasks of attending to a meadow – scarifying, sowing, scything – and the way these tasks resonate, reach out to a wider community of people caring for nature with the same diligence and love as Canton.” — James Macdonald Lockhart

“A beautifully written book that encourages action that we can all take however large or small our ownership of land, from a window box to Knepp. I feel empowered to renature and to tell all my friends how to do it too. An essential book for our times.” — Mathew Shaw

“James has penned a truly accessible book. Renaturing guides the reader through small but vital acts that we can all adopt to support wildlife and biodiversity through a changing climate. We are all a part of nature!” — Errol Fernandes, Head of Horticulture at the Horniman Museum

“Looking both forwards and backwards, this book is a timely meeting between ancient practice and latest thinking, offering a valuable companion for anyone wanting to “bring nature back”. Renaturing is for people who don’t necessarily have large estates to ‘rewild’ but do want to fight on nature’s side, for bio-recovery.” — Julian Perry