About the event

Join us for an exciting evening at Essex Wildlife Trust’s Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park with author James Canton as he talks about his latest book, Renaturing: Small Ways to Wild the World, in conversation with Essex Wildlife Trust’s Chief Executive, Rich Yates.

Released on 13 March 2025, Renaturing is the story of how author James Canton undertook a project to ‘rewild’ the two-acre field he acquired when he first moved to Essex from London twenty years ago. While forging a wildflower meadow, digging a pond, and creating habitats for birds and insects, James learns from a cast of local heroes and national experts and explores the limitations of the concept of ‘rewilding’ or ‘wilding’, and propose the alternative idea of ‘renaturing’ – something that can be done any time, any place, and any size, with scale achieved through mass participation. While 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.

Dr James Canton is a friend of the Trust and Director of Wild Writing at the University of Essex. He has authored many books, including 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).

Agenda
18:30 - Doors open
19:00 - Introduction and welcome
19:10 - In Conversation with James Canton + readings
20:00 - Book signing
20:30  - Farewell