BY THE WAINWRIGHT-CONSERVATION-PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF REBIRDING Transform your understanding of the natural world forever and discover the wild forces that once supported Britain’s extraordinary natural riches, and could again. Our precious archipelago is ravaged by climate change, bereft of natural ecosystems and lies at the mercy of global warming, flooding, drought and catastrophic biodiversity loss. But could restoring species that once helped protect our islands help turn this crisis around? From familiar yet imperilled honeybees and ancient oak woods to returning natives like beavers and boars, Britain’s cornerstone species may hold the key to recovering our biodiversity on land and in our seas. In Cornerstones, we discover how beavers craft wetlands, save fish, encourage otters, and prevent rivers from flooding. We learn how ‘disruptive’ boars are seasoned butterfly conservationists, why whales are crucial for restoring seabird cities and how wolves and lynx could save our trees, help sequester carbon and protect our most threatened birds. Benedict Macdonald transforms our understanding of the natural world forever, revealing lives that once supported extraordinary natural riches and explaining how humans – the most important cornerstone species of all – can become the greatest stewards of the natural world.

Winner of the Richard Jefferies Society and White Horse Book Shop Literary Prize 'splendid' -Guardian 'visionary' -New Statesman Britain has all the space it needs for an epic return of its wildlife. Only six percent of our country is built upon. Contrary to popular myth, large areas of our countryside are not productively farmed but remain deserts of opportunity for both wildlife and jobs. It is time to turn things around. Praised as 'visionary' by conservationists and landowners alike, Rebirding sets out a compelling manifesto for restoring Britain's wildlife, rewilding its species and restoring rural jobs - to the benefit of all.

By the Wainwright-Conservation-Prize-winning author of Rebirding Spend a year in an orchard, celebrating its imperilled, overlooked abundance of life. England's ancient orchards, collaborations between people and nature, are sources of hope for the future. Protecting them promises a far richer England for the centuries to come, for wildlife and for us. As the seasons turn, a wealth of animals and plants are revealed: Bumble and solitary bees apartment-hunting in April; spotted flycatchers migrating in May; redstarts, hedgehogs and owls nesting in June; an explosion of life in the summer and the harvest and homespun cider-making in the autumn. And all throughout the year, the orchard's human and animal inhabitants work together, creating one of the richest ecosystems left in Britain. Explore this unique habitat throughout the course of a year, and marvel at the beauty and strength of nature.