Future Wild: Nature Restoration in Ireland

by Richard Nairn

Ireland has little left of its original natural habitats. Many species, like the curlew, are under pressure due to intensive practices such as farming, forestry and fisheries and some are threatened with extinction. But given a little help from us, nature has the innate capacity to restore itself.

Nature restoration is the positive management of the environment for the benefit of wildlife and people. It looks to the future, by steering natural habitats and wildlife in a better and more sustainable direction.

In Future Nature Restoration in Ireland, Richard Nairn explores numerous active restoration projects around Ireland which show how natural habitats and native species can be restored sustainably for the benefit of everyone. From individual landowners and voluntary organisations to state bodies such as Bord na Móna, he meets the people who are dedicated to nature restoration.

By turns shocking, hopeful and finally positive, Future Wild shows that the damage we have done to nature can also be undone by us, and that, with nature restoration, we can create a richer and more diverse environment for generations to come.

Genres: Environment, Nonfiction, Ireland

276 pages, Paperback

Published December 4, 2024

Reviews

[Matt Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just visited Ireland for the second time after spending 4.5 months there during the initial wave of Covid, my wife and I were again impressed by the practical idealism of the people we met. This book, in the context of restoring Ireland's natural systems, is a great example. Nairn clearly loves his country and its ecosystems, but he is realistic about the record of the government and private landowners when it comes to protecting habitats and balancing economic with environmental concerns. He offers both a passionate vision for nature restoration and a pragmatic set of examples and recommendations for a way forward. On our next trip to Ireland, I can't wait to meet some of the people he mentions who are demonstrating how folks can live on and use the land, while protecting it and its non-human inhabitants. We need more of this kind of constructive advocacy and action here in the States!

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be required reading for every adult in Ireland. It paints a grim picture of what the state of truly wild nature is in Ireland today while providing slivers of hope for a better future.

[Seána · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Our goal is a noble one and once it is fully appreciated there is little reason that anyone’s hand should be turned against us”

Equal parts bleak and inspiring - a detailed account of the State Of Nature in ireland and the various people and projects trying to do something about it.

-1 star because I don’t think I could make someone who isn’t already into reading about nature/the environment read this, which always feels like a shame