Working with Nature: Saving and Using the World’s Wild Places

by Jeremy Purseglove

From cocoa farming in Ghana to the orchards of Kent and the desert badlands of Pakistan, taking a practical approach to sustaining the landscape can mean the difference between prosperity and ruin. Working with Nature is the story of a lifetime of work, often in extreme environments, to harvest nature and protect it - in effect, gardening on a global scale. It is also a memoir of encounters with larger-than-life characters such as William Bunting, the gun-toting saviour of Yorkshire's peatlands and the aristocratic gardener Vita Sackville-West, examining their idiosyncratic approaches to conservation.

Jeremy Purseglove explains clearly and convincingly why it's not a good idea to extract as many resources as possible, whether it's the demand for palm oil currently denuding the forests of Borneo, cottonfield irrigation draining the Aral Sea, or monocrops spreading across Britain. The pioneer of engineering projects to preserve nature and landscape, first in Britain and then around the world, he offers fresh insights and solutions at each step.

Genres: Nonfiction, Ecology, Nature, Environment, Science, Conservation, Natural History

272 pages, Hardcover

Published April 25, 2019

Reviews

[Aoife · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful part memoir/part exploration into the world's wild places and Jeremy Purseglove's fascinating career as an environmentalist who has worked (it seems) in every corner of the world, and seeing the way humans invest in the world's natural resources in both the best and worst ways.

The author intersperses his knowledge of the natural world and how it's currently being used by humans, with his own stories of similar industries. This book is one of hope as Purseglove documents some of the ways in which humans have tried to reverse the damage that had been previously done to places while also showcasing how we can move forward in a more positive, sustainable manner.

I think this is a lovely book to read if you like nature writing, and you're also interested in a greener environment and a more sustainable way of moving forward in the world. I took this book slowly, a chapter or so every day and I feel like in this way I was able to absorb everything really nicely, and really think about everything the author was trying to teach the reader.

[Rosie Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part memoir of an impressive and varied career in botany & environmental consultancy, part fascinating travelogue, this was a gripping and inspiring read. The author covers topics and places including palm oil in Indonesia, land grabs throughout Africa, the loss of the Aral sea and orchards, farms & peat bogs here in Britain. He describes how nature has been over exploited, but also gives solutions for how better practices can benefit biodiversity, the carbon crisis and human stakeholders. He talks about rewilding, a hot topic at the moment, not being wholly appropriate in some scenarios, so I'm interested to read Wilding by Isabella Tree next to read about the other side.

[Willoyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read on a potentially fascinating topic, the author takes us on a fairly breathless gallop around the globe looking at a variety of case studies where intensive landuse can be, and sometimes is, mitigated by more care in working with nature. There was certainly some vivid scene setting and clear description of the human impact, but on the actual subject, working with nature, things became increasingly and frustratingly superficial; indeed in one or two chapters I struggled to find anything at all on this. The author obviously has extensive knowledge, and a memoir of his career could prove enthralling - there were some tantalising passages on his experiences - but this work ultimately disappointed.

[Danielle Mueth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This part-memoir was interesting, but I had expected it to be more focused on the specific projects the author was involved with. There was a lot of general discussion on the relation of humans to nature and how nature is used and abused and the authors projects were mentioned, but the book never gave any really in depth examples of what projects the author worked on or how specifically he has contributed to the protection and restoration of nature. I gave four stars because I did enjoy the reflection on the human-nature relationship and found some of the anecdotes rather interesting.

[Jane Wilson-Howarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some nice descriptions but I found myself only managing to dip into this book as, although it covered places I know, the visits and detail provided by the author were all too fleeting. For example the section on Pakistan really only covered the author being stranded in the desert when their car broke down. Then we were rapidly on to Egypt and Mesopotamia and Uzbekistan. There was though plenty of interesting history and background so lots take in...

[Austin Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeremy has lived a fascinating life which is evident in this book. His love for the places his life has taken him is obvious as is his will to protect them. The book sets out ways to protect these amazing environments whilst not changing or damaging human livelihoods, working with nature not against it.

[Cassie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memorable.. an enjoyable ramble of case studies and professional observations. I appreciated the balanced approach favoured by the Jeremy Purseglove and his insight into both habitats and human nature.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Tao Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, accessible, more to my taste than the author's other book 'taming the flood'

[Dave Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent book, but for me the memoir element wasn't necessary