by John Hartshorn
19th March 2026
John Hartshorn, Yorkshire Rewilding Network trustee, has some recommended reading…
Since 1989, British Wildlife magazine has been perhaps the most highly regarded natural history magazine in the UK by both enthusiasts, ecologists, and conservationists. I think it’s only available by subscription from its publisher, NHBS, (I subscribe!) and it’s a wide ranging monthly compendium of detailed – and usually scientifically rigorous – articles covering a range of ecological topics, from the valley headwater fens of the Norfolk–Suffolk border to terrestrial nemertines (basically, tiny worms).
Each issue contains several in-depth articles, and there are regular sections on topics such as habitat management news, wildlife reports, conservation news, book reviews, and columns from natural history writers.
Between February 2021 and May 2025, it ran a series of 26 excellent articles about rewilding under the theme of “Wilding for Conservation”. The series covered a wide range of rewilding topic; some practical, some more philosophical perspectives.
They are well worth reading if you can get your hands on the back issues of British Wildlife. But if you cannot, then British Wildlife has just published the complete series as an e-book titled Wilding for Conservation: An Exploration of Rewilding in Britain, which you can buy and download as a PDF.
Whilst the “Wilding for Conservation” series has ended, articles on topics close to rewilders’ hearts continue. The February 2026 edition of British Wildlife has a fantastic article from Andrew Painting and Shaila Rao from the National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge Estate asking whether rewilding helps birds in the uplands.
Useful information
Here are all the links you could possible need to catch up on the “Wilding for Conservation” series, and for finding our more about the Mar Lodge Estate…
Wilding for Conservation series full list of articles from 2021 to 2025
Wilding for conservation ebook for purchase (£17)
Mar Lodge Estate National Nature Reserve
Regeneration – The Rescue of a Wild Land – Andrew Painting’s book about Mar Lodge Estate.
[Image Credits: British Wildlife / NHBS Ltd]