Orchard: A Year in England’s Eden

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.

About the Author :
Benedict Macdonald is a conservation writer, television producer and naturalist, passionate about restoring Britain’s wildlife. His first book, Rebirding, winner of the Richard Jefferies Prize and the Wainwright Conservation Prize, was published in 2019. Ben is a writer for BBC Wildlife, Birdwatching and RSPB’s Nature’s Home. He has worked on wildlife television series for the BBC, Apple, Netflix and National Geographic, including Sir David Attenborough’s Our Planet. Nicholas Gates is a naturalist, photographer and wildlife producer who has created content for the BBC, National Geographic and ITV. He has a passion for conservation and rewilding, and for inspiring people to care for the natural world. Nicholas studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge and when not out exploring and taking photos, he can be found working in his urban wildlife garden or with his chickens and honeybees.

Review :
Praise for Orchard ‘Enchanting’ Daily Mail ‘Vivid [and] full of unexpected revelations … Orchard has much to offer in its observations of wildlife’ John Carey, Sunday Times ‘A wonderful new book from Benedict Macdonald and Nicholas Gates, veterans of the BBC’s Springwatch series … moves lyrically and vividly through one calendar year in an old Herefordshire orchard … Particularly moving’ New Statesman ‘From spores to sparrowhawks, there is never a dull moment. Lyrically written, Orchard is a love-letter to its jumbled “magical chaos” and a shining example of the things that can be achieved when humans come to work in balance and in harmony with nature’ BBC Wildlife ‘From slug-hunting toads and snuffling hedgehogs to percussion-playing spiders, woodpecker architects and zombie hoverflies, this wonderful book weaves together fascinating stories of the wildlife that lives in an old organic orchard … Excellent … I would recommend Orchard wholeheartedly’ Kathy Bishop, The Seasonal Table, Countryfile magazine ‘This book looks at an ancient English orchard throughout the course of a year, focusing on the wide range of wildlife that it supports … writing with a lyrical richness that beautifully evokes this unique setting … The result is a book that can be enjoyed on a lot of different levels from professional conservationists, to the most casual of everyday birdwatchers. Passionate and moving, this is highly recommended’ Birdwatch magazine ‘A rich and textured account of a year in this neglected habitat’ Stephen Moss ‘Enjoy this precious habitat and all its glories via this coffee-table worthy book that offers food for thought’ RSPB magazine ‘This beautiful exploration of natural history is an elegy for a disappearing way of life … captivating’ The Garden magazine