Our 2023 Restoring Nature Rewilding and Regenerative Agriculture literary festival held in partnership with East Gate Bookshop, Totnes was a great success! with talks from four fantastic authors including two 2023 Wainwright prize winners Guy Shrubsole and Amy-Jane Beer, Anita Roy, and George Monbiot.
We are delighted to announce that preparation for Restoring Nature 2024 is underway.
Join us on Saturday 18th May at Lower Sharpham Farm. There will be talks, walks, books, authors, discussions, live music, a fully licensed bar and delicious locally sourced food.
Discover how rewilding and regenerative farming practices are restoring nature: improving food security, reducing the use of chemicals, rebuilding soil fertility, employing more people on the land, and creating places that benefit us all.]
All ages are welcome, and dogs are welcome too. We ask all dog owners to keep their four-legged friends on a lead close by to reduce disturbance to wildlife & other festival goers.
The guest authors for 2024 will be announced early next year. In the meantime, you can read more about Restoring Nature 2023 and find further information on the festival below.
Adult ticket (18+): TBC
Children (8-17): TBC
Children (under 8): Free
Tickets purchased online will incur a small booking fee. Tickets are also available to purchase in East Gate Bookshop, 62 Fore St, Totnes TQ9 5RU
*Please note, food and drink are not included in the ticket price and there is no parking at the farm.
We had four brilliant and diverse authors speaking on the day; all bringing their own unique expertise, passion and experience to the festival.
Guy Shrubsole, the author of the bestselling Who Owns England will be talking about his book, The Lost Rainforests of Britain
This is the story of a unique habitat that has been so ravaged, most people today don’t realise it exists. Join Guy as he takes us on an awe-inspiring journey through the Atlantic oakwoods and hazelwoods of the Western Highlands, down to the rainforests of Wales, Devon and Cornwall.
Anita Roy is a writer, editor and environmentalist based in Wellington, Somerset. Of mixed Indian and British descent, she lived and worked – for a variety of publishing houses – in New Delhi for two decades, before relocating to the UK in 2015
She co-edited and contributed to the nature almanac Gifts of Gravity and Light, and has published a book about the wildflower meadows of Dorset called A Year in Kingcombe, which she also illustrated
Amy-Jane Beer is a biologist and nature writer. She is the author of several non-fiction books on science and natural history. In her latest book Flow, Amy-Jane follows springs, streams and rivers to explore tributary themes of wildness and wonder, loss and healing, mythology and history, cyclicity and transformation.
Amy’s column, wild story, appears in every issue of British Wildlife.
George Monbiot is a writer known for his environmental and political activism. He writes a regular column for The Guardian and is the author of numerous books.
In his latest book, Regenesis, Monbiot reveals how astonishing advances can change our relationship with food and farming and replace the age of extinction with a vision of a new future for food and for humanity.
Walk from Totnes:
Walk or cycle along the beautiful River Dart. It’s a 45-minute walk to Lower Sharpham Farm from Totnes. If you would like company, a group will be setting off from The Plains in Totnes by The Curator Café at 9:00 am.
Bob the Bus:
Totnes Community Bus Group will be running a shuttle service to and from the farm on the day. To get to the festival the service will depart from outside The Bull Inn on the Rotherford and will run between 8:30 and 10 am, providing at least three opportunities to ride to the festival. For the return journey, from 5:30 pm, there will be two buses providing at least six opportunities to travel back to Totnes. Transport by Bob the Bus is included in the ticket price.
The day will be filled with talks, walks, books, authors, discussions, family activities and delicious locally sourced food.
Please aim to arrive at the farm between 9 and 10 a.m. The day will begin with introductions, orientations, and a chance to grab a hot drink and breakfast roll. Throughout the day there will be four guest author talks. Authors will read and present from their books either outside around the farm or inside the barn (weather dependent)! There will be Q&A sessions after each talk giving people a chance to ask questions.
The day will be split with two author talks before, and two author talks after lunch. Forest school activities for children and live music will be going on at intervals throughout the day. After the final author, there is an early evening BBQ. Following this we will hold a panel discussion, providing lively and stimulating chat around the festival’s themes.
Delicious locally sourced food, made with organic ingredients will be available to purchase on the day.
Food tokens will be available to purchase at the café/bar for breakfast, lunch and the evening BBQ. You are welcome to bring your own flasks and food if you prefer.
Refreshments (tea/coffee and soft drinks) will be available to purchase throughout the day from the café/bar. Alcoholic drinks will also be available.
Ambios Ltd is a UK registered not-for-profit company limited by guarantee – meaning it can only spend its income on helping people achieve their goals for nature/science/education and supporting organisations in achieving their objectives for wildlife/conservation/biodiversity.
Companies House Registration Number: 4185277
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