Future Rural: Imagining Tomorrow’s Countryside
What is the future of the countryside? In a time of rapid environmental, economic, and social change, what does the countryside mean to us, and what could it become?
Future Rural gathers together a powerful chorus of diverse voices—writers, farmers, activists, ecologists, and thinkers – and asks them to interrogate the past and present to imagine what lies ahead for Britain’s rural landscapes and communities. From the creativity of the countryside and the impact of Empire on rural England, to the urgent need for affordable housing, equitable land access and the growing threats of climate change and habitat loss, this new collection confronts the complex realities facing our countryside. But it does so with hope, offering stories of resilience, regeneration and new ideas for how we live with the land.
With essays and poetry from leading and emerging writers on the land, social history and ecology, Future Rural searches for a fairer, more sustainable and thriving rural England. It is a call to action and a celebration of the centenary of CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
Introduced by Roger Mortlock (CPRE’s CEO), a foreword by Michael Morpurgo and edited by Adrian Cooper of Little Toller Books.
Contributors include: Mary-Ann Ochota Tim Dee, Isabella Tree, Amy-Jane Beer, Guy Shrubsole, Richard Mabey, Fiona Reynolds, David Matless, Rebecca Smith, Caro Giles, Zaffar Kunial, Sean Borodale, Corinne Fowler, JC Niala, Sophie Gregory, Vicky Spratt, Elizabeth Wainwright, Sarah Eberle, Amina Khan, Maria Benjamin, Louisa Adjoa Parker, Jade Cuttle, Helen Mort, Nicola Chester, Karen Lloyd, Natasha Carthew.