Podcast appearances and mentions of james rebanks

2015 book by James Rebanks

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Best podcasts about james rebanks

Latest podcast episodes about james rebanks

Järjejutt
James Rebanks "Inglise pastoraal" Postimehe kirjastuselt

Järjejutt

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2025


James Rebanks "Inglise pastoraal" Postimehe kirjastuselt. Loeb Rando Tammik. Selle nädala "Järjejutt" jutustab loo, kuidas üks minevikust juhinduv talupidaja asub päästma killukest Inglismaad, mis nüüd kuulub talle. Ta teeb kõik, mis suudab, et taastada kadunud elu ja jätta endast pärand tulevastele.

The Outdoors Fix
The Outdoors Fix throwback: James Rebanks, author and shepherd

The Outdoors Fix

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2025 62:57


The Outdoors Fix is a podcast to inspire you to make the outdoors a bigger part of your life. As there are now more than 60 episodes of The Outdoors Fix, and while I'm working on a new series, I thought I'd help you pick out some of my favourite conversations from over the years with these throwback episodes. In this episode, I'm revisiting my conversation with James Rebanks. James is a shepherd, farmer and the author of the bestselling books The Shepherd's Life, English Pastoral and The Place of Tides. James lives in the Matterdale Valley near Ullswater in the Lake District and his family has farmed in that stunning area for hundreds of years. He owns a large flock of Herdwick sheep, some belted Galloway cows, pigs and chickens. While the outdoors has been a pretty constant feature in his life, James is now making wildlife a bigger part of it through his calls for farming to become more sustainable and nature friendly. The post The Outdoors Fix throwback: James Rebanks, author and shepherd appeared first on The Outdoors Fix.

RNZ: Nine To Noon
Book review: The Place of Tides by James Rebanks

RNZ: Nine To Noon

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2025 4:27


Kiran Dass reviews The Place of Tides by James Rebanks published by Penguin Press.

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth
More Rosebud - James Rebanks: the shepherd's life and times

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2024 64:18


Our guest on More Rosebud today is James Rebanks, sheep-farmer and writer of best-selling books 'The Shepherd's Life' and 'English Pastoral', as well as a brand new book 'The Place of Tides'. James has lived and worked on the Cumbrian Lakeland fells since he was a boy, and farms the same hillside at Matterdale as his family have for the past 600 years. In this conversation he tells Gyles about his boyhood, being inspired to read The Odyssey and Hemingway by his mum and headteacher, about dropping out of school and his rebellious teenagehood, and about how he went back to night school and ended up going to university as a mature student. He also tells Gyles about his love for his sheepdogs and his thoughts on the government's plan to introduce inheritance tax on family farms. Enjoy this episode with one of the most interesting writers working today, who is also a dedicated and passionate farmer. James's latest book, The Place of Tides, is out now published by Allen Lane at £22. Highly recommended, as are all of James's books. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Futuresteading
Ep 161 Helen Rebanks - In honour of the Farmers Wife!

Futuresteading

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2024 42:23


What started as a throw away title while supporting her husband James Rebanks on his book tours, Helen Rebanks now proudly refers to herself as the farmers wife - a title that has very much become her identity & set in her a burning desire to write her own book about invisible women who's stories are not told. As a mother of four & the backbone for their farming ventures in the Lakes District in the UK, Helen declares that the only people who work harder than farmers are farmers wives. I reckon she's right! She is a small in stature, large in capability kind of woman who truly loves her daily reason to get out of bed & nurture her family. hold the many threads of keeping a family going, setting the pace and rhythm.  She speaks of honouring our capability to be in service with love, empathy  compassion & a regular roast on the dinner table not just on Sundays. Through this lens she is bringing her own kind of approach to combatting corporate greed, multi national farmland ownership & returning us to localised food systems.Food that's made with love & care says “I'm nourished & looked after” - imagine being the person in the house that provides this service” This story is about speaking up for those who hold families together, hold communities together. We need small farm futures with local food systems. Knowing where our food comes from & being able to ask the questions.Join us at her at her kitchen table.Links You'll LoveThe Farmers Wife Helen Rebanks bookThe Sheppard's wife Insta handleLoved this? Try these:Ep 54 Mara from Orto farm Ep 121 Nat Wilmott Support the ShowCasual Support - Buy Me A CoffeeRegular Support - PatreonBuy the Book - Futuresteading - Live Like tomorrow mattersWe talked about:Speaking up for the women who sit behind the regenerative family farmers life.Thinking holistically about life on the land - It's WHOLE!The farmers table as a gathering placeReasons for transitioning into regenerative practices.Sharing her farming stories to help others transition their on earth practices"If I've ever felt minimised in the work I do its not been by me or my family"Living small & living local rather than chasing a celebrity culture is what she strives for. Our deep disconnection to our food.The power of a meal around the tableTomatoes on toast or scrambled eggs IS DINNERThe role of motherhood taught her to become a voice for the process of becoming a mother. We can suffer in silence or talk to each other & learn.Sharing very vulnerable things in the hope it helps others.Support the show

Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith
Alice Robinson: Field, Fork, Fashion

Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2024 40:11


This week, you may be surprised to find a fashion designer on the show. But Alice Robinson is not what you might imagine. She's only just left the Royal College of Art, but her work has already been featured in the V&A ‘s Food: Bigger than the Plate exhibition. Her first book Field, Fork, Fashion has had her on Radio's 4's Start the Week to discuss our connection with the countryside - with James Rebanks among the other guests. She is an extraordinary advocate of our connection with the land and prods us to think in a whole new way about the provenance of leather. Gilly finds out what the Fork in the title means to her story. Check out Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of Alice and Bullock 374 – and Sheep 11458 - and click here for more about British Pasture Leather. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Today Podcast
Rural Revolt

The Today Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2024 40:30


Ahead of a planned protest by farmers who are angry about the Budget, Amol and Nick talk to farmer and best-selling author James Rebanks.Plus, as Donald Trump's top team takes shape and he hires Elon Musk to jointly lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency”, they discuss what his appointments tell us about his approach to China and the war in Ukraine.The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson who are both presenters of BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Amol was the BBC's media editor for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he's also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the BBC's political editor for ten years before that and also previously worked as ITV's political editor.To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories and insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme make sure you subscribe on BBC Sounds. That way you'll get an alert every time we release a new episode and you won't miss our extra bonus episodes either. You can also listen to the latest episode of The Today Podcast any time on your smart speaker by saying “Smart Speaker, ask BBC Sounds to play The Today Podcast.” If you have a question you'd like Amol and Nick to answer, get in touch by sending us a message on WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 or email us Today@bbc.co.uk The senior producer is Lewis Vickers, the producer is Nadia Gyane, research and digital production from Joe Wilkinson. The editor is Louisa Lewis. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths. Technical production from Daniel Ehrlich.

Full Disclosure with James O'Brien
James Rebanks: The shepherd who tells the stories of ordinary, extraordinary people

Full Disclosure with James O'Brien

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2024 58:59


Growing up on a Lake District farm that had been in his family for centuries, James Rebanks always knew his place in the world. School wasn't for him - he felt his teachers looked down on farming and his grandparents worried education might lure him away from the land. By the age of 15, he had left school with just two O-Levels to work full-time on the family farm. But in the evenings, a new world opened up to him as he read through the books on his mum's bookshelves.Inspired, James began reading everything he could. In his twenties, he went to night school and then got a place at Oxford University where he graduated with a double first in history. Today, James is a bestselling author, telling the stories of the "nobodies" - ordinary people living extraordinary lives, who like him, are deeply rooted in the land. A farmer and a writer, James has managed to carve out a unique space as both a man of letters and man of the soil.His latest book, The Place of Tides is available now.

Start the Week
Ancient crafts: feathers, leather and thatch

Start the Week

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2024 41:37


The farmer James Rebanks recounts a season he spent on a remote Norwegian island learning the ancient trade of caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. In The Place of Tides he tells the story of Anna, a ‘duck woman' who helped revive this centuries-old tradition. As he traces the rough pattern of her work and her relationship with the wild, Rebanks reassess his own relationship with his Lake District farm, his family and home. Alice Robinson is a designer who has never shied away from the inescapable link between agriculture and luxury fashion. In Field Fork Fashion she looks back at the origins of her chosen material, leather, and traces the full life of Bullock 374 from farm to abattoir, tannery to cutting table. And in retelling this story she asks whether it's possible to create a more transparent, traceable and sustainable system. There are many crafts classified as ‘endangered' in Britain, but one that has had a renaissance in the last 50 years is the ancient tradition of thatching. Protections put in place by Historic England in the 1970s not only kickstarted a thatching revival, but also helped save heritage crop varieties. Andrew Raffle from the National Thatching Association says the relationship with local farmers is vital for the tradition, and there are an estimated 600-900 thatchers working today.Producer: Katy Hickman

agri-Culture
Ep 217 Erin Bradt: Helder Herdwyck Handful for a Happy Half Hour

agri-Culture

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2024 33:31


It's time for a talk – a Shepherd's Talk, that is.  Every year, the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival has this popular segment available for shepherds, wannabe shepherds, ecologists, historians, and people who are just plain interested in fiber production from the ground up.  Today's talk is with Erin Bradt, of Helder Herdwyck Farm, where she talks about not just these fantastic little primitive sheep, but also about importation limitations, disease issues in livestock, and…well, more than we have time for in the intro. We'll be bringing you more of these fantastic seminars in the upcoming months.  If you'd like to see the visuals on this one (just like you're sitting on a hay bale in Rhinebeck), head over to the Backyard Green Films YouTube channel for this video, and much more.Links:https://helderherdwyck-farm.square.site/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-57015478www.sheepandwool.comhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLz9Oj_oVkg Support the Show.

Manchester Green New Deal podcast
How can we separate biodiversity from colonialism ? with Chris Armstrong

Manchester Green New Deal podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2024 68:59


The Climate Movements key focus is on the reduction of emissions and stopping humanity from going over the edge into full blown climate breakdown. But by focusing so heavily on the parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere are we missing ways in which the natural world shapes our existence? Are we being negligent to the lives of other species that make up life on earth, and what affect does that have on humanity in turn?  Returning to the show this is Professor Chris Armstrong, to discuss his new book "Global Justice and the Biodiversity Crisis: Conservation in a World of Inequality". Chris is a Professor in Political Theory in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Southampton @sotonpolitics.  We start by discussing the current state of international nature conservation and how colonial powers still shape biodiversity schemes, how by fixating on carbon we miss the richness that nature provides for humans and how some efforts for conservation embed the structural inequality enforced on the global south. We also discuss how by viewing the world through economics, we make it worse for all living things on the planet. LinksYou can read Chris's latest book here:Global Justice and the Biodiversity Crisis: Conservation in a World of Inequalityhttps://academic.oup.com/book/55992?Ads reccomends some books by James Rebanks when we discuss farming. You can find his catalogue here:https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/120316/james-rebanksShout outsurvival international https://www.survivalinternational.org/campaigns/conservationSupport the Show.

RTÉ - Culture File on Classic Drive
Bodø 2024 | Culture File

RTÉ - Culture File on Classic Drive

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2024 8:22


English sheep farmer and writer James Rebanks' attention has turned to another type of farming practiced on remote Norwegian islands: eider down gathering.

Slightly Foxed
49: Down to Earth: A Farming Revival

Slightly Foxed

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2024 46:12


Sarah Langford, author of Rooted: How Regenerative Farming Can Change the World, joins the Slightly Foxed Editors and presenter Rosie Goldsmith round the kitchen table to tell us how and why she gave up her career as a criminal barrister to become a farmer, and about the woman who was her inspiration: Eve Balfour, the extraordinary aristocrat, founder of the Soil Association and author of The Living Soil. Farming was in Sarah's family. So when her own family's circumstances changed and her husband was looking for a new direction, they said goodbye to the city and moved with their two young children to Suffolk, where they found themselves taking on the running of her father-in-law's small arable farm. It was a steep learning curve and Sarah soon realized that the farming landscape had changed dramatically from the one she remembered: ‘My grandfather Peter was a hero who fed a starving nation. Now his son Charlie, my uncle, is considered a villain, blamed for ecological catastrophe and with a legacy no one wants.' Needing to learn more, she describes how she travelled the country, hearing moving and inspiring human stories from small farmers who are farming in a new – but completely traditional – way, working to put more into the land than they are taking out of it, relying on natural processes like crop rotation and grazing animals rather than using chemicals to give life to the soil. This is regenerative farming – a hard row to hoe but with huge potential benefits for the planet as well as for us and other species. Sarah and her husband are now practising it on their own farm. It's a huge and fascinating topic, and other farming books and writers are touched on – A. G. Street's Farmer's Glory, Adrian Bell's Corduroy trilogy and Apple Acre, today's James Rebanks's English Pastoral. Other related recommendations are From Mouths of Men by the rural historian George Ewart Evans, and the delightful Rivets, Trivets and Galvanized Buckets, the story of a village hardware shop by Tom Fort. For episode show notes, please see the Slightly Foxed website. Opening music: Preludio from Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major by Bach Hosted by Rosie Goldsmith Produced by Philippa Goodrich

Dig It - Discussions on Gardening Topics
Val Bourne, a natural approach to organic gardening

Dig It - Discussions on Gardening Topics

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2024 66:04


In this episode of Dig It Chris Day and Peter Brown chat with Val Bourne - a lifelong gardener and award-winning garden writer whose name will be familiar to readers of The Telegraph, Country Life, Gardens Illustrated, Amateur Gardening and Saga magazine amongst others. As well as writing and lecturing, Val is an organic hands-on gardener and by her own admission a committed plantaholic.Plants mentioned: Agapanthus, Artemisia, Antirrhinums, Aquilegia, Aster, bee orchid, Daphne Bholua, Camassia, Cosmos, Foxgloves, flowering cherry trees, Dahlia, Dierama, Lonicera fragrantissima (winter honeysuckle), Hellebores, hardy ferns, Narcissi, Nasturtiums, Paeonia, Pears, Penstemons, Rose Champagne Moment, Rose Wildeve, Red trefoil, Yellow Rattle, Phlox, Snowdrops, Trilliums, Whitebeam, Winter sweet and Zinnia.People, places and products mentioned: Aphids, Buglife, Adam Henson, Ann-Marie Powell (garden designer), Long tailed bees, caterpillar control in salt water, earwigs, Blackspot, Hook Norton Brewery, Ground beetles, Thames Valley radio programme Dig It (no longer broadcast), ladybirds (two, seven spot, meadow species), Book English Pastoral by James Rebanks, Jennifer Owen (zoologist) and her book Jennifer Owen - Wildlife of a Garden: A Thirty-year Study (published by RHS). Andrew Halstead, retired RHS Principal Entomologist. Rothamsted Research Station, Cedric Morris garden at Chelsea, and No Mow May.Val's desert island tool - Cobra headed weeder tool. Castaway plant Amsonia, the eastern blue star plant.Val's book's The Living Jigsaw, (Kew Publishing), The Natural Gardener: The Way We All Want to Garden, (Francis Lincoln) plus Val's 10 Minute Gardener's range of books covering vegetable, fruit, Grow your own and flower growing.Our thanks to Chiltern Music Therapy for supplying the music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Toekomst voor Natuur
46 – Waarom herintroductie soms (g)een goed idee is - met Dennis De Ryck en Tobias Ceulemans

Toekomst voor Natuur

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2023 91:37


Verplaatsen van plant- en diersoorten door de mens is van alle tijden. Toch roepen herintroducties veel vragen op. Is er dan nog wel sprake van natuur? En kunnen we nog wat doen aan genetische erosie of is er al teveel verloren gegaan? Anthonie spreekt in deze aflevering met Dennis de Ryck en Tobias Ceulemans. Dennis werkt bij Natuurpunt in België als projectcoördinator voor LIFE Harwin en Life Belgium for Biodiversity. Tobias werkt aan de Universiteit Antwerpen als professor Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration. In deze aflevering raken we al snel tot kernvragen: wat is natuur? En hoe zien wij onszelf in relatie met die natuur? Ze zijn belangrijk bij de overwegingen rondom herintroductie. Ook bespreken we de voor- en tegenargumenten rondom herintroducties. Wanneer heeft het zin en wanneer niet? Verschillende voorbeelden van herintroducties van planten, vogels, dagvlinders en amfibieën passeren de revue inclusief hun valkuilen. Hoe je herintroductie kunt aanpakken bespreken we aan de hand van voorbeelden uit het LIFE Harwin-project, wat sinds 1 januari 2023 ten oosten van Leuven speelt in het Hageland. En wat heeft natuuramnesie met herintroducties te maken? De leestips van Dennis zijn ‘Natuuramnesie' van Marc Argeloo en ‘Pastorale' van James Rebanks. Tobias tipt ons ‘Planten tellen' van Piet Berger en collega's en 'Darwins gevaarlijke idee' van Daniel C. Dennett. Anthonie tipt in het gesprek het boek ‘Gewilde dieren' van Mark Zekhuis, Louis van Oort en Luc Hoogenstein. We verwijzen in deze aflevering naar aflevering 15 over natuuramnesie met Marc Argeloo. Wil je reageren op deze aflevering? Dat stellen we op prijs! Reacties zijn welkom via onze sociale media, @toekomstnatuur op X en @toekomstvoornatuur op Instagram of door een mailtje te sturen naar toekomstvoornatuur@vlinderstichting.nl.

Reversing Climate Change
S3E62: The Subtle Beauty of a Tiny Life—w/ Helen Rebanks, shepherd and author of The Farmer's Wife: My Life in Days

Reversing Climate Change

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2023 47:00


Can a tiny life be meaningful? For this Thanksgiving Day episode of Reversing Climate Change, join us for stories about food, family, connection, and love. Ross reaches across the pond to speak with Helen Rebanks, farmer, shepherd, and author of The Farmer's Wife: My Life in Days. She is the wife of another farmer, James Rebanks, author of The Shepherd's Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape, and Pastoral Song: A Farmer's Journey, and each of them are personally prominent in the books of the other! From the serene and rugged Lake District in England, Helen shares the unique experience of life on their family farm, emphasizing the intrinsic value of domesticity amid the prevailing focus on individualism in modern society. Learn how Helen views regenerative shepherding methods, such as mob grazing, and their collaborative harmony with nature. What role does she believe local, organic, regenerative, traditional, and sustainable agriculture can play in empowering farmers as heroes in the fight against climate change? Helen's insights extend to the realm of cooking and food production, advocating for a departure from the industrial food system. What power do consumers, especially parents, hold in influencing the food industry and shaping a more sustainable future? Tune in for a glimpse into a tiny life, and to discover the importance and value of the mundane. Connect with Nori ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Purchase Nori Carbon Removals⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nori's website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nori on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out our other podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Carbon Removal Newsroom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram Resources The Farmer's Wife: My Life in Days by Helen Rebanks The Shepherd's Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape by James Rebanks Farm Carbon ToolkitPastoral Song: A Farmer's Journey by James Rebanks Helen on InstagramMichael Pollan  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/support

1000 Better Stories - A Scottish Communities Climate Action Network Podcast
Everyday Changemakers: Peter Moffatt, Transition Black Isle

1000 Better Stories - A Scottish Communities Climate Action Network Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2023 16:02


Today's Everyday Changemaker is Peter Moffatt, Transition Black Isle trustee and a man behind its website. Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, caught up with him at SCCAN's Northern Gathering in Inverness on the 16th of September. Credits: Interview and audio production: Kaska Hempel Resources: Transition Black Isle https://www.transitionblackisle.org/ Transition Network (worldwide) https://transitionnetwork.org/ Transition Together (Britain) https://transitiontogether.org.uk/ (SCCAN is part of this project/network) Transition Black Isle Million Miles Project 2012-15 https://www.transitionblackisle.org/million-miles-project.asp Million Miles Project in The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/23/carbon-cutting-transport-scheme-helping-black-isle-go-green-scottish-highlands 21 Stories of Transition (book produced for COP21), including a story about the Million Miles Project https://transitionnetwork.org/resources/21-stories-of-transition-pdf-to-download/ Highland Good Food Partnership https://highlandgoodfood.scot/ Highland Community Waste Partnership https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/highland-community-waste-partnership/ James Rebanks English Pastoral https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/03/english-pastoral-by-james-rebanks-review-how-to-look-after-the-land Gorge Monbiot Regenesis https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/05/regenesis-by-george-monbiot-review-hungry-for-real-change Transcript [00:00:00] Kaska Hempel: It's Kaska, your Story Weaver. What a weekend it's been. Still buzzing after our members Northern Gathering on the 16th of September. I met some amazing people on the day and workshopped all sorts of ways in which stories and storytelling can help us all think about a better future for our communities. As always, there was simply not enough time to chat to everyone about everything. But since I already travelled all the way to the north, I also took time to visit several amazing community groups around Inverness for Everyday Changemakers interviews. And honestly, I can't wait to share those soon in the podcast as well as a wee place based audio tour I'm going to put together for you. I road tested the tour by cycling around the project locations and I think the stories will make for a fantastic way to explore Inverness on a bike, either in person or online. But today I wanted to share my chat with Peter Moffat from Transition Black Isle, which is based on Black Isle, just north of Inverness. As usual, you can find out more about the stories and resources behind this community group from links I popped into the show notes for you. I met Peter at the gathering itself, where he was holding an information stall for his group. And at lunchtime, we stepped outside the Merkinch Community Centre to record our conversation. [00:01:26] Peter Moffatt: I'm Peter Moffatt. I'm one of the trustees of Transition Black Isle. I have been since 2015. I live at the eastern end of the Black Isle, not far from Muir of Ord, two fields away from the Black Isle Dairy, which is a very, it's one of the few dairy farms in the north of Scotland. It has an enterprising young owner who runs a farm shop. [00:01:51] Kaska Hempel: Tell me about a favourite place where you live. [00:01:55] Peter Moffatt: There's a walk we do just round the fields from the back of the house, which goes along at one stage, an avenue of beach trees looking over the fields towards the Beauly Firth. And it's a wonderful view. And it's just walking around the fields, and it's great. The other way we sometimes go is down over the fields to Conon Bridge, and then along the River Conon. There's a lovely old graveyard a mile or two along there, which not many people know about. But it's a wonderful place to go and think about the people who've gone before you basically, and a very pleasant, enjoyable walk. [00:02:32] Kaska Hempel: How come you got involved in community climate action? What's been your journey? [00:02:37] Peter Moffatt: I can't think of anything particular that sort of started me off. I joined Transition Black Isle as a result of talking to somebody at a stall they were running at an event in Muir of Ord, which I think was something to do with a transport proposal and went on from there really. I admitted to the fact that I had worked with computers and I promptly got captured as it were because the person that currently ran the website lived in Aberdeen and wasn't very active. So first thing I did was become responsible for editing the Transition Black Isle website, which i've been doing ever since. I'm not sure how many people actually look at it regularly, but I do try and keep it updated with information about climate change and climate activities and government policy and the council, what the council's doing. I quite enjoy it, but I can't go on doing it forever, obviously. But there's nobody looking... To come and take over. [00:03:31] Kaska Hempel: What about before you joined Transition? Were you interested in climate issues or environmental issues before then? [00:03:38] Peter Moffatt: I can't remember. I've always been interested in the sort of countryside issues. My father was a farm manager, so I grew up interested in farming and used to go and work on a cousin's farm during the summer holidays when I was a student and on the farm at home as well. So I suppose that's interest in nature and the outdoors and I've also been interested in mountaineering all my life. Where there's concern with climate change, I suppose it grew up, as it grew up generally, not very long ago. Despite the fact that people have been warning about it for the last 50 years, people only generally started to take notice relatively recently. I remember being particularly struck by Greta Thunberg's initial school strike for climate as it was when she sat down outside the Swedish parliament. And she was on the website as soon as she did that, and I've been supporting her as strongly as I can ever since. So setting a fine example. I don't know honestly where my personal concern with climate change as such began. Possibly as a result of joining Transition Black Isle. [00:04:50] Kaska Hempel: When I say transition movement, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? [00:04:55] Peter Moffatt: The idea of trying to move from the status quo business as usual consumerist society to a more sustainable way of life basically. And that was the founding idea of the transition movement. When it began in Totnes, how much transition is actually taking place. Some of the ideas that they had aren't really being applied, I don't think. There were transition groups were supposed to have energy reduction plans which would progressively reduce the amount of energy consumed in the local area and change its nature. So it was more from renewables. That's not really happening, which is not to say that Transition Black Isle and other groups, whether they're transition groups formally or not, aren't doing a lot of good work. They are and there's an amazing number of them, but I can't help feeling that for all the good they're doing, you know, merely scratching the surface of what actually needs to be done. [00:05:53] Kaska Hempel: What makes you the proudest in terms of achievements? of Transition Black Isle. [00:05:59] Peter Moffatt: Major achievement was something they called the Million Miles Project which was a project aimed at reducing car use on the Black Isle by a million miles over a period of two years I think the project ran and it was amazingly successful, a lot of support. It actually became the number one story in a book of 20 stories published by the transition movement, I think for one of the COP climate conferences. And we were quite proud of that. Apart from that, recently we are involved as partners in two very important co operative ventures. One is the Highland Good Food Partnership, which grew out of a series of online discussions which were held about two years ago I think. The other more recent initiative is something called the Highland Community Waste Partnership, which involves eight groups throughout the Highlands. Which is led by Keep Scotland Beautiful and is aiming to raise awareness of waste and reduce waste, particularly food waste, in local communities. A lot of good work being done. How widely it's being recognised, I'm not sure. I mean, if you ask your average person on the Black Isle about the Highland Community Waste Partnership, I'm not sure they'd have heard of it. But perhaps that's because we're not publicising it well enough. But there is a lot of hard work being done. [00:07:35] Kaska Hempel: Who or what inspires you personally? [00:07:39] Peter Moffatt: That's difficult. Greta Thunberg for one. Talking about food and farming. James Rebanks. Excellent, fascinating book. English Pastoral I think it was called. He is trying to recognise the sort of traditional values in farming as it ought to be practiced. Involved in the landscape and the countryside, he's in the Lake District, so it's obviously a certain type of land, sheep farming, which some people would say we should do away with, but if it's there, then he seems to set a fine example of how to do it in the right sort of attitude to the land and so on. Somebody else I would mention is George Monbiot, writer and journalist and activist. Everything he says is pretty sensible. Some people are a bit dubious about his idea that we should replace all beef and dairy farming with industrially fermented protein generated from microbes, fed on carbon dioxide and hydrogen, which apparently you can eat.  It doesn't sound, it would be very appetizing, shall we say. But the chances of doing away with the entire meat and dairy industry, which people say we need to do in order if we're going to reduce environmental damage and feed people adequately, is well, it's a big ask and, it's difficult to see how it could ever come about. I was just reading Tim Spector saying the same thing, basically, about the need to drastically reduce the amount of land devoted to producing crops to feed cattle for beef. And we should all be eating more plant food instead. Which is undoubtedly true and unlikely to come about, unfortunately, which is one of my reasons for not being a climate optimist. [00:09:31] Kaska Hempel: Since we're talking about meat and not eating meat, do you have a favourite vegetarian or vegan dish? [00:09:36] Peter Moffatt: I make something which is called by the uninviting name of Veggie Grot. Which is in fact a vegetable it's a sort of... vegetable crumble, really with a sort of cheese and breadcrumbs topping. And it contains whatever vegetables come to hand, lightly cooked in the oven. It's popular with our friends. I take it to mountaineering club meets and they all eat it eagerly enough. I'm not completely vegetarian, i'm certainly not vegan, but the idea of a vegan cheese or vegan sausages, I find difficult to accept. I know they exist. All our sandwiches today were vegan, I'm told. But we don't eat a lot of meat. My wife and I are largely sort of 75 percent vegetarian, I would say, at least. And I like vegetables. I grow vegetables in the garden. And it's very satisfying to eat your own produce. [00:10:25] Kaska Hempel: Where in the world are you happiest? [00:10:28] Peter Moffatt: Where am I happiest? In a sunlit wood, preferably with a burn flowing by, or on the top of a Scottish mountain. [00:10:42] Kaska Hempel: Now the final question, I always ask people to imagine the place they live in, ten years from now. Imagine that we've done everything possible to limit the impact of climate change and create a better and fairer world. And share one memory from that future with our listeners. [00:11:02] Peter Moffatt: Quite honestly, I think it will be very little different from what it is now. If, some of the ideas that have been proposed in the local place plan that is currently being prepared for the Black Isle and will be presented to the council at the end of this month. If some of them were to come to fruition, then the Black Isle would have a better transport system. It would have lots of affordable housing available for local people. It would have more local food production. Better care for old people. And safer cycle routes and so on. Transition Black Isle has been working for years on an active travel route, cycle path basically, between Avoch and Munlochy, and we have been frustrated. It's a question of getting a hold of the land, and there has been reluctance in some quarters to make land available. [00:12:03] Kaska Hempel: And if you can share one sound or smell or taste of that future, what would it be? [00:12:08] Peter Moffatt: I would like to think it was the sound of Curlews and we used to hear them over the fields outside the house. We were in Shetland a little while ago looking out over the pasture which should have been busy with Curlews and Lapwings and there was nothing there at all. Whether anything is likely to change to the extent that these birds become more numerous than they are at the moment, I don't know. It's unlikely, but it would be nice. I would love to hear Lapwings calling over the fields outside our house on a regular basis. [00:12:38] Kaska Hempel: I'm going to ask you if there's anything else that you wanted to add for our listeners. [00:12:44] Peter Moffatt: If you're interested and concerned about climate change and so on, just think whether you could make that little bit extra effort and volunteer for organisations like Transition Black Isle. There are plenty of other organisations on the Black Isle and elsewhere. Offer to volunteer, offer to become a trustee maybe and take a bit of responsibility. It's not very much. Put your good intentions into practice. Transition Black Isle has an online newsletter with a subscriber list of about 480 people. It has a membership of about 150. It has six trustees, needs more, and it is sometimes difficult to get people, especially young people, to volunteer to help with activities. There's a serious lack of young people coming forward, whether it's because they think it's an old fogey's group. I don't know. But we need more involvement by people who are obviously concerned, but just need to take a step forward and put that concern into voluntary action and actually help the climate movement on its way.

Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith
Helen Rebanks: The Farmer's Wife

Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2023 31:01


This week, in the last of this mini series on Matrescence, Gilly is with Helen Rebanks, farmer, businesswoman, teacher, conservationist and a working mother of four. She's also wife to Britain's most famous farmer, James Rebanks whose phenomenal success with his books The Shepherd's Life and English Pastoral (as featured on Cooking the Books), changed the way we look at farming. Now Helen tells the story of The Farmer's Wife and looks at the values of an old fashioned way of life rooted in hard work and mothering her children on a farm in the Lake District. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EconTalk
James Rebanks on the Shepherd's Life

EconTalk

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2023 74:01


James Rebanks's family has raised sheep in the same small English village for at least four centuries. There are records of people with his same last name going back a few hundred more. Even his sheep are rooted in place: their DNA is from Viking times. It's enough to make anyone feel insignificant--and according to Rebanks, that's a wonderful thing. Listen as the author of The Shepherd's Life speaks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the deep pleasures and humbling privilege of being a sheep farmer.

Toekomst voor Natuur
36 – Toekomst voor soortenrijke graslanden met graslandnerds Stephanie Schelfhout en An De Schrijver

Toekomst voor Natuur

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2023 98:54


Zoemende graslanden vol bloemenpracht zijn in rap tempo verdwenen. En de resterende soortenrijke graslanden staan sterk onder druk. Maar wie een deprimerend verhaal verwacht, heeft het mis. Anthonie spreekt in deze aflevering met Stephanie Schelfhout en An De Schrijver, beide werkzaam aan de Hogeschool Gent als onderzoeker en docent. Ze noemen zichzelf de graslandnerds, en terecht. Zowel An als Stephanie raakte in het graslandonderzoek verzeild door beheerders die geen effecten zagen van hun graslandbeheer ondanks jarenlange inspanningen. In deze aflevering nemen we je mee op reis langs de oorzaken van achteruitgang, de verschillende graslandtypen, de huidige knelpunten in soortenrijke graslanden en verschillende mogelijke oplossingen in inrichting en beheer. We bespreken bijvoorbeeld de voor- en nadelen van herintroductie van soorten, of uitmijnen zinvol is en waarom gefaseerd maaibeheer noodzakelijk is. En hoe moeten we doelstellingen voor weidevogels en vegetatie combineren? Is dat eigenlijk wel te doen? Ook (vanaf 01:13:26) spreken we over de populaire campagne MaaiMeiNiet. Heeft dat zin? En kan voorjaarsmaaien soms toch een oplossing zijn? Stephanie en An delen nieuwe inzichten uit hun burgerwetenschapsproject FlowerPower de tuin, waarover ze ook een podcast maken. Leidt MaaiMeiNiet tot meer bloemen? En welk soort grasland zien mensen het liefst? Tenslotte roept An ons op om de lichtpunten in natuurherstel te blijven zien en benoemen en zet Stephanie een dikke streep onder de noodzaak van samenwerking tussen boeren en natuurbeheerders. Waarvan akte! De leestip van An is ‘Geroezemoes in het gras' van Dave Goulson en de leestip van Stephanie is ‘Pastorale. Nalatenschap van een schaapherder' van James Rebanks.   Wil je reageren op deze aflevering? Dat stellen we erg op prijs! Reacties zijn welkom via onze sociale media, @toekomstnatuur op Twitter en @toekomstvoornatuur op Instagram of door een mailtje te sturen naar toekomstvoornatuur@vlinderstichting.nl.

The War on Cars
Nick Offerman

The War on Cars

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2023 52:44


You may know the actor Nick Offerman as the gruff city parks director Ron Swanson on the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation or from his turn as the survivalist Bill on the HBO series The Last of Us, but he also has a lot to say about how people get around, share public space, and relate to nature. In his book Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside, Nick takes a wry and philosophical approach to our stewardship of Planet Earth, the value of working with one's hands, and the many problems with the massive agricultural systems on which we all depend. Nick Offerman joins The War on Cars to talk about his experience biking for transportation in New York City and Los Angeles, his views on masculinity and conspicuous consumption, and why the best way to explore an unfamiliar city is at the speed of a good walk. This episode is produced with support from Cleverhood. Listen to the episode for the latest 15% discount code. ***Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive access to ad-free versions of all our episodes, special bonus content and stickers!*** LINKS: Visit Nick Offerman's official site and follow him on Twitter. Read Nick Offerman's Call of the Candy-Ass in Outside Online. Support independent booksellers and buy Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside as well as books by other guests of The War on Cars at our official Bookshop.org page. Read Pastoral Song by James Rebanks. (Published in the UK as English Pastoral.) Watch the film Sacred Cow, narrated by Nick Offerman. And read the book! * * * * *   Pick up official podcast tees and other merch in our official store. This episode was edited by Ali Lemer. It was recorded by Felix Levine. Our theme music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. TheWarOnCars.org  

The Justin Rhodes Show
Author James Rebanks (UK) and wife Helen on opting out of big ag, accepting oneself and growing sideways

The Justin Rhodes Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2023 107:08


James the Author of Pastoral Song and the Shepherds Life and Helen an upcoming author of the Farmers Wife.

Kongsberg Bibliotekets Podkast
Litteraturkafé mars 2023

Kongsberg Bibliotekets Podkast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2023 33:30


Denne gangen er det bonden og forfatteryrket i kreativt samspill som er tema for bokpraten. Forfattere som beskriver og lever livet på landet, får her komme til ordet gjennom tekstene sine. Refleksjoner over endringer i jordbruket og hvordan leve ut forfatterdrømmen langt unna bylivet nær naturen, er blant temaer forfattere som Eivind Hofstad Evjemo, Olav H. Hauge, Knut Hamsun, Lars Amund Vaage, Simen Tveitereid og James Rebanks løfter fram i bøkene sine. Bibliotekar Sarah Judith Hovelstad forteller og anbefaler.

mars denne hauge knut hamsun james rebanks forfattere eivind hofstad evjemo simen tveitereid
Farming Today
11/03/2023 Farming Today This Week: food fraud, imported beef sold as British; upland farm incomes; drought

Farming Today

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2023 24:48


Imported meat labelled as British has been sold by a retailer which advertises that it sells only British meat. The National Food Crime Unit is investigating after discovering that one of the retailers' suppliers has been selling it what's described as 'large volumes' of pre-packed South American and European beef, labelled as British. Ten years after the horse meat scandal, we ask how this sort of fraud can happen. Hill farmers describe new government payment scheme as "the greatest catastrophe for nature and farming in a lifetime". New figures from DEFRA show payments for upland farmers will be down 65% under the new Environmental Land Management Scheme or ELMS, compared to previous payments under the old EU system. Author and hill farmer James Rebanks says it will force farmers to increase the number of livestock they keep - the opposite of what the government says it wants. Farming minister Mark Spencer defends DEFRA's plans. As parts of the country struggle with snow, farmers in the east of England are hoping for more rain. East Anglia has had the driest February since 1959 - the third driest on record. We find out how farms are changing what they grow, to cope with a lack of water. Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Farming Today
09/03/2023 Anger at drop in income for hill farmers, dairy welfare tech, new register for backyard hens

Farming Today

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2023 13:31


"The greatest catastrophe for nature and farming in a lifetime". That's the verdict of the lake district hill farmer and writer James Rebanks on the Government's payments to upland farmers. Figures from Defra that show incomes for upland farmers are facing a massive hit, as payments under the new post-Brexit scheme in England do not come up to the level of previous payments under the old EU system. Mr Rebanks tells us that will force farmers to increase the number of livestock they keep - the opposite of what the Government says it wants. A cow mattress, lameness monitoring or a cattle handling system - just some of the things farmers in England can now get a grant for as part of the Government's Sustainable Farming Incentive. Livestock farmers in England can now access grants of up to £25,000 to improve the welfare of their animals. This week we're focusing on dairy farming and so those grants might help buy ball toys for calves or a computer programme for monitoring lameness, and some of the available options were on display at this year's Dairy Tech event. Should everyone keeping hens have to register with the Government? At the moment only people who keep a flock of more than 50 has to register with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, but Defra is consulting on plans to extend that in an attempt to control the spread of avian flu. This would also cover birds of prey and pigeons but not pet birds kept inside. As we've reported, the past few years have seen the biggest outbreak of bird flu here and across Europe with tens of millions of poultry birds culled and a big impact on wild bird populations too. We hear from the Cheif Vet, Christine Middlemiss. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

VISION VIBES | NHK WORLD-JAPAN
Farming for the Future: James Rebanks / Farmer and Author

VISION VIBES | NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2022 17:32


James Rebanks is a British farmer who runs a 600-year-old farm in the Lake District in the UK. He is also the author of 2 best-selling books and is a campaigner for sustainable farming. Here's what we talk about in this episode: Activism, Community, Environment, Global issues, Inspiration, Nature, Sustainability

ScotThoughts
Heart and Soul 17/7/22

ScotThoughts

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2022 34:57


James Rebanks talks about Farming which is Sympathetic to the Environment. Malcolm Guite reads his version of Psalm 24. Mary Haddow has a story on Compassion. Alan Sorensen explains the qualities shown by a Real Man.

The Gardenangelists
Solving Gardening Mysteries One Podcast Episode at a Time

The Gardenangelists

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2022 40:46


Dee and Carol talk about silver plants, cucumbers vs. melons vs. squash, regenerative farming, and more on this week's episode.First link:  Our substack newsletter where you'll find more extensive notes and hopefully a fun read! Subscribe to get it in your email inbox weekly!The rest of the links:Dusty Miller,  Senecio cineraria ' Silverdust'.  And there is also Angel Wings SenecioDee's blog post about dusty miller (so sweet!)Carol's Family Handyman article about growing squash.American Gourd Society - headquarters in Indiana!  On the Bookshelf:  Farming on the wild side : the evolution of a regenerative organic farm and nursery by Nancy J and John P. Hayden (Amazon link) Rare oak found in Texas: Researchers Discover Oak Tree Thought to Be Extinct | Quercus tardifolia | The Morton Arboretum   (with a h/t to Dr. Jared Barnes)Other stuff we mentioned:Addams Family TV show on Prime VideoDee's blog post - 'Tour Gardens are Pageant Girls'Carol's Family Handyman article on watering plantsLego Orchid - Carol's new Lego kit.Dee's blog post about the daylily conventionCarol's blog post with more Agatha Christie garden-y quotesThat shepherd guy that Dee mentioned is James Rebanks, author of Pastoral Song (Amazon Link)Carol's latest jigsaw puzzle, Country Diary: Spring plus the YouTube video of the jigsaw puzzle competition!Affiliate link to Botanical Interest Seeds. (If you buy something from them after using this link, we earn a small commission at no cost to you. This helps us continue to bring this podcast to you ad-free!)  Book links are also affiliate links.Email us at TheGardenangelists@gmail.com  For more info on Carol and her books, visit her website.  Visit her blog May Dreams Gardens.For more info on Dee and her book, visit her website.  Visit her blog Red Dirt Ramblings.Don't forget to sign up for our newsletters, via our websites!

All About Books | NET Radio
“Pastoral Song” by James Rebanks

All About Books | NET Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2022 9:08


James Rebanks and his family have been farmers in England's Lake District for generations. In his book “Pastoral Song” he tells how the global transformation of agriculture has impacted the environment and even the human relationship to the land. Learn about how this farmer is trying to restore the life that vanished from his small farm on

BOBcast
Episode 114: BOBCAST JUNE 2022

BOBcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2022 44:37


'Hello, I'm lying'Jack Monroe,  Laurie Anderson,  Bulldog Breaks,  Steven Pinker,  Virginia Astley,  James Rebanks,  Zadie Smith.

Ronkedorerne
Ronkedorerne: Niels Stensen, Den første ghetto, Vores fælles arv og Det vilde sildeboom

Ronkedorerne

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2022 24:42


den2radio's 4 Ronkedorer har igen sat sig sammen med hver sin fagbog som de gerne vil fortælle om. Det er Jens Raahauge, Georg Metz, Nikolai Ifversen og Egon Clausen og bøger er: 'Niels Stensen. Kongelig anatom og fyrstelig geolog' skrevet af Jesper Brandt Andersen, 'Den første ghetto' af Garby Schmidt, 'Vores fælles arv' skrevet af James Rebanks og oversat af Juliane Wammen og 'Det vilde sildeboom' af Jakob...

Litteratur
Ronkedorerne: Niels Stensen, Den første ghetto, Vores fælles arv og Det vilde sildeboom

Litteratur

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2022 24:42


den2radio's 4 Ronkedorer har igen sat sig sammen med hver sin fagbog som de gerne vil fortælle om. Det er Jens Raahauge, Georg Metz, Nikolai Ifversen og Egon Clausen og bøger er: 'Niels Stensen. Kongelig anatom og fyrstelig geolog' skrevet af Jesper Brandt Andersen, 'Den første ghetto' af Garby Schmidt, 'Vores fælles arv' skrevet af James Rebanks og oversat af Juliane Wammen og 'Det vilde sildeboom' af Jakob...

Slightly Foxed
40: Adrian Bell: Back to the Land

Slightly Foxed

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2022 42:18


The farmer-cum-writer Adrian Bell is best-known for his rural trilogy of Suffolk farming life, Corduroy, Silver Ley and The Cherry Tree. To explore Bell's life and writing the Slightly Foxed editors are joined by Richard Hawking, chairman of the Adrian Bell Society, author of At the Field's Edge: Adrian Bell and the English Countryside and editor of A Countryman's Winter Notebook, a selection of Bell's newspaper columns. We follow Bell from middle-class London to a farming apprenticeship in Suffolk, where his inability to do the most basic physical tasks taught him a new respect. A farmer, he discovered, held in his head thousands of facts about animals, crops and fodder, while his eye for a pig was ‘as subtle as an artist's'. As Bell grappled with life on the land, the locals considered him to be a recuperating invalid or an incompetent idiot but in time he grew into a bona fide countryman, one who criticized Thomas Hardy's portrayal of the ploughman as ‘only a man harrowing clods' and who managed to set up his own small farm, Silver Ley. From the pride of the wagon maker, the repeal of the corn act in the 1920s and the heartbreak of farmers going bankrupt to his bohemian mother making butter, his friend John Nash illustrating Men and the Fields and Second World War soldiers packing Corduroy in their kit bags, we learn that Bell is the perfect writer to reconnect people with the land, one whose work still feels relevant today. As his close friend Ronald Blythe noted, Bell was ‘in love with words', a love that led to his position as the founder of The Times cryptic crossword.  And in our usual round-up of recommended reading we enter Walter de la Mare's dreams, explore Shackleton's Antarctica and visit Catherine Fox's fictional Lindchester, the setting for her glorious twenty-first-century Trollopian tales. (Episode duration: 42 minutes; 18 seconds)  Books Mentioned We may be able to get hold of second-hand copies of the out-of-print titles listed below. Please get in touch with Jess in the Slightly Foxed office for more information. Flora Thompson, Lark Rise, Slightly Foxed Edition No. 58 (0:55) Flora Thompson, Over to Candleford & Candleford Green, Slightly Foxed Edition No. 59 will be published on 1 June and is available to order now. Richard Hawking, At the Field's Edge: Adrian Bell and the English Countryside (2:28) Adrian Bell, A Countryman's Winter Notebook. A Slightly Foxed special release with an introduction by Richard Hawking and specially commissioned illustrations by Suffolk artist Beth Knight (2:30) Adrian Bell, Men and the Fields (4:23) Adrian Bell, Corduroy, Plain Foxed Edition (4:54) Adrian Bell, Silver Ley is currently out of print Adrian Bell, The Cherry Tree, Slightly Foxed Edition No. 38 (6:46) Edmund Blunden, Undertones of War (7:08) Ann Gander, Adrian Bell: Voice of the Countryside is out of print (16:56) Walter Rose, The Village Carpenter is out of print (18:20) Adrian Bell, The Open Air: An Anthology of English Country Life is out of print (18:53) Adrian Bell, My Own Master is out of print (22:52) Adrian Bell, Sunrise to Sunset is out of print (23:27) Adrian Bell, The Flower and the Wheel is out of print (26:26) James Rebanks, English Pastoral (30:06) Catherine Fox, Acts and Omissions (33:06) Walter de la Mare, Behold, This Dreamer! (34:52) William Grill, Shackleton's Journey and Bandoola: The Great Elephant Rescue (36:21) Related Slightly Foxed Articles Winter Noon, extract from Adrian Bell, A Countryman's Winter Notebook Another Country, Christian Tyler on Adrian Bell, Corduroy, Issue 22 From the Farmhouse Window, Melissa Harrison on Adrian Bell, Silver Ley, Issue 46 Ploughing On, Hazel Wood on Adrian Bell, The Cherry Tree, Issue 54 How long had I been standing here under the old cherry tree?, extract from Adrian Bell, The Cherry Tree Other Links The Adrian Bell Society (2:25) www.ruralmuseums.org.uk (30:57) Opening music: Preludio from Violin Partita No.3 in E Major by Bach The Slightly Foxed Podcast is hosted by Philippa Lamb and produced by Podcastable

Best of Today
James Rebanks' Today Programme

Best of Today

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2021 35:12


James Rebanks is a Cumbrian sheep farmer and bestselling author. He used his Today programme guest edit to focus on the government's changes to farm subsidies and to look at whether urban farms can create healthy and happy communities. He discussed whether the British countryside is diverse enough and asked how it can attract a workforce that better reflects modern Britain. Finally, indoctrinated by his father who took him to his first game at Anfield when he was ten, James Rebanks wanted us to talk about Jurgen Klopp and his why he's popular not only among Liverpool fans, but beyond. With Nick Robinson and Mishal Husain.

5x15
James Rebanks on English Pastoral

5x15

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2021 64:04


Join 5x15 to hear bestselling author James Rebanks as he reflects on his prize-winning new book, English Pastoral; the countryside we've inherited, and the legacy we want to leave. James Rebanks is a shepherd based in the Lake District, where his family have lived and worked for over six hundred years. His No.1 bestselling debut, The Shepherd's Life, won the Lake District Book of the Year, was shortlisted for the Wainwright and Ondaatje prizes, and has been translated into sixteen languages. His second book, English Pastoral, was also a Top Ten bestseller and was named the Sunday Times Nature Book of the Year. Heralded as a ‘masterpiece' by the New Statesman, it was shortlisted for the Ondaatje prize and the Orwell Prize for Political Writing, and longlisted for the Rathbones Folio prize. With thanks for your generous support for 5x15 online. 5x15 brings together outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

Sustainable Dish Podcast
Nick Offerman: Actor, Author, Woodworker, and Better Meat Advocate

Sustainable Dish Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2021 59:59


You may know him as Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec, or as Amy Poehler's co-host in the reality competition series Making It,  or as Megan Mullally's husband.  But did you know that Nick Offerman is also a passionate supporter of sustainability and the movement for better meat? Many of you will immediately recognize his dulcet tones as the narrator from my film Sacred Cow. Nick and I met through a mutual friend and fellow supporter of regenerative farming, James Rebanks, and continue a friendship through our shared interests. In this episode, I sit down to talk to Nick about his latest book, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play. Nick recounts some of his most memorable moments from his journeys and shares the inspiration for his travels. Get to know Nick a little bit better as we chat about: - Nick's backstory and family history - His inspiration drawn from Wendell Berry - How Parks and Rec opened doors for new opportunities - The good and bad of living in LA - The necessary tradeoffs of living in the modern world - The value of face to face interactions - The problems with battling misinformation - Nick's current and upcoming projects - Nick's book recommendations Resources: Solid Sound Festival  The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks Wendell Daily Twitter  The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry Bewilderment and The Overstory by Richard Powers The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees: The Ash in Human Culture and History  by Robert Penn Girls & Sex and Boys & Sex by Peggy Orenstein Ishmael by Daniel Quinn Connect with Nick: Website: Nick Offerman and Offerman Woodshop Instagram: @nickofferman Facebook: Nick Offerman Twitter: @nick_offerman Podcast: In Bed with Nick and Megan  *** Episode Credits: Thank you to all who've made this show possible. Our hosts are Diana Rodgers and James Connelly. Our producer is Meg Chatham, and our editor is Emily Soape. And of course, we are grateful for our sponsors, Patreon supporters, and listeners. A big thanks to Nakano Knives for their support of my work and the podcast. I've been using their knives for a couple of years now and I love them. They are beautiful, easy to hold, and a fantastic value. And just in time for the holidays, you can use my offer code DIANA for 10% off plus get a $25 voucher toward your next purchase. Who doesn't love a new knife, right?  This episode is also sponsored by Paleovalley, my go-to, grab-and-go source for products that prioritize nutrient density in an industry that prioritizes everything else. Their epic lineup of products includes Organic Supergreens, 100% Grass-Fed Beef Sticks, Grass-Fed Organ Complex, 100% Grass-Fed Bone Broth Protein, and low-sugar snack bars. Visit their website here and enter the code SUSTAINABLEDISH for 15% off your first order.

Seriously…
Could I Regenerate My Farm To Save The Planet?

Seriously…

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2021 29:14


Regenerative Farming is gaining traction around the world as a means of increasing biodiversity, improving soil quality, sequestering carbon, restoring watersheds and enhancing the ecosystems of farms. The shepherd James Rebanks, author of English Pastoral, is on a quest to find out if it is possible to adopt these methods on his farm in the Lake District. He meets leading proponents of these methods in the UK, US and Europe and discovers how mimicking natural herd movements, stopping ploughing and adding costly chemicals could make his farm economically sustainable. This is becoming an urgent question as not only is the global population projected to rise to nearly 10 billion by 2050 but according to the UN's Food and Agriculture organisation within 60 years we may literally no longer have enough arable topsoil to feed ourselves. Meanwhile our reliance on meat products is being blamed for increasing CO2 and climate change. But can James,and indeed other farmers, make the switch to these techniques when industrial farming has been the paradigm for so long? When so many people believe turning vegan and shifting to plant-based ecological farming is the way forward, should he continue breeding sheep and cows? And as companies like Nestle, Walmart, Unilever, McCain and Pepsi all pledge to invest in regenerative farming to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, do the claims about carbon sequestration stand up? How can he use his farm to save the planet?

Past Imperfect
James Rebanks

Past Imperfect

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2021 49:14


James Rebanks is a British author and farmer. Rachel and Alice join him at his farm to discuss his childhood acting out at school to shake off his rural roots, leaving school at 15, and how the death of his grandfather forced a rift between him and his father.Right to Succeed: www.righttosucceed.org.ukThe Princes Countryside Fund: www.princescountrysidefund.org.ukThe Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution: www.rabi.org.ukThis podcast has been produced in association with Speakers for Schools: www.speakersforschools.orgProducer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leadership and the Environment
524: James Rebanks, part 1: Pastoral Song

Leadership and the Environment

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2021 61:40


James Rebanks' first massively bestselling book, The Shepherd's Life, and the images of that life he posts online, at first make you think he hails from another time. It describes a life both almost unimaginable to most city dwellers like myself and more than half the Earth and traditional, going back centuries or even millennia. He illustrates his relationships with his father and grandfather, the land, the sheep, and history.But he also shows that he is from now, not another time. I sensed myself out of touch with humanity and nature with plastic and not knowing what trees and birds live near me. In his second book, Pastoral Song, also a massive bestsellr, he describes more his conflict and struggle with the invasion of modernity into his life, his foray into acceptance, and ultimate his joyful rejection of it.Many of us dream of rejecting the parts of modernity that stultify us but decline to act out of fear. James rejected it, not easy. You'll love his openness and experiences likely different from anyone you know. When British people talk about the Lake District, they get wistful. I've never been there. James is of that territory.James's views contrast and complement previous guest James Suzman's, who wrote about the San bushmen in the Kalahari Desert. Both speak of living in harmony and balance with nature, struggling at the first world expanding into their territory.In our conversation, James Rebanks shares his views and experience on nature, family, and his life. I mostly bring people from organizations---businesses, political office, sports teams, etc. James comes from family, farms, and England's Lake District. He shares a life unlike anyone I met but probably like thousands of my ancestors.Here is the quote I read:For weeks afterward, as we passed Henry's farm, Dad would tell me that we were bloody fools. This news confirmed something Dad had always felt in his gut. Deep down he had never really believed in many of the changes, and with every passing year he was becoming more skeptical. We were doing these new things because we had ​to—getting more cattle and sheep, acquiring bigger machines, making these changes and meanwhile losing good people—and yet where was it all heading? If modern farming made the soil worse, and reduced it to a junkie requiring more and more hits of ​shop-​bought chemicals, then how sustainable was it? Dad couldn't step out of it entirely, but he saw right through it. Rather than admire our friends and relatives who were creating huge new farming businesses, with enormous buildings and loads of machinery and staff, he worried for them. He thought their world was ugly, built on debt, and increasingly risky and volatile; it would all come crashing down around them someday. And when it began to, and some of the biggest farms went bankrupt, he defended them and said we had all been fools once. There was no pleasure in seeing farmers losing their farms.My father knew the truth lay in Henry's soil. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Farmerama
68: Commoners in Cumbria and collective landscape restoration in Spain

Farmerama

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2021 34:11


This month we speak to Cumbrian sheep farmer and celebrated author James Rebanks about the collective discovery of aligned interests of farmers as they are regenerating their landscapes together. And Abby has visited, Erica ten Broeke, Landscape Manager at Commonland, a Dutch NGO that bring a holistic approach to landscape restoration as initiator, catalyst and enabler of large-scale, long-term restoration initiatives.  This episode of Farmerama was made by Jo Barratt, Abby Rose and Olivia Oldham. A big thanks to the rest of the Farmerama team Katie Revell, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins and Dora Taylor. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt. We're very grateful to those of you that support us and allow us to bring you these stories every month. Even the smallest contribution makes a big difference to us. If you'd like to become a supporter, visit patreon.com/Farmerama Links: James Reanks @herdyshepherd1 La Junquera lajunquera.com/ Common Land https://www.commonland.com/

Kyle Meredith With...
Nick Offerman on Traveling with Jeff Tweedy, Discovering Sam Shepard and Wendell Berry's Writing

Kyle Meredith With...

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2021 48:20


Nick Offerman catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about his new book, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play. Inspired by the writings of Wendell Berry and Sam Shepard, the book recounts three nature-based trips with folks including Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, authors George Saunders and James Rebanks, and his wife, actress/comedian Megan Mullally. Offerman's book also discusses our ignorance of our place in nature, and how learning about our national parks teaches us about oppressed, indigenous, and minority people, and the importance of empathy. On the musical side of things, the actor and humorist tells us about growing up on bands like Queen, Duran Duran, and Wham before finding the underground acts that changed his world. Look out for mentions of Laurie Anderson, Talking Heads, Uncle Tupelo, They Might Be Giants, and Tom Waits. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

The Gardenangelists
Well, We Tried to Make Insects the Overall Theme

The Gardenangelists

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2021 48:34


Dee and Carol tried to make insects the overall theme for this week's podcast which is all about late-blooming flowers for pollinators, leaving the leaves for the insects, some cool books, and a wonderful documentary called The Love Bugs.Some links:National Garden Club's Blog post on overwintering pelargoniums indoors by Peggy RiccioDee's latest segment on Oklahoma GardeningDee's new hydrangea from Proven Winners  Fairytrail Bride® Cascade Hydrangea.Carol's new hydrangeas from Proven Winners include Invincibelle Garnetta® and Quick Fire Fab®. Fairytrail Bride® isn't hardy enough for Carol's garden!Also, Hydrangea 'Bobo®' from Proven WinnersCincinnati Zoo and Botanical GardenSolidago shortii 'Solar Cascade' - Plant FinderGolden Torch Goldenrodhttps://xerces.org  for more info on overwintering insects.On the Bookshelf: The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees, by Doug TallamyRabbit Holes:  Red Land Cotton Sheets and American Blanket Company.Bringing Nature Home, by Doug Tallamy,   Aldo Leopold's classic A Sand County Almanac, and Tales from the Ant World, by Edward O. Wilson, Pastoral Song, by James Rebanks. Dirt:  POV | The Love Bugs, a wonderful documentary.Affiliate link to Botanical Interest Seeds. (If you buy something from them after using this link, we earn a small commission at no cost to you.)Email us at TheGardenangelists@gmail.com  For more info on Carol and her books, visit her website.  Visit her blog May Dreams Gardens.For more info on Dee and her book, visit her website.  Visit her blog Red Dirt Ramblings.Book links are also affiliate links.

The Sunday Magazine
Farmer James Rebanks on his book Pastoral Song, What's driving rising food prices, A women's rights activist on leaving Afghanistan, How a Yukon hockey team made it to the Stanley Cup, Billy-Ray Belcourt on A History of My Brief Body

The Sunday Magazine

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2021 90:49


This week on The Sunday Magazine with guest host Helen Mann: • We explore the challenges facing farmers, with food producers across Canada and "Pastoral Song" author James Rebanks • Food researcher Sylvain Charlebois explains what's behind rising food prices • Women's rights activist Najiba Sanjar on leaving Afghanistan • How a Dawson City hockey team made it to the Stanley Cup • Writer Billy-Ray Belcourt on his memoir A History of My Brief Body Find the full bounty at https://www.cbc.ca/sunday

The Deep Dive
Episode 71: Anthropologists Wanted: A Conversation w/Walter Faaij

The Deep Dive

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2021 61:35


In this conversation, Philip talks to corporate anthropologist, sustainability consultant and author of Anthropologists Wanted, Walter Faaij. Philip and Walter discuss the importance of anthropology and a discipline in making sense of an increasingly complex world. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share tasty morsels of intellectual goodness and creative musings. Philip's Drop: Exterminate All the Brutes – director Raoul Peck (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8396314/) Available via HBO Max (domestically) Review (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/exterminate-all-the-brutes-reviewed-a-vast-agonizing-history-of-white-supremacy) Walter's Drop: The Shepherd's Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape by James Rebanks (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250060266) Special Guest: Walter Faaij.

The Farmers Weekly Podcast
Thieves target farm dogs, 'economic shock' for family farms, all AHDB levies now face levy vote, lamb prices up (again), £2m food export campaign, Labour farm policy review, & Fieldwork Book Club

The Farmers Weekly Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2021 43:50


In this episode, we investigate how criminal gangs are stealing farm dogs worth thousands of pounds – and selling them on the black market.As Defra secretary George Eustice confirms that all AHDB sector bodies will now face a vote  on their future – we ask how exactly will the ballot work?Family farms face an 'economic shock' as direct payments are phased out, says the Labour Party – but what does leader Keir Starmer propose instead?On the markets, lamb prices are on the rise gain.Trade and industry secretary Liz Truss unveils a £2m export campaign for British food and drink – but will it benefit farmers or just food processors?And we find out how an online book club is bringing hundreds of people together to discuss the future for food, farming and the countryside.To join the Fieldwork Book Club, email fieldworkbookclub@gmail.com. The two books mentioned are English Pastoral by James Rebanks; and Sitopia by Carolyn Steel.Special guests include Liz Truss (Secretary of State for International Trade), Luke Pollard (Shadow Defra secretary), Will Bevan, (shepherd, Gloucestershire), Aled Davies (NFU Cymru adviser for Carmarthenshire), Adam Bedford (Fieldwork Book Club), Sarah Morris (FieldMouse Research), Carolyn Steel (author).This episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast is co-hosted by Farmers Weekly chief reporter Johann Tasker and Surrey farmer Hugh Broom, with FW livestock reporter Michael Priestley.

The Outdoors Fix
James Rebanks: The life of a shepherd and farmer in the Lake District

The Outdoors Fix

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2020 62:37


I'm absolutely thrilled that my guest in this episode is James Rebanks. He's a shepherd, farmer and writer and the author of the bestselling book The Shepherd's Life and new book English Pastoral. James' farm is in the Matterdale Valley near Ullswater in the Lake District and his family has farmed in that stunning area for 600 years He owns a large flock of Herdwick sheep, some belted Galloway cows, pigs and chickens. In his new book English Pastoral, James passionately calls for farming to become more sustainable and nature-friendly. He speaks about how in the past 50 years, technology and fertilisers used on farms have had a hugely detrimental effect on nature and wildlife. So he's been changing the way he manages his land, by planting more hedgerows and trees in his fields, abandoning fertilisers, building ponds, allowing the river to flood some of his farmland and focusing on the health of his soil. His efforts are paying off and he's seeing a wonderful return of wildlife to his farm, including more otters, fish, herons, wetland birds, insects and wildflowers. While the outdoors has been a pretty constant feature in his life, James is now making nature and wildlife a bigger part of it. I spent a morning with James exploring his beautiful farm and seeing the changes he's implementing - we then recorded the episode in an old sheep barn! I wanted to find out more about James' outdoors life, the realities of being a farmer and shepherd, and why he thinks it's so important to have nature thriving alongside farming. The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk It is proudly supported by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports – stores nationwide and online offering everything you need to equip you for the best outdoors experience. The post James Rebanks: The life of a shepherd and farmer in the Lake District appeared first on The Outdoors Fix.

The Secret Life of Writers by Tablo
James Rebanks on his life's work, the surprising path to bestselling writer, an urgency to rethink modern farming and how we can change the world.

The Secret Life of Writers by Tablo

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2020 56:51


James is an old-fashioned farmer based in England's The Lake District where his family have lived and worked for over 600 years. He's the author of the bestselling memoir The Shephard's Life which won the Lake District book of the year, was shortlisted for the Wainwright and Ondaatje prizes and translated into sixteen languages. It speaks of his life's work and his profound connection to the land. It resonated around the world, as have his photos and words on social media where he's become a sensation.James' new book is called English Pastoral and as with the first, it feels like a kind of love song to his father and grandfather. It continues the conversation from The Shephard's Life sharing personal anecdotes and observations but also looks at the big picture and the consequences of large scale industrial farming and the loss of ancient rhythms of work. It's about what farming was like in James' childhood and what it has become, not just in England but across the world. It's devastating to read about this ‘total war on nature' and while there's a lot of grief about what has been lost, there's also hope, showing what we can learn from the old ways to reinvigorate our natural landscapes. And James' writing, his descriptions of the wilds, the animals and his farm is luminous – the book really is a revelation.

The Lock In with Jeremy Paxman

Jeremy enjoys a robust encounter with the farmer and writer James Rebanks (who puts up with no bull) about the coming revolution in the English countryside. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arts & Ideas
Proms Extra: Shakespeare - Sheep and Shepherds

Arts & Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2016 42:01


References to sheep, lambs, fleeces, wool and shepherds are to be found in many of Shakespeare's plays. From Corin in ‘As You Like It' who describes himself as a ‘natural philosopher' to Perdita's saviour in ‘The Winter's Tale', they are key characters in the plots and reflect the importance of the wool trade in Elizabethan England. James Rebanks, talks about his life as a shepherd in Cumbria and how much – if at all – the shepherd's life has changed over the past 400 years. He will be joined on stage by Shakespeare expert Dr Emma Smith from the University of Oxford who presented Radio 3's Sunday documentary looking at the buyers of Shakespeare's First Folio. The discussion is hosted by Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough from Durham University who was selected as a New Generation Thinker in 2013 in the scheme run by the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to find academic broadcasters of the future.Producer: Zahid Warley

Arts & Ideas
Free Thinking Festival - Old Ways, New Directions.

Arts & Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2015 44:31


In the hunger for new ideas, are we forgetting the hard-earned lessons of the past? Rana Mitter chairs a discussion recorded in front of an audience at this year's Free Thinking Festival at Sage Gateshead . James Rebanks is the Cumbrian shepherd sharing his farming knowledge with thousands of followers on his twitter account @herdyshepherd1 His book A Shepherd's Life has been reprinted several times since its publication earlier this year. Professor Veronica Strang is a cultural anthropologist based at Durham University and the author of The Meaning of Water who has worked with communities all over the world exploring how they think of their relationship with the non-human and the land.