Book Review: The Lost Rainforests of Britain, by Guy Shrubsole
A beautiful new book on Britain’s rainforest is out to buy this week. Julie Stoneman, from Plantlife Scotland, was lucky enough to get a sneak peek.
The cover art is by famed Tolkien artist Alan Lee
Like most people, Guy Shrubsole wasn’t aware that actually, Britain is a rainforest nation.
After finding out that his local wood is a fragment of temperate rainforest that once covered about a fifth of Britain, he embarks upon a mission to learn about these remnant magical woodlands: their biodiversity, their people, their history and their links with our culture.
He writes with beautiful detail about his research with passion and an occasional splash of humour, but his frustration about their neglect is clear. Beset by lack of awareness, archaic landownership laws and poor management, he laments how we’re risking even losing what’s left. But he also feels hope: he has seen how a rainforest can rise once again if we only give it a chance, and meets organisations and communities working together to restore rainforest. He appeals to us all to add to this effort.
Living in Devon, Guy’s book understandably focusses on woodlands in his local area, but he travels across England, Wales and Scotland to visit other sites and people. He dedicates a whole chapter on Scotland, starting with the rainforest blessing ceremony carried out by indigenous leaders from the Amazon rainforest in November 2021, and gives interesting accounts of being out in the field with some of the passionate people he met in our rainforest world including Ben and Alison Averis, Ian Dow and Gordon Gray Stephens.
Guy’s book will do much to raise much-needed profile for Britain’s rainforests and spur greater efforts to restore them – underpinning his campaign aimed at Westminster. He name-checks Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest several times and there is no doubt that he thinks our collaborative way of working is exemplary.
The Lost Rainforests of Britain is out on 27 October - pre-order your copy here: https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/the-lost-rainforests-of-britain-guy-shrubsole
