Rewilding My Writing

When I first started this Substack, I imagined it as a place to write about my work: conservation, nature recovery, and the hopeful chaos of trying to help landscapes heal. But, as the land so often reminds us, life has its own ideas.

This year, life threw me curve balls. Two in fact. And we’re only 6 months in. I lost my dad, who shaped the leader I am today. I lost my dog, Dougie, who was my small, fierce, hilarious companion. And somewhere in that strange tangle of grief and work and walking the fields, I found myself writing not just about nature, but about what it means to live through the wild, hard places inside us too.

So, I’ve decided to give this Substack a little more shape, not to fence it in (the wild thing inside me wouldn’t stand for that), but to help you, my readers, know what paths you’re following here.

So this space has gently reshaped itself three winding trails, each with its own rhythm and mood:

Nature’s Work

These are the pieces that centre my work as Director of Nature Recovery at a Wildlife Trust. They will be about conservation, farming, and landscape recovery. It’s where I’ll share what’s happening on the ground, both the practical and the philosophical, as we try to stitch nature back together.

The Understory

I’m a wonderful, multifaceted human, and my work will always have an understory that shapes what I do, what I believe and how I act. This is where I’ll write about the inner wild: grief, memory, love, home, loss, small joys. These essays are more personal, but the natural world is always there as a companion, teacher, and witness.

Specials

• Letters from the Field: shorter notes from the places I visit and the encounters that stay with me.

• Notes and Nods: small reflections on books, articles, films, or Substack pieces that have fed my mind or heart.

And something new…

Alongside this space, I’ve started a new Substack called

Feral Ink

- a home for my short stories. It’s where I’ll share original fiction rooted in folklore, fairy tale, fantasy, and climate fiction. These are stories of wildness, love, loss, queerness, and tender rebellion. Tales where the land remembers, and the trees might just be listening.

If that sounds like your kind of thing, I’d be delighted to have you join me there too. You can subscribe here.

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I hope this small rewilding of my Substack gives you something to look forward to. And, as ever, thank you for walking these paths with me.

Feel free to comment, share, or simply read quietly. The door’s always open.

Carrie 🌿

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