Written by Brian Kerr

At the being of 2020 there was a sense that the speed of change was quickening, and that life in Britain was destined to alter over the next decade. Then the Covid pandemic arrived and the pressure for action became more acute. This book – largely written early in lockdown – traces the changes which will transform landscape and countryside.

Some of these pressures on the land of Britain were already recognized and underway such as a climate emergency, increasingly common flooding, and the decline in wildlife. The pandemic emergency brought these ongoing influences into sharp relief.

The title of this book questions the value we place on the natural world and what we expect from the countryside. Previous assumptions, such as land being simply the source of our food security, are being questioned.

The expectations now being placed on our land include the storage of carbon, locations for new forests, rewilding, and not least as a place for spiritual renewal. Wellbeing and physical health are progressively being tied to access to green space and the outdoors. Farmers and land managers are increasingly making their own decisions, while expecting radical changes to financial farm support. Do we have any grasp on the direction of travel? Can we begin to talk about nature and how we value what we have?

How to Value a Skylark | The Countryside in a Time of Change by Brian Kerr is a 223 page book, published in collaboration with Eventispress, in January 2021. The book is illustrated throughout by quality color images – mainly by Richard Revels.

Brian Kerr trained as a soil scientist and has spent most of his career working and writing on landscape and agricultural topics both in the British Isles and overseas. Now based in England he has taken an interest in countryside issues and in 2014 and 2019 published books on landscape history which trace the making of modern landscapes. He is presently a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield University, UK.