Wrendale’s founder and creative director, Hannah Dale, has spent three years working hard on a new book following the rewilding of the family farm, a project that was undertaken by Hannah and her husband Jack.
The book, A Wilding Year, written and illustrated by Hannah, is due to be released by Batsford Books on 13 March. It tells story of the farm project in unique sketches and artwork, giving her story of the ambitious undertaking at 340 acre Low Farm since deciding that the poor soil made it unproductive for arable farming.
“The illustrations are all new for the book, but we’re definitely going to use lots of them throughout our collections across gifts, homewares and greeting cards,”confirms Hannah.
She continues: “The rewilding project is the best thing we’ve ever done. I’vealways been inspired by nature so it feels amazing to be able to channel the success we’ve had with Wrendale back into restoring it. We’ve had some brilliant results in a very short space of time – it’s incredibly rewarding. The most exciting thing has been seeing how quickly nature starts to come back when you give it the space and time.”
Hannah and Jack have now planted thousands of trees, allowing native seeds to regenerate which helps the bird population regroup and diversify, turned 70 acres into an enclosure to reintroduce beavers to Lincolnshire for the first time in over 400 years, and given over another five acres into a series of ponds to create a haven for amphibians and insects.
“My artwork has always been inspired by nature, interwoven with a dose of imagination for good measure,” explains Hannah, “and this book is a journal and a sketchbook, capturing glimpses of the characters that have joined us at Low Farm over the course of a year.”
Above: Wrendale’s founder and creative director Hannah Dale with her new book, A Wilding Year.
