Every other year Britain’s national parks hold a conference, and the latest was in October in Dartmoor. Among the various events and speakers this time was a talk from George Monbiot. Inviting him was a bold thing to do, as if you’ve read his comments on rewilding, he’s pretty scathing about the national parks. We conserve the wrong things, he argues – protecting barren landscapes and keeping them that way, where we should be restoring them and letting the wildlife return.
Monbiot doesn’t go easy on his audience here, but it’s not just a ticking off. It’s a passionate plea for wilder, more vibrant and diverse national parks, and it’s well worth a watch.
The Earthbound Report 
What a fantastic speech. I remember hiking in Rannoch Moor about 8 years ago, appreciating its stark beauty, the heather, gorse and the clouds and then thinking “of course, once upon a time all this was forest” — a very sobering thought!