Nathan Nelson 
You’d think a self-confessed woodland nerd and tree hugger would have made it to Wistman’s Wood sooner, but five months after moving to Devon, yesterday we walked out to it for the first time. Wistman’s Wood is a remnant of an ancient forest that covered Dartmoor nine thousand years ago before much was cleared in …
Once more, for those at the back: Prescriptions encouraging people to spend more time in nature are linked to reduced blood pressure and improvements in anxiety and depression symptoms, according to new analysis. Prescribed time in nature linked to improvements in anxiety, depression and blood pressure I wrote about the various benefits of being in …
I’m taking April off from social media. Maybe longer, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I mainly mean that I’m taking a break from Twitter and Instagram. I gave up on Facebook a few years ago, maintaining an account with no ‘friend’ connections so that I could admin pages or access groups. Facebook is …
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, sang Andy Williams. In my mind, he’s singing about April when spring is springing and the wild garlic is out. One of the ultimate seasonal foods, there in abundance in the right places (moist conditions in acidic soils of humus-rich woodland with dappled sunlight) right now, soon …
Last week, I had a really satisfying few days of work on two courses delivered by the Dartmoor Hill Farm Project through the Our Upland Commons Project. I started with an introduction to stone-faced earth bank repair near Chagford. A stone-faced earth bank resembles a dry stone wall from the front, inclined at an angle …
I just skimmed the surface of what was happening at this year’s Oxford Real Farming Conference. Around 4,000 people attended ORFC 2023 altogether, between online attendees and those in Oxford – the largest agroecological gathering in the world. I joined in person this year for the first time (the event returned to Oxford this year …
© Nathan Nelson 2026
