From Living Woods issue 55 Forest bathing teacher HELENA SKOOG reviews Tree Wisdom by the international opera singer Vincent Karche TREE WISDOM Vincent Karche Hay House Publishing Paperback 224 pages £8.56 ISBN 978-1788173896 Vincent Karche – I salute you! Your generous spirit has opened up fresh levels of understanding in my experience of the woods,…

From Living Woods issue 56 ANTONY MASON, co-ordinator of the Woodlands Awards, explains why he was particularly struck by one of last year’s winners ‘CHERRY’ INGRAM – THE ENGLISHMAN WHO SAVED JAPAN’S BLOSSOMS Naoko Abe Chatto & Windus 400 pages 150 x 220mm Hardback £18.99 Paperback £10.99 The subject of this book touches us all.…

From Living Woods issue 58 ANGUS HANTON switches on his torch to absorb a thrillingly terrifying collection of short stories WEIRD WOODS – TALES FROM THE HAUNTED FORESTS OF BRITAIN Edited by John Miller British Library Publishing ISBN: 978-0712353427 Paperback 288 pages RRP £8.99 At school I learnt by heart Kipling’s ‘The Way through the…

From Living Woods issue 58 Woodland owner and farmer GUY LAMBOURNE ponders the value of wilding as a form of land management WILDING THE RETURN OF NATURE TO A BRITISH FARM Isabella Tree Picador ISBN 978-1509805105 Paperback 384 pages RRP £9.99 If I was writing a review for the back of this book I think…

From Living Woods issue 59 Forest school practitioner Richard Irvine has an excellent track record in producing inspiring books which introduce children to the great outdoors Wild Days Richard Irvine RRP £16.99 GMC Publications (for ages 5 and above) ‘Every day can be a wild day. The wilderness is not always on our doorstep, but…

From Living Woods issue 60 Woodland manager JOHN CAMERON finds himself both bemused and bedazzled by this absorbing study of fungi and their impact on our environment. ENTANGLED LIFE How fungi make our worlds, change our minds and shape our futures Merlin Sheldrake Vintage Books Hardback £15.30 Paperback £9 ISBN: 978-1784708276 It seems extraordinary that…

From Living Woods issue 60 Keen woodworker RICHARD HARE finds plenty to enjoy in this thoughtful and highly illustrated guide to green woodworking THE FOREST WOODWORKER A step-by-step guide to working with green wood Sjors Van Der Meer and Job Suijker Search Press Hardback 176 pages £11.99 ISBN: 978-1782217367 The Forest Woodworker is a delightfully…

From Living Woods issue 60 Writer LAWRENCE ILLSLEY admires the breadth of storytelling in Gabriel Hemery’s latest collection of short stories TALL TREES SHORT STORIES VOL 21 Gabriel Hemery £10.99 (paperback) £3.99 (e-book) ISBN: 9781916336230 Tall Trees Short Stories Vol 21 is the second collection of short stories written by renowned silvologist Gabriel Hemery. It…

From Living Woods issue 60 Ecologists ROY AND KATHRYN NELSON assess a richly illustrated guide to woodland wild flowers WOODLAND WILD FLOWERS THROUGH THE SEASONS Alan Waterman Merlin Unwin Books Hardback 256 pages £20 ISBN: 978-1-913159-25-2 The challenge that woodland wild flowers pose to the observer is that there is an abundance of different species.…

From Living Woods issue 61 Live Your Bucket List – JULIA GOODFELLOW-SMITH explains how to realise your goals, including owning a woodland LIVE YOUR BUCKET LIST Simple Steps to Ignite Your Dreams, Face Your Fears and Lead an Extraordinary Life, Starting Today JULIA GOODFELLOW-SMITH Softback 190 pages RRP £9.99 ISBN 0859560740 Living Woods regular Julia…

From Living Woods issue 61 ‘Wood, a material from trees, grown by the energy of the sun, is the beginning of all crafts and trades.’ WOODLAND CRAFT HANDBOOK BEN LAW GMC Publications Hardback 168 pages RRP £12.99 ISBN 9781784946159   The Woodland Craft Handbook is another gem from Ben Law, who explores the many crafts…

From Living Woods issue 61 ANTONY MASON dips into an enjoyable pocket-sized encyclopedia of trees and tree-lore. It’s a handy guide, and as a bonus, is printed on recycled, wood-free paper TREEPEDIA A Brief Compendium of Arboreal Lore JOAN MALOOF Princeton University Press Hardback 152 pages RRP £9.99 ISBN 9780691208756 It may come as a…