James Canton

8th January 2026

On a rainy January evening, Suffolk Book League gathered in the comfort of a faux-fire and mood lighting, provided by the Ipswich Institute to hear nature writer James Canton interviewed by Dr Andrew Burton. 

Their conversations throughout the evening focused on traditional nature writing and the emergence and importance of it in the modern world. This love for the outdoors even in academic spaces fueled Canton to set up a Wild Writing MA at the University of Essex where Andrew and James are colleagues. Andrew introduced Canton’s work, Renaturing, as meditative, ‘a book of ruminations’ and of ‘bedding down’ in the country, having been born and bred in London. 

After Canton had moved to his cottage in North Essex in the 2000s, he bought the field that came behind it; he was unsure what to do with it but found an inner calling to it. In the beginning, he was a bit unsure of its potential, saying that all he did was host an annual cricket match with his mates from London or read on the sofa that he placed there after neighbours were getting rid of it. 

His renaturing project didn’t start until 2020 when (as many of us do not want to remember) COVID-19 forced us to stay inside. Thus, this escape into the outside world became vital for James, who was still holding his lectures on Zoom. He even noted that during these Zoom sessions, he’d often be wearing formal lecturing clothes on top with his outside clothes on the bottom half, ready for the goodbyes and returning to the field.

Throughout the evening and in the book itself, Canton thanked and praised the voices around him. Expert voices of farmers, rewilders, gardeners; people like Chris Gibson (Natural England conservationist) and Steve Carver (Rewilding the World Podcast host) who gave advice on the project on how to increase biodiversity and maintain a healthy balance of the natural world with human intervention. With this, he noted that during the process, he preferred to use non-mechanical tools as they provided a hand-to-nature connection and a deeper understanding of human’s historical connection to the land we live amongst. 

When writing Renaturing, Canton balanced out his meditative musings about the world around him with expert advice on increasing biodiversity that even those who live in flats can follow. Both Burton and Canton commented on the inspirational nature writers that came before, and the ‘connections and echoes of other nature writers throughout the book’s DNA.’ Writers like Gilbert White and Roger Deakin all were inspirations for the book. 

Comments from the audience indicated their gratitude that James was acting ‘from the heart and not from profit margins’. Our very own Gill asked whether the personal commentary in the book could compromise Canton’s academic side, or whether both are needed to be impactful. This raised a wider discussion on the publishing industry and a hopeful look at the future of publishing nature writing.

Overall, the night was full of optimistic insights into renaturing and the balance between the personal and the academic world of increasing biodiversity in natural England.

Olivia Ackers