Panel > Wild Service: Why nature needs you

Dal Kular and Paul Powlesland, with Grace Crabtree

Britain ranks last in Europe for biodiversity, wellbeing, and nature connectedness – a crisis for people and planet alike. Wild Service, an edited anthology from the pioneers of the Right to Roam campaign, argues that these losses are inseparable and calls for mass reconnection to the land. Blending science, nature writing, and radical practice, the book celebrates Britain’s new nature defenders and the power of participation. In this panel, contributors Paul Powlesland and Dal Kular, chaired by Grace Crabtree, explore what wild service looks like in practice – and how ordinary people can reclaim care, access, and responsibility for the places they love.

Dal Kular is a creative facilitator, writer and maker from Sheffield who explores the interconnections between land, ancestors and empire. She contributed a chapter on nature and healing for Wild Service. Her debut poetry book (un)interrupted tongues is published by Fly on The Wall Press, which is shortlisted for Wasafiri New Writing Prize and Class Action Nature writing prize.

Paul Powlesland is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers who specialises in environmental and protest law, defending the rights of nature and activists and using legal mechanisms to protect trees, rivers and communities. He founded Lawyers for Nature and takes cases for individuals, groups and public access clients, driven by justice and ecological protection.

Grace Crabtree is the sub-editor for STIR Magazine, and is an artist, writer and filmmaker. Recent articles for STIR include a look at Virginia Woolf's involvement with the Women's Cooperative Guild, the legacy of the Fabian Society, and John Ruskin's intimations of anthropogenic climate change.