Cornerstones

Cornerstones asks what Britain's wildlife looked like when it was far richer, and what it would take to bring some of that back. Benedict Macdonald argues that the islands now face climate change, the loss of natural ecosystems, flooding, drought and a severe decline in biodiversity, and that restoring the species which once held these systems together could help turn things around.

The book looks at Britain's cornerstone species, from familiar but threatened honeybees and ancient oak woods to returning natives such as beavers and boars. It shows how beavers create wetlands, help fish, encourage otters and reduce river flooding. It explains why boars, for all their disruptive habits, are skilled allies of butterfly conservation, and why whales matter to the recovery of seabird colonies. It also considers how wolves and lynx could help trees, store carbon and protect some of the country's most threatened birds.

Throughout, Macdonald describes how these animals once sustained an extraordinary abundance of life and how they could do so again. He also makes the case that humans, the most important cornerstone species of all, can become the greatest stewards of the natural world.