Isabella Tree, Lady Burrell (born 1964) is a British author and travel journalist. She is author of the Richard Jefferies Society Literature Award-winning book ''Wilding: the return of nature to a British farm'' that describes the creation of

Knepp Wildland Knepp Wildland is the first major lowland rewilding project in England. It comprises of former arable and dairy farmland in the grounds of Knepp Castle, in West Sussex, England. Since 2000 when the conversion from intensive agriculture start ...

, the first large-scale

rewilding Rewilding may refer to: *Rewilding (conservation biology), the return of habitats to a natural state **Rewilding Europe, a programme to do so in Europe *** Pleistocene rewilding, a form of species reintroduction **Rewilding Institute, an organiz ...

project in lowland England. The wildland project was created in the grounds of

Knepp Castle The medieval Knepp Castle (sometimes referred to as 'Old Knepp Castle', to distinguish it from the nearby 19th-century mansion) is to the west of the village of West Grinstead, West Sussex, England near the River Adur and the A24 (). The castle ...

, the ancestral home of her husband, Sir Charles Burrell, a landowner and conservationist.

Early life

Tree attended

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding scho ...

. She was adopted by an aristocratic British family as a baby. She read Classics at university, following the advice of author

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her fi ...

Career

From 1993 to 1995, Tree was, a travel correspondent at the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

''. In 1999 she was Overall Winner of the Travelex Travel Writers’ Awards for a feature on

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

's Kumaris, or 'Living Goddesses' -‘High and Mighty’- for the ''Sunday Times''. As of 2016 she writes for the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', ''Evening Standard'', ''

Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in con ...

'', ''

History Today ''History Today'' is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and pub ...

'' and ''

Condé Nast Traveller ''Condé Nast Traveller'' is published by Condé Nast Publications Ltd, from Vogue House in Hanover Square, Mayfair, London. It is a luxury travel magazine aimed at the upmarket, independent traveller. It can be differentiated from the America ...

''. Her work has also appeared in Reader's Digest Today's Best Non-Fiction, Rough Guides Women Travel and The Best American Travel Writing.

Personal life

She married Sir Charles Burrell and lives at

in West Sussex. Her father was the son of

Ronald Tree Arthur Ronald Lambert Field Tree (26 September 1897 – 14 July 1976) was a British Conservative Party politician, journalist and investor who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Harborough constituency in Leicestershire from 1933 to ...

and a member of a well connected Anglo-American family active in politics and public life on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. She has two children, one of whom is called Nancy and researches rewilding at Oxford University.

Books

* * * * * *

Awards

* 2019: Shortlisted for

Wainwright Prize The Wainwright Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of general outdoors, nature and UK-based travel writing. In 2020 it was split into the Wainwright Prize for UK nature writing and the Wainwright Prize for writing on globa ...

(Wilding: the return of nature to a British farm) * 2018: Richard Jefferies Society Literature Award (Wilding: the return of nature to a British farm) * 2018: One of the top ten science books –

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' maga ...

(Wilding: the return of nature to a British farm) * Overall winner of the 1999 Travelex Travel Writer Awards * "Spetses. Greece" was included in the series Best American Travel Writing * Included work as part of the 1998 series Reader's Digest Today's Best Non-Fiction * Shortlisted for the

Thomas Cook Travel Book Award The Thomas Cook Travel Book Award originated as an initiative of Thomas Cook AG in 1980, with the aim of encouraging and rewarding the art of literary travel writing. The awards stopped in 2005 (2004 being the last year an award was given). As of 2 ...

(Islands in the Clouds) *Awarded the CIEEM (Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management) Medal 2020 *Awarded the Royal Geographical Society's Ness Award 2021

References

External links

IsabellaTree.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tree, Isabella 1964 births Living people British travel writers Wives of baronets British adoptees British women travel writers People educated at Millfield