Isabella Tree Keynote Speaker

Isabella Tree is a distinguished British author, travel journalist, and notable figure in nature conservation. Best known for her groundbreaking book “Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm,” which won the Richard Jefferies Society Literature Award, Tree has significantly contributed to the conversation around rewilding and sustainable agriculture. The book encapsulates the journey of Knepp Wildland, the first substantial rewilding project in lowland England, occupying 3,500 acres within the precincts of Knepp Castle, the ancestral home of her husband, Sir Charles Burrell, a renowned landowner, and conservationist.

Isabella was adopted by an aristocratic British family in her infancy and received her education at Millfield School. Guided by esteemed author Iris Murdoch, she chose to study Classics at University, a background that has significantly informed her literary pursuits.

Tree’s professional journey took off as a travel correspondent for the Evening Standard from 1993 to 1995. Her adept storytelling and evocative narratives won her the Overall Winner of the Travelex Travel Writers’ Awards in 1999 for a feature on Nepal’s Kumaris, or ‘Living Goddesses,’ titled ‘High and Mighty’ for the Sunday Times. Over the years, she has contributed to numerous publications such as the Sunday Times, Evening Standard, Observer, History Today, and Condé Nast Traveller. Her exceptional work has also been included in Reader’s Digest Today’s Best Non-Fiction, Rough Guides Women Travel, and The Best American Travel Writing.

Residing at Knepp Castle in West Sussex with her husband, Sir Charles Burrell, Tree belongs to a well-connected Anglo-American family with significant influence in politics and public life across the Atlantic during the late 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries.

As co-owner and steward of the Knepp Wildland Project, Tree has been instrumental in demonstrating the transformative potential of rewilding practices. She is a compelling speaker and influencer, shedding light on nature conservation, sustainable farming, and the intricate relationship between humans and the environment.