Authors’ hopes for 2026

Wild hopes for the year ahead

Published January 2026

In 2025 we hosted some of the biggest movers and shakers in the nature recovery movement at our author supper evenings.  We asked them what they hope for in 2026. Here they tell us:

Adam Weymouth

“It’s not been a great year for wolves, with votes to water down their protections in both Europe and the US. Yet their numbers continue to rebound on both continents, and I’m hopeful they will continue to teach us that there are ways to live side by side.”

Erica McAlister

“My hope is that more people stay still. Take moments out of their days to watch a pond skater. Have a cup of tea whilst watching a hoverfly. An early evening glass of wine listening to a buzz of a bumble. I want people to see more of the life that surrounds them and appreciate all the overlooked species that fill our world. I would like people to do more for these mini-marvels by digging ponds, planting more nectar rich plants and leaving areas free of disturbance to help the insects – both the adults and their offspring.”

Henry Dimbleby

“I hope to see the government’s Environmental Land Management schemes reopened with the same ambition with which they were formulated. To make farms more resilient to extreme weather, to restore nature at a landscape scale, and to ensure that farmers can flourish as they deliver these benefits.”

Philippa Forrester

“Next year I would love for those with the ability to make decisions about our future to understand just how vital the natural world is to every single one of us and that we have no option but to care for it, and about it. I hope each of those people make a connection that informs their decision making and enables the changes we and our natural world all need.”

Tony Juniper

“2026 needs to be a year when we up the pace on practical delivery of nature recovery. There are loads of initiatives underway among farmers, nature groups, local government, private sector companies and infrastructure providers, all pointing in a positive direction. I’m hoping we’ll see more of all that, despite the turbulence and headwinds.”

Chris Fitch

“In 2026 I hope to see more cities turning grey spaces green by adding urban forests and native wildflowers, pocket parks and green corridors, continuing to establish urban spaces as ecological spaces. For every home to be able to see at least three trees, to have at least 30% canopy cover, and to be within 300 metres of a green area. And, of course, for a wave of new readers to be able to get their hands on the paperback copy of Wild Cities, on sale in April….”

Isabel Losada

“I hope we can persuade local councils around the UK to stop cutting down mature trees and to let nature in local parks be a little more free. So many parks are over maintained and we need more berry-bearing trees planted to feed the birds.”

Merlin Hanbury-Tennison

“My hopes for 2026 revolve around our work at the Thousand Year Trust.  Our main project will be securing funding and completing the building of Europe’s first Atlantic temperate rainforest scientific research station, on Bodmin Moor.  We broke ground at the end of 2025 and the station will be open by the end of 2026.

Don’t miss our next author supper evenings.