Beyond the Hedge: Hunting, Nature Restoration and the Power of Stories

Voices of the Countryside

A few months ago, I wrote a column on Scribehound called Ancient Hunting Stories: The Origins of Human Culture?. In it I explored the idea that aside from opposable thumbs, the thing that really sets humanity apart from other animals is our love of stories.

Stories follow (or subvert) patterns, and our brains are essentially pattern recognition engines, so we see narratives everywhere we look. What’s more, we are suckers for a good story, and we instinctively find an argument made through the medium of storytelling more compelling than one that is laid out in a carefully constructed essay.

To explore this theme a little further, at the Game Fair I spoke with two Scribehounders, watercolourist, woodcock enthusiast and Chairman of the GWCT in Wales, Owen Williams, and Roger Morgan-Grenville, author of several books on conservation and a champion for a wide variety of endangered bird species.
Links
Subscribe to Scribehound
Ancient Hunting Stories: The Origins of Human Culture? - by George Browne

From Doom to Dreams: The Five Types of Nature Writing - by Roger Morgan-Grenville

Roger's latest book: The Return of the Grey Partridge

Owen's art: Portfolio