God Is An Octopus: Loss, Love and a Calling to Nature

Description

Struggling to comprehend the shocking death of his teenage daughter, Iris, Ben Goldsmith finds solace in nature by immersing himself in plans to rewild his Somerset farm. In July 2019, Ben Goldsmith tragically lost his beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter, Iris, in an accident on their family farm in Somerset. Iris was sparkling, charismatic and intelligent, with a lifelong love of nature that she shared with her father. She was the centre of her family's world, and her death left her family and friends devastated. In the aftermath of Iris' death, Ben found solace in nature. It became a vital source of meaning, hope, and even joy as Ben undertook the task of rewilding his family home of Cannwood in Somerset's Brewham Valley in Iris' honour. From restoring a stream's natural meanders to entirely removing the hedgerows and fences that divided up the farm, Ben learned how to return Cannwood to its more natural state and began strengthening his connection with the natural world. As the seasons continued to change and the world carried on without Iris, Ben sought ways to come to terms with his grief. Struggling to understand his loss, he connected with friends and family who had also lost children, and visited Buddhist monks, an orthodox rabbi, his local vicar, and even a spiritual medium. Ultimately, though, it was the continuous lure of the natural world that allowed Ben to find hope and healing in nature. In God is an Octopus, Ben tells a powerful, immersive story of loss and despair and of finding healing, comfort and strength through nature.

Ben Goldsmith has been a pioneer in the field of green investment, as well as a leading light in the rewilding movement in Britain and Europe. Ben and his wife, Jemima, are in the process of rewilding their own farm in South Somerset, and Ben has been involved in the establishment of numerous environmental initiatives, including the Environmental Funders' Network, the Conservative Environment Network, Rewilding Britain, the Beaver Trust and the Conservation Collective, a growing network of locally-focused environmental foundations around the world. Ben was appointed a Director of the UK Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for five years, until 2022. In that role, he successfully advocated for a number of ground-breaking environmental restoration policies, including the new Environmental Land Management scheme, which links all agriculture subsidies with stewardship and restoration of nature, the Nature for Climate Fund and the Species Reintroductions taskforce.