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Julia Hailes MBE

Sustainability Pioneer

My mission is to challenge current thinking and change mindsets.

Wilding Weekends

Our 3rd Wilding Weekend will be on 15th & 16th of June, 2024.

I am a Director of Rubbish Ideas. We are a mission-driven company aiming to create a waste-free world by promoting the circular economy.

"Inspiring, Challenging Provocative, Informed, Amusing, Humorous, Passionate, Insightful, Experienced, Brilliant, Thought-Provoking, Educations, Personal, Energetic, Imaginative Fresh, Controversial, Fantastic, Superb, Warm, Incisive, Interesting, Opinionated."

Rainforest Trust UK

If there’s one issue I care about more than any other it’s the destruction of the rainforests. Join me in supporting the Rainforest Trust in doing what we can to preserve what we've got.

Find out more about books, videos, articles, podcasts and anything else that I recommend.

Have a look at my YouTube channel for videos about our wilding weekends, our scything day, interviewing Isabella Tree, Sky TV, archive footage of my TV appearances in the 1980s and 1990s and much more! There’s even one with my mum’s funeral - she was the first person in the UK to be buried in a mycelium coffin!

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Wilding Weekend – June 2024

Full steam ahead for our third Wilding Weekend. It will be on 15th and 16th June in sunny West Dorset, near Beaminster! Opening hours will be 10.30am to 4.30pm. The garden is wild. Come and

My Instagram Feed

Continually amazed at the beauty of Venice. It is

Continually amazed at the beauty of Venice. It is a truly magical place - another world.

These dolphins made a lot of noise and splashing.

These dolphins made a lot of noise and splashing. I’m not sure how well it works in portraits when the film was taken in landscape!

I’ve seen quite a few dolphins in my life but ra

I’ve seen quite a few dolphins in my life but rarely so many in such a short space of time. This was near Punta Arenas in Chile

I’ve been desperate to share one of the most won

I’ve been desperate to share one of the most wonderful experiences in Patagonia - seeing a humpback whale and her calf! What I discovered was that she blows her spout a bit then dives a few times and finally flips her tail above the surface before a deep dive. She then disappears for a few minutes feeding and reappears quite some distance away and starts again. She must get a lot of food because apparently she consumes about 1000kg a day. These photos were taken near Punta Arenas in Chile where the whales have started returning having been severely depleted by whalers. Luckily that’s not happening now.

This home hotel was in a very remote spot on ‘Th

This home hotel was in a very remote spot on ‘The deserted lake’. Ivor and Patricia had an unrealistic vision of creating a wonderful place to stay and achieved it. There is room for 10 guests and 12 staff. But they own many acres of woodland and their key objective is to conserve it. Aquas Arribas, Argentina

Hiking to and then up Mount Fitzroy in Patagonia w

Hiking to and then up Mount Fitzroy in Patagonia was the hardest walk of my life! 22km round trip but the toughest part was the final 2.2km steep climb up the final bit. Jamie was wondering if he could make it and I was rather hoping he would say he couldn’t. But he has amazing determination and persevered- very slowly! Having clambered for ages over large boulders we thought we were there but the final climb was ahead. What a relief to arrive and to see that We weren’t the slowest but we did notice many young - it is a popular route - going up a lot faster. No-one said it was easy!

Isn’t moss such a wonderful thing? This beautif

Isn’t moss such a wonderful thing? This beautiful woodland was on the banks of the deserted lake north of El Chaltén in Argentina.

Glacial blue lakes have been a bit of a feature of

Glacial blue lakes have been a bit of a feature of our holiday in Patagonia.

No filters. This was the sunset as it appeared to

No filters. This was the sunset as it appeared to me in the Magellan Straights at the bottom of the world!

Wonderful rocky canyon walking down from a glacier

Wonderful rocky canyon walking down from a glacier. We found fossils from when the area was under the sea. Set out from remote Estancia Christina which was given to a sailor from Hampshire in 1914 with his wife Jesse. His daughter Christina died at 20 and the remaining son, Herbert, lived there until he died in the 1990s. No children presumably because living so far away from anyone else there was no opportunity for romance. It eventually came with his parent’s carer who he married after his father died at 101! It was quite a story and not a life I’d like to have lived. Their accommodation was tiny for many years - possibly 15 ft x 15ft in the middle of nowhere! Gosh.

And now the icebergs. So magnificent and blue. T

And now the icebergs. So magnificent and blue. This is down the way the light is filtered. Many of you will have heard that about two thirds of an iceberg is below the water line. But I’ve learnt that the ones I’ve been looking at have about 90% below the surface. Why? Because they are floating in glacial fresh water rather than in salty sea water. Did you know that?

We’ve been seeing a lot of glaciers on our trip

We’ve been seeing a lot of glaciers on our trip to Patagonia. They all have one significant thing in common- they’re shrinking. These photos are the Moreno glacier near Calafate. Apparently it was thought to be relatively stable but in 2020 that changed. It’s now receding quite fast and you can see a map of where it was in previous years. You can also hear it cracking and groaning as large chunks of ice break off - often becoming ice bergs. Although it is thought that there is natural shrinkage, climate change is making it happen much faster.

This beautiful National park the Torres Del Paine

This beautiful National park the Torres Del Paine is dominated by the skeletons of trees burnt in 2011 fire. Apparently it was caused by a careless tourist burning his loo paper and trying to avoid park fees. Over 15,000 acres were burnt the flames spreading in the string winds and dry ground. And the vegetation will take many more years to come back because the wood stays dry and doesn’t rot and replacement plants are slow growing. I wondered if the man had been punished enough - he was given a small fine and told never to return to Chile.

It’s an extraordinary place - a huge former cold

It’s an extraordinary place - a huge former cold storage place for sheep meat. Now a wonderful hotel preserving an industrial heritage. Looking through my environmental lens I can see the exploitation of this vast wilderness by our Scottish forbears on a grand scale. They imported steam engines and heavy mechanics from Bristol and built the pier - now dilapidated - as well as rail tracks, ships and warehouses. We’re off for breakfast in one of them now.

Our room with a view - my favourite! I was appare

Our room with a view - my favourite! I was apparently the first guest to immediately guess that the wooden slats surrounding the building are wind barriers. Lots of potential for wind turbines here but I don’t think they’ve been erected. When they come they will have to be super strong to withstand the force.

Can you help with finding a London rental? My youn

Can you help with finding a London rental? My youngest son, Monty, and his girlfriend Hattie are moving. They've found temporary accommodation until the end of February but then they'd like to find something more permanent. Ideally, they'd like to move to North East London - Islington, Camden, Hackney, Stamford - you get the picture! A flat share would be perfect - and they'd even be happy to find something short-term too. If you have any ideas or contacts it would be wonderful - let me know.

Terror sheep ! Scar face was particularly menacing

Terror sheep ! Scar face was particularly menacing. I don’t know what type they are but i think they are the equivalent to Rottweilers!

Getting into the Christmas spirit

Getting into the Christmas spirit

Instagram post 18214512094256007

Instagram post 18214512094256007

Winters scenes around the garden. Photos taken by

Winters scenes around the garden. Photos taken by Royston Hunt. Frosty but apparently not quite a hoar frost. This is the definition of hoar frost: Hoar frost is a type of feathery frost that forms as a result of specific climatic conditions. The word ‘hoar’ comes from old English and refers to the old age appearance of the frost: the way the ice crystals form makes it look like white hair or a beard.

How does hoar frost form?

Ground frost forms when the air is still and cold, usually on clear winter nights. Water vapour in the air condenses on solid surfaces, and as the surface temperature drops below 0°C, ice crystals form.

Hoar frost requires slightly different conditions. It forms when the water vapour in the air comes into contact with solid surfaces that are already below freezing point. Ice crystals form immediately, and the ice continues to grow as more water vapour is frozen. On a still night, it can grow well on tree branches, where the surface temperature is unlikely to rise above zero for several hours.

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Come to Cafe Bridge in Bridport!

Yes – it’s our second year of Cafe Bridge in Bridport. It

Wilding Weekend 2024 (Apr24 Update)

Full steam ahead for our third Wilding Weekend. It will be on

Saving frogs and forests in Ghana (mar24)

Do you love frogs? You’re not alone. I love them too. Last

To burn or not to burn (Mar24)

Are fires the best way of getting rid of garden waste or

Sky News interviews me on e-waste (Jan24)

Are you concerned about e-waste? If not you should be! Over half

In conversation with Isabella Tree (Nov23)!!

The Electric Palace in Bridport was packed. The Bridport Literary Festival or Bridlit had

Why do scything & wilding go hand in hand (oct23)

Our scything day was joyous. Watching the scythers sweep through the grass

Isabella Tree’s Wilding film is spectacular (Oct23)

Wilding Weekend Video (Sep23)

Watch the video of our Wilding Weekend, held in June 2023 –

Our Wilding Weekend Was Wonderful! (Jun23)

It was tremendously exciting to get such positive feedback from visitors to

Come to Cafe Bridge in Bridport, West Dorset on Sunday 19th November, 2023

Bridport Cafe Bridge 2023 was a great success with 116 players participating.

COME TO OUR WILDING WEEKEND ON 17TH & 18TH OF JUNE 2023

During the weekend there will be guided tours, talks, exhibitors and stalls

Dorset Life interviews me! (Jun23)

I loved being described as ‘probably the most effective person you’ve never

No Fence Farming in Romania (May23)

We cycled for over 100 miles and didn’t go through a gate.

We’re going to the Big One – Friday 21st April 2023

The invitation is for everybody to Unite to Survive at ‘The Big One’ –

Sheep are like locusts (Apr23)

A flock of sheep will eat pretty well everything in their path

Our Wilding Weekend in June 2023 (Mar Update)

On 17th and 18th June 2023, my husband Jamie Macdonald and I

Come and Listen to me talk about wilding – on 29th March 2023

I’m going to be speaking about Wilding at Slader’s Yard, West Bay

Rubbish In Indonesia (Mar23)

It felt like Armageddon. We went on a ‘nature bike ride’, but

INSPIRATIONAL HOTELS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA (Feb23)

We weren’t far from Singapore, but it was another world. Two tropical

Wild about Wilding (Jan23)

We organised the very first Wilding Weekend in June 2022, at our

Second Wilding Weekend in June 2023 (Jan23)

Come to our next Wilding Weekend on 17th and 18th June 2023.

My Mother was the first person in the UK to be buried in a mycelium coffin (Nov22)

When I tell people about my mother’s coffin, the most common response

Our new Environment Minister is a disaster (Nov22)

I couldn’t believe it when I saw this video of Thérèse Coffey,