An Interview with Andy Hamilton, Author, Forager and Nature Lover

Sitting down one Friday afternoon to discuss his new book New Wild Order, myself and Andy Hamilton get to talking about all things nature and rewilding our lives. The book has been in a growing process for the last 20 years, morphing over time into the part-guide, part-memoir that it is today. It is written with ‘kindness at its heart’ and the aim is to help readers ‘find their own joy and contentment’.

  Andy tells me how the words ‘new wild order’ came tumbling down the hill and into his shared workspace, they ‘came to me and I almost stood up and took them’. Having spent some time looking at ways to explore the natural world through a book, these words provided an anchor for Andy to work from, going out into the world to discover the answers to how things would look if they were more wild, what would the natural version of this look like’? The natural world to Andy ‘felt like [it made] far more sense’, and the love of trying new things is where the New Wild Order book began, but it was not until fatherhood that Andy started pulling together decades’ worth of budding ideas. Going back to his roots, Andy grew up in Northampton in the 1980s in an environment where the threat of nuclear war hung heavy over the world, which Andy says has ‘influenced some of his ways of thinking’ about the threat of the worst case. His writing career started by taking deep dives into researching the end of the world every two weeks whilst still trying to put a ‘fun’ spin on the fear. As a child Andy has a strong memory of playing in his back garden and spotting a small, insignificant plant growing on the edges. It turned out to be chickweed, the ‘most prolific, unassuming’ plant. This experience gave Andy an ‘otherworldly feeling, a glimpse of eternity somehow’ and his love for the natural world began.   The natural world felt more ‘instinctual’, and with his fascination with the wild, Andy set about teaching himself as much as he could on foraging, a ‘just in case’ precaution should the worst happen with the modern day food system. The world of foraging led to a deeper connection to the natural world, with the process of writing New Wild Order only strengthening that bond: ‘once you see the natural world as the artist, you see the beauty in it’. Looking at Andy’s relationship with the natural world, you can see that it is of great importance and source of joy to him, with the field following him throughout his career. He states that his relationship with the natural world is ‘always evolving as there is always something new’. Bringing attention to, and being a more present part in the natural world has enabled Andy to ‘feel and see nature for what it is, and how it makes me feel at ease’. We are, at our core, the natural world: ‘we breathe the air, we see the sky, we are nature’ but ‘we have lost the connection of what it means to be human’. During the writing process Andy explored different ways to rewild areas of his life, from bringing the garden inside by letting it wildly grow around the windows of his house, to rearranging the furniture and then ditching it for a while. As humans we need ‘five hours a day of natural sunlight’ but our lifestyles are not set up to factor this in and reach that quota. But as the theme is to be kinder to ourselves, throughout our interview and by reading New Wild Order, we can start to understand that we can’t be perfect and make all of these changes, as modern life doesn’t allow for that – so just work towards what you can in a kind way. ‘It’s okay to be a bit easier’ on ourselves, says Andy.   Andy wanted New Wild Order to be ‘practical and not aspirational’. Having read the likes of Michael Pollan, he had discovered that the written world was often ‘stronger when you put yourself in it’. By being truthful in his explorations into reconnecting with nature, Andy wanted to show that ‘not everything worked’ so that readers wouldn’t feel like ‘this is beyond me’. The feeling of the book is like having a conversion with a close friend – one where you share your successes and ‘failures’ together compassionately, leading to a much kinder existence for all. The natural world can be the answer to a lot of our modern day challenges. It is ‘slower and kinder, it’s easier to be outdoors’, as Andy says. Perhaps if we spent more time outside collectively, that slowness and kindness would radiate throughout other areas of our lives. ‘It is hard, but try to spend as much time outside as you can’, Andy shares. Simply walking a part of your commute or going outside on your lunch break will be of benefit. Throughout Andy’s career in multiple industries, writing appears to have followed him throughout. As we discuss this element, Andy shares his fascination with the way words look, and an early experience with some poets at school being the seed to his journey as an author. He says he feels ‘compelled to write’, and that even on days of ill health it is a crucial part of his daily routine: it is his way of ‘making sense of the world’. The process of writing New Wild Order was also a therapy of sorts for Andy: ‘it dragged so much out of me. The writing process was and still is transformative’. It is a practice he wants to embrace more and more moving forwards, knowing that nature and writing are ‘what I need to make me happy’.   Andy wants readers to ‘find their own contentment and joy’, to take a slower approach, and to take away a handful of points from the book that make you feel more happy in yourself. ‘I’d like to see people less harsh on themselves’ – something which Andy acknowledges is becoming harder in the modern world. ‘Let’s be realistic, none of us are perfect, but we can find kindness in the natural world’. As we close the interview, Andy’s last advice is to go and lose yourself under a tree for a while, once a week, device-free. Think about ‘every step and about how you would wild this up’.   Andy Hamilton is an author, forager, thinker, researcher, and dad. Descriptions that, along with his love of the natural world, often inform his best-selling and award-winning works, which include The First Time Forager (£12.99, National Trust Books), Booze for Free (£15.99, Eden Project Books) and The Selfsufficient-ish Bible (£20, Hodder & Stoughton). Andy originated the Association of Foragers, an international body and tight-knit community of those working with wild food. He lives with his family in Bristol who get around without a car, and forage and tree climb together. His latest book New Wild Order can be purchased here.   If you enjoyed this article you may also like: Journey To Balance: Connecting with Yourself and the Natural World.