Down to Earth

Everything begins with the soil beneath our feet. It provides our food, shapes our landscapes and holds the traces of generations before us. But how often do we stop to think about it?

In Down to Earth, Robert Ashton explores our evolving relationship with the soil, from Neolithic flint miners to the present day. Meeting the people whose lives and work bring them closest to the earth, including gardeners, farmers, gravediggers, archaeologists and naturists, he uncovers a wealth of practical wisdom and unexpected connections.

Moving through farming and folklore, burial and archaeology, biodiversity and conservation, Ashton reveals how deeply the soil is woven into our culture as well as our survival. Along the way, he asks what our relationship with the land can teach us about the environmental challenges we face today.

Thoughtful, curious and deeply rooted in the people and places he encounters, Down to Earth is an invitation to look more closely at the ground beneath us, and reconsider our relationship with one of our most precious resources.

‘It all starts and ends here. The soil, the earth... Robert Ashton brings us another fine and wise book that looks forward, back and down.’ Professor Jules Pretty, President of Essex Wildlife Trust