In July 2023 three people came together to help Wild Covenant begin our journey…
Simon Leadbeater
After a career in local government and the third sector living a conventional life in an ordinary house, Simon and his wife, Toni, find themselves living off-grid on the edge of a woodland in southern England with their wolfdogs.
Simon divides his time between acting as a small business advisor, caring for their woodland, running a small farm animal sanctuary, and, when time allows, writing on the themes of rewilding and environmental ethics.
Simon tweets as @OurSacredGrove.
Dr Patrick Curry
Patrick was born in Canada, but has lived in London for several decades. He has been a lecturer at the University of Kent and Bath Spa University. He remains a Tutor at the University of Wales Trinity St David and is a Companion of the Guild of St. George.
Patrick, a notable Tolkien scholar, has written many books, including most recently Art and Enchantment: How Wonder Works (2023). He is also the editor-in-chief of The Ecological Citizen.
More details about Patrick can be found on his personal website, here.
Mrs Jo Cartmell
Jo’s love of nature may derive from her Celtic roots and mother who first introduced her to ‘water rats’ (Water Voles) in the chalk stream close to her childhood home. Jo is now based in Oxfordshire, England.
In 2015, after beginning a series of blogs about the wildlife she was encouraging in her garden, Jo was invited to write for the Ecologist, which later led her along with wildlife cameraman Stephen de Vere to establish NearbyWild.
Jo is a blogger and writer, photographer, conservationist, former nature reserve warden, and activist, campaigning particularly on behalf of her beloved water voles.
More about Jo can be found in this ECOS profile here.
Jo tweets as @WaterVole and @NearbyWild.