I ran away to a remote Scottish isle. It was perfect

Crowded out of the city by noise and stress, I embraced the wild solitude of a Hebridean island – and found a connection to nature

Tree of the week: ‘Our olive tree is very expressive. It tells you when it’s thirsty’

In a weekly series, readers tell us about their favourite trees. This week: an olive in a small Californian orchard

My local park is a space where I can be alone – and feel part of the community

I can hear the flap of birds’ wings. The crunch of gravel underfoot. Gone, though, is the chatter and scraping of chairs in cafes

The Well Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith review – unwinding with nature

A life-affirming study of the pleasures of tending a plot or garden and soothing your mind

Sitopia by Carolyn Steel review – big questions about food

An ‘all-you-can-eat buffet of thoughts’

Country diary: my heart dances with the daffodils

Letah Wood, Northumberland: Sunlight slants through the beeches and the hillside is fresh and green with wild garlic

Country diary: there’s solace to be found walking down a rural lane

Crook, County Durham: It is impossible to overvalue access to nature in the edgelands between town and country

Country diary: the chiffchaff’s cheery seesaw lifts the spirits of a self-isolator

Sandy, Bedfordshire: On my carefully distanced walk I have sightings to report, joy to impart, a sharing slice of good news

Sitopia by Carolyn Steel review – a utopian vision that begins with food

We are out of step with our planet, so how should we live? Cheap food is an oxymoron and anarchism’s time may have come, argues this wide-ranging, stimulating book

Climate nightmares: how to reassure a child who is anxious about the planet

One in five children aged eight to 16 have nightmares about the state of the world. Here’s how adults can help