Public talk with Dame Fiona Reynolds and Daniel Raven-Ellison

Introduced and chaired by Rowan Conway, Director of Development, the RSA

Thursday, 26th January at the Duke Street Church, Richmond

Individual £12.50; Member £7.50
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Our local environments are important - nature and heritage are central to our mental and physical wellbeing and are the legacy we leave our children - and we must cherish them.

At this talk, in support of the Environment Trust, Dame Fiona Reynolds (former Director-General of the National Trust, 2001-2012) proposes a solution that is at once radical and simple - to inspire us through the beauty of the world around us. Delving into our past, examining landscapes, nature, farming and urbanisation, she will show how ideas about beauty have arisen and evolved, been shaped by public policy, been knocked back and inched forward until they arrived lost in the economically-driven spirit of today. A passionate, polemical call to arms, Dame Fiona presents an alternative path forward: one that, if adopted, could take us all to a better future.

The topics Dame Fiona will cover include:

• the history of the National Trust (seated in the vision of Ruskin, Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement) and its and other organisations' roles in preserving and enhancing local spaces and places, especially during times of economic and industrial growth,
• the growth of national parks and areas to be protected from increasing industrialisation and urbanisation,
• the impact of intensive agriculture on our land,
• the threat to woodlands (and coastal areas),
• urbanisation and the need for good planning, and
• cultural heritage.

As we continue to see economic, industrial and agricultural 'progress' there is increasing pressure on our natural environment and it is more important than ever for organisations (like the Environment Trust and similar) to strive to retain and enhance natural beauty.

Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE is Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and a former Director-General of the National Trust. A noted campaigner and media figure, this is her first book, distilling decades of experience and thought. When not at her post in Cambridge, she lives near Cirencester.

We live in a world where the drive for economic growth is crowding out everything that can't be given a monetary value. We're stuck on a treadmill where only the material things in life gain traction and it's getting harder to find space for the things that really matter but money can't buy, including our future.

"The Fight For Beauty" will be on sale at the event and a percentage of the profits will help support the work of the Environment Trust.

‘The Fight For Beauty is a remarkable book: passionate, persuasive and brave.'

‘Shines light on those inspired to try to reverse the damage done to wildlife and the landscape in the 19th century…Compelling…It was clearly intended to be an uncomfortable read - and it is.'