Jamie Blackett
Arbigland Estate, United Kingdom
The Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation, in partnership with the Wethersfield Institute, hosted on 9 April 2024 the sixth installment of our online series, Rooted: Cultivating a Green Philosophy.
We were honoured to welcome Jamie Blackett, author, owner of Arbigland Estate and public advocate for rural life and traditional land management practices. Jamie's work exemplifies the continuation of the philosophies that Sir Roger Scruton ardently supported – focusing on the responsible stewardship of land, the cultivation of beauty and the fostering of community values within rural settings.
Series host Grace Olmstead discussed Jamie’s experiences at Arbigland Estate and the current issues facing those who care about stewardship of the natural environment. Jamie shared the practical applications of philosophical principles in farming and land management, demonstrating how these ideas contribute to a sustainable and respectful coexistence with nature.
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About the Speakers
Jamie Blackett is a former army officer and a farmer on the beautiful Arbigland peninsula on the Solway Firth in Dumfries and Galloway. He is also an award-winning journalist and a regular columnist for the Daily Telegraph, Country Life and other publications. He appears regularly on television and radio as a commentator on politics and rural issues. His first book, The Enigma of Kidson has been adapted for the stage. Land of Milk and Honey is the sequel to his second book, the much-acclaimed Red Rag to a Bull. In 2020 he won the Charles Douglas-Home Memorial Trust award for journalism and his essay has been published in a short book On Wilding. Jamie is married with two grown-up children.
Grace Olmstead is a journalist and author of Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places We’ve Left Behind (Sentinel, 2021). Her writing, which focuses on farming, localism, and family, has been published in The American Conservative, The Week, The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Review, The Wall Street Journal, and Christianity Today, among others. A native of rural Idaho, she now lives outside of Washington, DC, with her husband and three children.