Nature's Second Chance

Renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold once wrote, "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it does otherwise."

Few have taken Leopold's vision more to heart than Steven I. Apfelbaum, who has, over the last thirty years, transformed his eighty-acre Stone Prairie Farm in Wisconsin into a biologically diverse ecosystem of prairie, wetland, spring-fed brook, and savanna. In healing his land, Apfelbaum demonstrates how humans might play a starring role in healing the planet.In his account, both personal and visionary, of the restoration of his eighty-acre farm, Steven Apfelbaum makes a passionate plea for the respect and conservation of our ecosystems.—Jane Brox, author of Clearing Land

"Apfelbaum's book is as rich in farming adventure, environmental ideas, and profound insights as a restored prairie is rich in life and beauty."—Booklist

"Living with the land, and not just simply on it, has never been more imperative-and Steven Apfelbaum is the perfect guide to that new symbiosis. Nature's Second Chance is part memoir, part road map for a more sustainable future."—Scott Weidensaul, author of Return to Wild AmericaSteven I. Apfelbaum is founder, president, and senior ecologist of the firm Applied Ecological Services, known for its international science-based ecological design and restoration work. He lives in Juda, Wisconsin, on Stone Prairie Farm.