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12 Small Acts to Save Our World
from WWF
Foreword by Ben Fogle
12 Small Acts to Save Our World: Simple, Everyday Ways You Can Make a Difference by WWF with a foreword by Ben Fogle
— Ever wanted to save the world? —
It’s easy to feel like we can’t make a difference. But small, easy actions, if taken by enough people, can move mountains – and save planets.
Written in collaboration with leading environmental experts from WWF, this short book provides simple changes we can all make to our everyday lives, from morning to night.
These aren’t the only things you can do. Nor are they things you have to do. But these 12 small acts are basic steps anybody can take, and if even one of them sticks, our children will inherit a better world.
Acts like:
Turning off devices instead of leaving them on standby
Buying less cotton clothing (a T-shirt needs 2,400 litres of water to make!)
Using reusable straws when possible
Turning off the tap while you brush your teeth
will take only moments, but if enough people commit to them, we can make a real difference to our planet.
'Now really is the time to act. You don’t have to be a superhero – everyone can make a difference by following this book’ – Ben Fogle
Ever since 1907, when a flickering film about birds enthralled a cinema audience, we've been fascinated by watching the natural world on film. For 100 years wildlife films have taken us to places and shown us things we would never be able to see - the excitement, the strangeness, the danger of the wild. Today, our interest in the wonders of the natural world is stronger than ever.
Accompanying the lavish BBC two-hour special, Top 100 Wildlife Moments dives into the archives to find the 100 wildlife moments that best celebrate the glories and the eccentricities of this astonishingly popular and enduring culture. Discover the history of the wildlife moving image: the first heady days when an ant juggling a matchbox was big box office; the charismatic and sometimes controversial celebrity presenters; the astonishing behaviour of animals and plants; the boggling oddities of nature; the animals now extinct that poignantly only exist on film.
Explore 100 years of revelation - from the black-and-white silent footage that started it all to the almost magical photography techniques seen today in programmes like Planet Earth. From famous faces of wildlife TV to extraordinary animal (and plant) behaviour, natural history filming has changed the way we look at and think about our world. It's all here - so weird, you couldn't make it up; so wonderful, you wouldn't want to miss it.
Michael Bright is a senior producer with the BBC's Natural History Unit in Bristol, UK. His recent films and series include Perfect Shark with Mike deGruy, Natural World: Ant Attack, and British Isles: A Natural History with Alan Titchmarsh. He is the author of over 75 books including Wild Caribbean, Andes to Amazon (Wild South America), Animal Language, 1001 Natural Wonders and The Wildlife Year as well as a variety of wildlife and environment books for children.
Jean Hartley, born in Kenya, was acknowledged as being the first to legitimise "fixing" for wildlife film crews. Over the last 25 years, she has worked on over a thousand films, the vast majority being about wildlife and nature.
In this insightful book she features five of the great film makers who all started their careers in Kenya in the 1950s, legends whom she is proud to call personal friends. Watching all their films, and many more, she became fascinated by the history of film making in Kenya and determined to find out when it all started.
She traces the roots of wildlife film back a hundred years, drawing on accounts of the original film makers and the professional hunters who guided those early safaris. She tracks the changes from those grainy, speeded up, silent films through to the technologically perfect High Definition and 3D films that are being made today.
163 pages including a chronology of wildlife film making in East Africa - available on Amazon.co.uk or ask if interested in purchasing this book directly from us.
We bring the screen industries together to tackle our environmental impact. We are albert. So are you. Join us.
albert is leading a charge against climate change; bringing the film and TV industries together to tackle our environmental impact and inspiring screen audiences to act for a sustainable future.
An on-line resource for the media production industry, developed in conjunction with the UK's major broadcasters, and supported by BAFTA.
Alien Worlds:
How insects conquered the Earth, and why their fate will determine our future
A comprehensive and beautifully illustrated natural history of insects.
Insects are the most successful group of animals ever to have lived. They comprise a million species and perhaps 10 quintillion individuals: one in every four animals on the planet is a beetle; one in every ten is a butterfly or moth. Much of life on earth depends on the activities of these busy, teeming arthropods, from pollination to the breaking down of waste matter.
In Alien Worlds, Steve Nicholls draws on a lifetime of writing about, photographing and filming the natural world to create an ambitious account of insect evolution and biology. Each chapter of Alien Worlds centres on one or more of the traits of insect life that have allowed them to hold dominion over the earth's terrestrial and freshwater environments for so long, from their staggering reproductive ability to their complex partnership with flowering plants, and from their remarkable level of care for their young to their sophisticated social lives.
Alien Worlds explores what insects are, and why there are so many of them; the impact on insects (the only flying invertebrates) of the possession of wings; and the extraordinary sensory world of insects. It offers a winning fusion of glorious imagery and fine biological writing by an entomological specialist who writes both entertainingly and with authentic scientific rigour - and who also happens to be a very gifted nature photographer.
An illustrated account of the evolution and biology of insects, the busy, teeming arthropods on whose activities much of life on earth depends.
"Steve Nicholls is an expert guide, leading us across meadows blooming with buttercups and orchids... He presents a visually stunning, readable and scientifically rigorous survey of Britain's wildflowers" – Countryside
"Each of the 14 plant types, from bluebells and lilies to orchids and sundews is examined, explaining the fascinating science behind how they survive and thrive in the wild, to the remarkable social and cultural history of each, and how we have woven them into our national heritage" – Garden News
"[A] beautifully produced book... Substantial and well-informed... The author has a light touch and, while it might at first glance look like a book for the coffee table, it is definitely a book worth a closer read"
– The Garden
A Life on Our Planet : My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future
by David Attenborough
A legacy-defining book from Sir David Attenborough, reflecting on his life’s work, the dramatic changes to the planet he has witnessed, and what we can do to make a better future.
A Life on Our Planet : My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future by David Attenborough
"The Earth's life-support machine, the thing we humans rely upon for everything we need, runs on its biodiversity. Yet the way we live on Earth now is sending it into a decline. I have been a witness to this decline. This book contains my witness statement, and my vision for the future the story of how we came to make this, our greatest mistake, and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right." David Attenborough
A Life On Our Planet: My Witness Statement and Vision for the Future reflects on David's remarkable career exploring and documenting the natural world, and the decline of the planet's environment and biodiversity he has observed first-hand in that time. This is an intimate, urgent and impassioned book borne out of a lifetime's experience and knowledge, presenting David's view on the future that lies ahead if we continue as we are, and a plan for how to avoid that future.
As a young man David went out into the wild and experienced the untouched natural world but even then it was an illusion, already day to day we were losing the planet's wild places, its biodiversity.
"This book records some of the dreadful damage mankind has already wrought upon the natural world and the real and imminent danger that things could get much, much worse if we do not act now. But it is also a hopeful book: it offers a different future. It describes some of the ways in which we can begin to turn things around if only we all have the will to do so. Surely together we must now find that determination, and begin to make that change, for the sake of all the inhabitants of our planet.
Sir David Attenborough is Britain's best-known natural history film-maker. His career as a naturalist and
broadcaster has spanned nearly seven decades.
His first job - after Cambridge University and two years in the Royal Navy - was at a London publishing house. Then in 1952 he joined the BBC as a trainee producer, and it was while working on the Zoo Quest series (1954-64) that he had his first opportunity to undertake expeditions to remote parts of the globe, to capture intimate footage of rare wildlife in its natural habitat.
He was Controller of BBC 2 (1965-68), during which time he introduced colour television to Britain, then Director of Programmes for BBC Television (1969-1972). In 1973 he abandoned administration altogether to return to documentary-making and writing, and has established himself as the world's leading Natural History programme maker with several landmark BBC series, including Life on Earth (1979), The Living Planet (1984),
The Trials of Life (1990), The Private Life of Plants (1995), Life of Birds (1998), The Blue Planet (2001), Life of Mammals (2002), Planet Earth (2006) and Life in Cold Blood (2008).
Sir David was knighted in 1985, is a Fellow of the Royal Society, and stands at the forefront of issues
concerning the planet's declining species and conservation.
See the world. Then make it better.
'I am 94. I've had an extraordinary life. It's only now that I appreciate how extraordinary.
As a young man, I felt I was out there in the wild, experiencing the untouched natural world - but it was an illusion. The tragedy of our time has been happening all around us, barely noticeable from day to day - the loss of our planet's wild places, its biodiversity.
I have been witness to this decline. A Life on Our Planet is my witness statement, and my vision for the future. It is the story of how we came to make this, our greatest mistake - and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right.
We have one final chance to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore the wonderful world we inherited.'
All we need is the will to do so.'
The book has been released to coincide with the global release of a Netflix film of the same title, directed by Jonnie Hughes for Silverback Films and commissioned by WWF. See the trailer (left).
Embark on an illuminating journey with All Through the Night, as Dark Sky Officer Dani Robertson
unveils the wonders of our night skies and reveals the havoc wreaked by light pollution.
Step back in time and discover the electrifying story behind the invention of Edison’s light bulb to the modern-day reign of bright lights that bewilder our planet’s wildlife. Throughout this fascinating history of darkness, Dani uses her personal experience and career to show why night- time is something for us to protect, not be fearful of.
Travel to the realm of dreams and ancient myths inspired by the constellations, understand why scenes captured by some of the greatest artists can no longer be witnessed in the same way today, and learn how the animals we share our world with are unable to hide under the cover of darkness.
Interspersed with inspiring stories from cultures the world over, All Through the Night is both a celebration of the star-speckled blanket above us and a call to reclaim the night, one light switch at a time.
‘It is a thought-provoking book that sends light onto our need to love darkness.’ Mary Colwell, author of Curlew Moon.
‘Read the book, look up in awe, and act.’ Mike Parker, author of All the Wide Border.
Best New Books on Space 2024 – ‘Rarely is a non-fiction book about science this engaging’ – Forbes
Dani Robertson, a Dark Sky Officer for Snowdonia National Park, is originally from Greater Manchester but moved to the Welsh countryside at an early age. She is prolific in her conservation work and passionate about championing the darkness for all and is a regular speaker at public outreach events. Her advocacy for night skies was recognised by the International Dark Sky Association in 2022, when she received the Dark Sky Defender Award. All Through the Night is her first book and will equip readers with the tools for defending our skies. She lives in Wales with her husband and their two dogs. She can be on socials via @DaniDarkSkies
An awe-inspiring narrative about the power of nature and our place within it, from the creator of My Octopus Teacher, filmmaker Craig Foster.
An adventure story, love story, travelogue, naturalist memoir, and spiritual guide, Craig Foster's Amphibious Soul is a scientist and adventurer’s perspective on “rewilding” – developing a deep connection to our animal selves that can reinvigorate our lives. Told in Craig’s warm and passionate voice, this extraordinary book will change not only the way we interact with the natural world, but the way we fundamentally see ourselves.
A decade ago, living in a city and feeling exhausted and empty, Craig decided to return to his birthplace – the Cape of Good Hope – and dive into the great African Sea forest each day. His daily oceanic adventures not only helped him “rewild”, but helped him come to see his own “amphibious soul” as a powerful metaphor for the human condition. We homo sapiens are by nature wild animals attempting to exist in a docile world. So how can we reclaim our wildness in a world that wants us to stay so tamed?
An extraordinary literary work, Amphibious Soul is a riveting narrative filled with meticulous descriptions of an adventure in the natural world that speaks to readers on an intimate level, challenging us to consider our personal relationship to nature, and inspiring us to realign our daily practices to help save the global ecosystem. Whether we live close to nature or in an urban jungle, Craig shows us how to nurture our individual wildness, tap into our empathy, and deepen our love for all living things. He teaches us to track the wild around us, and by doing so become present in the moment and revel in being wondrously alive.
Featuring breathtaking original photos and QR codes that access mini-videos of never-seen-before animal interactions, Amphibious Soul is a remarkable experience that will transform us and ultimately our world.
“Amphibious Soul is an important book. . . . This book isn't about learning how to be wild but rather a guide to recognizing and reconnecting with the wild in and around us. It is a book that will inspire hope.” – Jane Goodall
"Craig Foster has spent every day in the ocean for years, tracking underwater animals and finding a deep sense of wildness. Amphibious Soul is about connecting to our humanity in the heart of the world, at the tip of Africa. This book will guide you to find your own wild heart wherever you might live." – James Cameron
"Craig Foster’s unique perspective on the natural world is rooted in history, intimate experience, and a deep understanding of the importance of creating our own personal relationship with nature." – Christiana Figueres, Architect of the Paris Climate Agreement, Author of The Future We Choose
Craig Foster is one of the world’s leading natural history filmmakers and co-founder of the Sea Change Project. He won the Academy Award for Best Documentary for My Octopus Teacher, and has created over 100 films and documentaries in addition to his photography. He lives in South Africa.
"Imagine the impact made by one man, one octopus, one year, one film, one Oscar and now one book: Amphibious Soul! Foster succeeds as a master storyteller, artist, and filmmaker but his greatest contribution may be his approach to life- among people as well as part of the magnificent multitudes of swimming, flying, crawling, climbing, diving creatures who, if asked, would likely say that Earth is their home as much as it is ours" –
Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer, Founder of Mission Blue, Ocean Elder, Former NOAA Chief Scientist
The diversity of life on earth is astounding, with each species perfectly adapted to its environment. Sharks can navigate the ocean using electromagnetic fields; sloths use algae as camouflage; albatross can fly for hours without beating their wings; and orca pods each have unique cultures and languages.
But every hour, three species disappear.
Our incredible World is at risk.
Megan McCubbin reveals the stories of the scientists, rangers and conservationists who are fighting to save these extraordinary creatures from extinction.
An Atlas of Endangered Species shows us that the battle is on for their survival - and we all have a part to play.
"A call to arms for everyone" – Steve Backshall
"Joyful and heartbreaking, an inspiring celebration of some of our planet's most endangered species and those who champion them" – Dave Goulson, author of Silent Earth
"A powerful, passionate plea for a wilder future" – Sophie Pavelle, author of Forget Me Not
"An antidote to any eco-anxiety , here are the people and the creatures who are fixing planet Earth" -- Chris Packham
Animal Activism On and Off Screen examines the relationship between animal advocacy and the film and television industries.
Leading scholars, activists, and film industry professionals critically analyse the ways in which animal activism has been represented inside and outside film and television programs in relation to the politics of celebrity, vegan, and animal activism.
Case studies include UK, US, and German television crime fiction, feature-length advocacy documentaries such as Blackfish (2013), The Ghosts in Our Machine (2013), The Animal People (2019) and Meat the Future (2020); fiction films such as Okja (2017) and Cloud Atlas (2012); as well as celebrity chefs, French activism and celebrity activists Pamela Anderson, Joaquin Phoenix and James Cromwell.
By exploring three key aspects of the current context for animal rights: representations of activism on screen; activist texts and their reception; and celebrity vegans and animal advocates, Animal Activism On and Off Screen evaluates the efficacy of advocacy narratives in film and on television, and offers important insights intended to inform animal advocacy strategies and campaigns.
“A great read for those interested in activism, how the media spreads messages, and how the cultural landscape around us is formed.” – Anthony Morris, Books+Publishing
Animosity: Human-Animal Conflict in the 21st Century by Aaron Gekoski
foreword
by Captain Paul Watson
The World’s Wildlife is in Crisis. Globally, animals are being traded, hunted, poached, consumed and exploited to the point of extinction. Aaron ‘Bertie’ Gekoski is an award-winning environmental photojournalist who has travelled to the most inhospitable places on Earth to document human-animal conflict. The result is Animosity, an unsettling yet gripping look at the trades pushing wildlife to crisis point; from Cambodia’s dog-drowning dungeons and Indonesia’s wet markets, to West Africa’s voodoo markets and the global Wildlife Tourism industry. This stunningly evocative coffee-table book, replete with hundreds of emotive and powerful photographs, might be hard to look at but must be seen. The foreword has been written by one of the best-known environmental activists in the world, Captain Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd conservation society and a co-founder of Greenpeace; while one of the world’s most famous Bollywood actresses, Amy Jackson, with two millions twitter followers, has also written a moving testimony for the book.
Brighton-based Aaron Gekoski has spent the past decade documenting our complex relationship with the natural world.
He has won numerous awards for his photography including categories at the coveted Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Nature Photographer of the Year competitions. The front cover image was Highly Commended at the LUMIX People s Choice, Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, 2019.
His images have appeared in hundreds of publications including National Geographic, BBC Discover Wildlife, GEO, Men s Health, The Telegraph, The Guardian, Africa Geographic, Asia Geographic, The Independent, Geographical, FHM and many more.
We say: ANIMOSITY is a brilliant title for this book ... "Human-Animal Conflict in the 21st Century" is an huge problem in our ever-expanding human world but it is mostly out of our sight, hidden away in far-flung places as we continue to encroach on the natural world, using and abusing it until it screams and breaks. Aaron is really an hero for shining a light on these atrocities, born out of wildly different cultural perspectives and complex socio-economic situations. Those that choose to read this stunning book will undoubtedly encounter feelings of "animosity" but also a greater understanding of our dire impacts on animals, the natural world and a keen desire to do something about it. JP
Can white people be victims of racism?
Is it sexist to say 'men are trash'?
Should we worry about 'cancel culture'?
Tired of having the same old arguments? Kicking yourself for not being able to justify your views? Wondering whether individuals can bring about meaningful change?
Now imagine that instead of losing another hour of your life in a social media spat or knowing that the only way to make it through lunch was by biting your tongue, you could find a way to talk about injustice - and, just possibly, change someone's mind.
Many of us know what we think about inequality, but flounder when asked for our reasoning, leading to a conversational stalemate - especially when faced with a political, generational, or cultural divide. But living in echo chambers blunts our thinking, and if we can't persuade others, we have little hope of collectively bringing about change.
In Arguing for a Better World, philosopher Arianne Shahvisi draws on examples from everyday life to show us how to work through a set of thorny moral questions, equipping us to not only identify our positions but to carefully defend them.
"Brings cooling clarity to the heat of today's culture wars" – Priyamvada Gopal, author of Insurgent Empire
"Allows us to not only interrogate our own views, but to persuade others using reason and optimism. A must read" – Aaron Bastani, author of Fully Automated Luxury Communism
"Logical, readable, authoritative . . . An everyday manual on how oppression came about, how it works, why it persists, and how to defeat it" – Danny Dorling, author of Injustice: Why Social Inequality Still Persists and A Better Politics
The book is available at Amazon.co.uk Preorder - Published 22 June 2023
One thing has become clear this year - we need nature more than ever. And it needs us too.
From our balconies and gardens to our woodlands, national parks and beyond, Back to Nature captures the essence of how we feel about the wildlife outside our windows. Through personal stories, conservation breakthroughs and scientific discoveries, it explores the wonder and the solace of nature, and the ways in which we can connect with it - and protect it.
‘Rousing, polemical and heartfelt’ – Gardens Illustrated
‘An invitation to take action’ – The Observer
Back to Nature celebrates the bond with wildlife that many formed for the first time while confined at home this spring, but also explains the biodiversity crisis and examines contributors to this great wave of extinctions – from salmon farming and pesticides to the persecution of hen harriers. It is well-researched – with McCubbin providing short scientific interludes – and more nuanced than you might expect from Packham’s many Twitter rants. Is he becoming more diplomatic in old age?
“No, I’m getting more strategic,” he says. “I got very angry this afternoon about the Japanese restarting whaling. I don’t blame the Japanese, I blame the world’s conservationists for letting them do it. They just said, ‘Er, that’s not a very good idea at all.’ And then nothing happened. It’s our fault. I still get very angry. There’s no dulling of the blade. The blade if anything is getting sharper and more useful because I’m running out of time. There’s less time in my lifetime to make a difference.” Patrick Barkham
This book explores the history of wildlife television in post-war Britain. It revolves around the role of David Attenborough, whose career as a broadcaster and natural history filmmaker has shaped British wildlife television.
The book discusses aspects of Attenborough's professional biography and also explores elements of the institutional history of the BBC-from the early 1960s, when it was at its most powerful, to the 2000s, when its future is uncertain. It focuses primarily on the wildlife 'making-of' documentary genre, which is used to trace how television progressively became a participant in the production of knowledge about nature. With the inclusion of analysis of television programmes, first-hand accounts, BBC archival material and, most notably, interviews with David Attenborough, this volume follows the development of the professional culture of wildlife broadcasting as it has been portrayed in public.
It will be of interest to wildlife television amateurs, historians of British television and students in science communication.
In a Polish forest a young woman befriends a boar. An Englishman sets up home with two beavers in Saskatchewan. A zoologist watches a fish make a conscious decision. Darwin finds the evidence for evolution in the backyards of pigeon fanciers. The entire population of Croatia anxiously awaits the arrival of a single stork.
Animals have shaped our lives, our land, our civilisation, and they will shape our future. Yet as our impact on the world and the animals we share it with increases, there has never been a greater urgency to understand this foundational relationship.
Beastly is the 40,000-year story of animals and humans as it has never been captured before, seen eye-to-eye and claw-to-hand through those humans who have stepped into the myriad worlds of our animal relatives. Our relationship with animals has always been paradoxical, but the greatest paradox may yet be this: diversity of life can heal ecosystems. Animals - if given the chance - could save us.
"A dazzling examination of our contradictory attitudes towards the creatures with whom we share the planet [A] fantastic, heartfelt history of human-animal relations" – Guardian
"Gorgeous, joyous, sobering. Carew has a jaunty, alluring style of writing, a caustic sense of humour and a gift when it comes to delivering hefty information with lightness and wit . . . This book is the product of years of rigorous work and boundless devotion" – Irish Times
"Full of necessary rage, joy and passion: BEASTLY should be mandatory reading for all humans" – CLAIRE FULLER
Vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters can feel like they're living in different worlds.
Many vegans and vegetarians struggle to feel understood and respected in a meat-eating culture, where some of their most pressing concerns and cherished beliefs are invisible, and where they are often met with defensiveness when they try to talk about the issue. They can become frustrated and struggle to feel connected with meat eaters.
And meat eaters can feel disconnected from vegans and vegetarians whose beliefs they don't fully understand and whose frustration may spill over into their interactions.
The good news is that relationship and communication breakdown among vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters is not inevitable, and it is reversible. With the right tools, healthy connections can be cultivated, repaired, and even strengthened.
In Beyond Beliefs, internationally recognized food psychology expert and longtime relationship coach Dr. Melanie Joy provides easy-to-understand, actionable advice so you can:
Learn the principles and tools for creating healthy relationships
Understand how to communicate about even the most challenging topics effectively
Recognize how the psychology of being vegan/vegetarian or of being a meat eater affects your relationships with others, and with yourself
Feel the magic of the wild come alive with the book you're holding in your hand.
Come, walk with the author through mesmerizing wildlife landscape - from the length and breadth of India's forests and sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, the Western Ghats, Karnataka and Orissa to Rwanda, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.
Through brilliantly vivid experiences Swati recounts fascinating insights into wildlife sighting and conservation efforts around the world, covering a wide array of wildlife including tigers and gorillas, lions and elephants, sloth bears, sea turtles and sharks, crocodiles, pelicans and penguins.
Swati Thiyagarajan, NDTV's environment editor, is one of India's top conservation and environment journalists. She has been with NDTV since 1997. Born Wild, the show she scripts, directs and presents, is the only conservation show to have had a ten-year run on a news channel. Swati has won the Ramnath Goenka Award for excellence in environment journalism twice. Born Wild was declared best series at the Indian Television Awards. She also won the Sanctuary Asia Award, Earth Hero Award, Wind Beneath my Wings Award, the Carl Zeiss Award for consistent reporting on tiger conservation and several others. She now handles content for the NDTV-Aircel Save Our Tigers Campaign, which is in its fourth year, and editorial content for other environment campaigns on NDTV. At present, she lives between Cape Town and Delhi. She has directed a fifty-two-minute documentary film titled The Animal Communicator that has had over four million views on YouTube and has had a theatrical release in Cape Town, at the Exploring Consciousness Film Festival.
The British Wildlife Photography Awards were established to recognise the talents of wildlife photographers of all nationalities practising in Britain, whilst at the same time highlighting the great wealth and diversity of Britain's natural history. The driving motivation to set up the Awards evolved through the nation's growing awareness of the local environment and the need for its protection.
This highly acclaimed and unique wildlife photography competition has captivated the nation with outstanding and beautiful imagery. It is a celebration of British wildlife as well as a showcase for nature photographers, both amateur and professional.
With twelve separate categories the subject matter covers everything from marine life and animal behaviour to creepy crawlies and urban wildlife.
Wildlife in HD is a special new Award for HD Video and will be awarded to the most inspirational and dynamic film, which clearly illustrates the unique power of moving images as a medium for capturing British Wildlife.
A stunning coffee table book is produced after each competition, a celebration of British Wildlife as captured on camera by today’s best amateur and professional photographers.
In recent years, the role of zoos and aquaria as centres for conservation, education, and entertainment has been placed under scrutiny.
McArthur’s aim is to invite us to reflect on how we see, and fail to see, one another through the bars, across the moat, or on either side of the glass.
Captive is a book that will challenge our preconceptions about zoos and aquaria, and serves as a contribution to the growing analyses of the ethics of these institutions.
Published by We Animals Media and distributed by Lantern Publishing & Media, available at Amazon.co.uk
Chris Packham's Birdwatching Guide: From Beginner to Birder
Let Chris Packham’s passion for birdwatching ignite your own birdwatching journey ...
Wherever we live, we may encounter birds every day, but while we may see them, many of us don’t take the time to look, and while we might hear them, we might not listen. In this informative, fully illustrated birdwatching companion, expert birder Chris Packham inspires us to stop and engage with the wildlife all around us and start to build a relationship with the huge variety of interesting, colourful and characterful birds in all our lives – whether in the town or city, by the coast or in the countryside.
You don’t need any special equipment to become interested in birdwatching, nor do you need posh binoculars or to live on a nature reserve. Let Chris show you where and when to look for birds – whether in your own garden or from your balcony, in your local park or out in the countryside. Use this accessible reference guide to identify the different characters and characteristics of birds and experience the joy that comes from spotting a glimpse of a bird and knowing how to identify it.
Let Chris open your eyes and ears to the captivating world of birds.
Discover:
How to identify different species of birds, including key things to look for
How to create bird-friendly spaces to encourage wildlife into your garden
What to find in different bird habitats and learn why certain birds are attracted to specific habitats
All about hides and hide etiquette and equipment you might need to further your birdwatching journey
"This is a great book, as expected from Chris Packham, some excellent bird photographs, beautifully illustrated and put together ... and as the title suggests, perfect for a beginner to help them on their birding journey, whilst being essential for more experienced birders who need a fellow enthusisat like Chris sitting on their bookselves as a reference." JP
"This book isn’t designed for the likes of me, but I was able to show it to a few other folk and one of them said ‘Looks quite useful’ and I noticed they did pick it up several times (when they thought I wasn’t looking) and kept turning the pages with the appearance of real interest. I think this is a good introduction to looking at birds and will work for people of a wide range of ages. If it brings more people to show an interest in this small but very accessible portion of the natural world, and starts them off on a journey where they care more and do more for the environment, then it will be the latest in many such contributions from Chris." – Mark Avery
Confessions of a Wildlife Filmmaker is part memoir, part confession, and part indictment of the cable and television networks for failing to put conservation, education, and animal welfare ahead of ratings and profits.
It’s also about the mistakes he’s made while struggling to excel in a profession he loves. He argues that the state of the wildlife filmmaking industry worsens every year and says that it’s time for wildlife filmmaking to move in a more ethical direction.
He makes a compelling case that we must make broadcasters like Animal Planet, Discovery, National Geographic, and the History Channel do better, and that it’s time for viewers and filmmakers to fight back.
Review by Piers Warren: How refreshing to read such an honest and revealing account of the wildlife film-making industry. Chris Palmer describes his own journey through the business, his concerns as he realised it was not as ethical as many people think, and offers insights into how the situation could be improved. It's not often that you read a book that is both clear about the depth of the problems and who are causing them, but also leaves the reader on an optimistic note with the list of positive solutions that could and should be adopted. The threats that the natural world currently face are far too important and urgent for large networks to continue making facile and damaging shows, and this book shows how bad the situation has become.
Highly recommended.
Conservation Film-making: How to make films that make a difference
by Madelaine Westwood and Piers Warren with a Foreword by Jane Goodall
‘For all of us who care about the environment and wildlife – and want to make a difference – this is an important book.’ Jane Goodall PhD, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace
A complete ‘how to’ guide, aimed at both film-makers and conservationists who want to use film as a tool for conservation
Covers all pre-production activities including how to raise funds
How to choose and use the filming equipment you need, plus a guide to post-production
Explores reaching audiences, organising screenings, using social media, monitoring effectiveness and ethical considerations
Features case studies from leading conservation film-makers including Mike Pandey, Rob Stewart (Sharkwater and Revolution), Will Anderson (Hugh’s Fish Fight) and Shekar Dattatri
Describes how organisations use film effectively in conservation; including Greenpeace, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Great Apes Film Initiative (GAFI)
‘This book is of enormous value to everyone involved in conservation’ Lee Durrell MBE, PhD, Honorary Director, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
‘Conservation Film-making is a richly nourishing book, a professional tour de force, and a compelling argument that films, when made according to the best practices contained in this book, can make a huge and positive difference to the world in which we live.’ Professor Chris Palmer, Director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking
‘This terrific book will become the bible for everyone determined to fly in the face of everything-is-wonderful-and-happy natural history programmes and show, instead, that conservation can be awe-inspiring and watchable, too.’ Mark Carwardine, Conservationist
‘Conservation Film-making is a detailed and well-researched 'how to' guide, but it is more than that – it's a good read! It should be read by everyone involved in conservation, to understand better how film could – indeed should – be used.’ Ian Redmond OBE, Chairman of Ape Alliance
A tour of some of the world's most iconic and endangered species, and what we can do to save them.
Most of us are aware that many animals are threatened by extinction--the plight of creatures such as polar bears, tigers, and whales has been well publicized. While this is typically attributed to climate change and habitat destruction, few people realize that there is a direct link to consumer demand for cheap meat.
Some may see intensive farming as a necessary evil. After all, we need to produce more food for a growing global population and are led to believe that squeezing animals into factory farms and growing crops in vast, chemical-soaked prairies is efficient and leaves land free for wildlife--but this is far from the truth. With the limits of the planet's resources now seemingly within touching distance, awareness is growing about how the wellbeing of society depends on a thriving natural world. Through the lens of a dozen iconic and endangered species, Dead Zone examines the role of industrial farming in their plight and meets the people doing something about it.
By the author of the internationally successful Farmageddon, Dead Zone takes the reader on a global safari involving some of the world's most iconic and endangered species. The focus shifts from the plight of farm animals to the impact of industrial farming on specific endangered species, as the book lays bare the myths that prop up factory farming and shows what we can do to save the planet with healthy food.
A beautiful, full colour book to accompany the 5 part BBC TV series telling the most important story of all, the deep history of our own planet.
With the trademark dramatic storytelling techniques of The Planets and The Universe, Andrew Cohen and Chris Packham narrate the biography of the Earth, revealing the most epic moments from its history, from the first seconds of its existence to the arrival of its most incredible inhabitants, us.
But humans take a back seat for this story as the Earth takes centre stage. We’ll witness those moments where our planet’s future hung in the balance in the face of massive bombardments from space, extreme changes in climate, the collision of whole continents and more, and we’ll tell the story of how Earth’s most incredible creations – life and intelligence – are set to have the same lasting impact on Earth’s story as any meteorite or earthquake.
This is the epic 4 billion year story of the place we call home.
‘Traces some of the greatest eruptions, freezes and moments of sheer destruction in Earth’s history … A reminder that the planet is more indifferent to us than we care to admit’ – IFL Science
Chris Packham CBE is one of the UK’s leading naturalists and an award-winning conservationist. He began his TV career presenting children’s series The Really Wild Show, and has since presented outstanding nature programmes such as Springwatch.
A stunningly designed accompaniment to the filmEating Our Way To Extinction, this book contains all of the most pertinent information covered in the film, from the most critical environmental statistics to exclusive interviews with key personnel, alongside beautiful on-shoot photography.
This book is a must-have for anyone who truly wants to understand the critical role the animal agriculture industry plays as a leading cause of climate change and ecological devastation.
This book also shows clearly and scientifically how a plant-based diet can effectively offset the worst effects of climate change in a time frame that can buy us time to develop technological solutions.
Introducing plant-based cuisine across multi-cultures, this beautifully photographed cookbook is brought to you by the makers of the acclaimed environmental documentary film Eating Our Way To Extinction, as a tool to help us all shift towards a more planet-saving sustainable food system.
Where other classics seek to define cuisines, this one refines them and teaches us that food is not just about our palettes, but how what we eat is interconnected with the earth's ecosystems.
Featuring vegan recipes from the major food regions of the world, this book takes us on a culinary journey, and in so doing we undertake the greatest journey of all – developing a new understanding of eating.
We’ve never met a kid who doesn’t want to save the world. These plant-based recipes will help them to do just that.
Every single meal is designed to be highly nutritious for a growing child, as well as delicious, and they’ve been tested far and wide with even the fussiest children.
The dishes are easy to make, so whether you will prepare the food for your kids or invite them for their first foray into the kitchen with you, this book will be treasured for years to come.
From the makers of the acclaimed environmental documentary film Eating Our Way To Extinction, this book was created with parents of kids in mind, as a tool to help us all shift towards a more planet-saving sustainable food system.
Michael, an outdoors writer, editor and photographer, has a passion for nature-based travel and wildlife.
A member of the International Travel Writers Alliance and The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), Michael is a former editor of EcoTravel, Outdoor Pursuits, Camping, Lakeland Walker and Which Motorcaravan magazines, and national newspaper journalist.
He says: "With an increasing awareness of globally responsible principles in our everyday lives, the public is clearly keen to adopt these values through their choice of holiday destinations. That is harnessed with the growing understanding that the survival of habitats and species is mostly in local people's hands, and that they need to be able to derive real benefits from their environments if they are to be conserved. With ecotourism increasingly being applied to all tourism that has tangible benefits for local people and the environment, the website aims to bring to the forefront these unusual, alternative and authentic experiences grounded in culture, nature and wildlife, and rooted in local knowledge."
Hard cover book featuring 50 images of elephants taken by Kenyan photographers/film-makers Feisal Malik and Tanvir Ali, along with Augmented Reality (AR) videos from Amboseli National Park.
This AR video technology allows the reader to scan the images with their smart phone or tablet and play the video on their devices.
Elephant research scientist and activist against poaching, Jim Nyamu, said: “This book celebrates elephants through beautiful pictures, and showcases elephant safaris. It also highlights the harsh reality of elephant poaching through the documentary; an ideal way to get the conservation message across.”
Farm animals have been disappearing from our fields as the production of food has become a global industry. We no longer know for certain what is entering the food chain and what we are eating - as the UK horsemeat scandal demonstrated. We are reaching a tipping point as the farming revolution threatens our countryside, health and the quality of our food wherever we live in the world.
Our health is under threat: half of all antibiotics used worldwide (rising to 80 per cent in US) are routinely given to industrially farmed animals, contributing to the emergence of deadly antibiotic-resistant superbugs
Wildlife is being systematically destroyed: bees are now trucked across the States (and even airfreighted from Australia) to pollinate the fruit trees in the vast orchards of California, where a chemical assault has decimated the wild insect population
Cereals that could feed billions of people are being given to animals: soya and grain that could nourish the world's poorest, are now grown increasingly as animal fodder
Farmageddon is a fascinating and terrifying investigative journey behind the closed doors of a runaway industry across the world - from the UK, Europe and the USA, to China, Argentina, Peru and Mexico. It is both a wake-up call to change our current food production and eating practices and an attempt to find a way to a better farming future.
Farming, Food and Nature: Respecting Animals, People and the Environment Edited by Joyce D’Silva & Carol McKenna
Joyce D’Silva is Ambassador Emeritus for Compassion in World Farming, the leading charity advancing the welfare of farm animals worldwide. She is co-editor of The Meat Crisis (second edition 2017).
Carol McKenna is Special Advisor to the Chief Executive of Compassion in World Farming and organised the Extinction and Livestock Conference on which this book is based.
The Extinction and Livestock Conference – the world’s first international event to explore the impact of livestock production on the future of life on Earth – took place on 5 and 6 October 2017 at the QEII Conference Centre in London.
Organised by Compassion in World Farming and WWF-UK, the #extinction17 event saw world-renowned speakers take to the stage to discuss how intensive livestock systems are at the heart of so many problems affecting health, food security, biodiversity, the environment and animal welfare.
The event was the beginning of what will become an international movement working to identify solutions to mend our broken food systems and to ensure that the current climate change targets and the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved in order to save the planet, and secure food for future generations. See www.extinctionconference.com for more information.
Livestock production and its use of finite resources is devastating biodiversity and pushing wildlife to the brink of extinction.This powerful book examines the massive global impact caused by intensive livestock production and then explores solutions, ranging from moving to agroecological farming to reducing consumption of animal products, including examples of best practice and innovation, both on land and within the investment and food industries.
Leading international contributors spell out the problems in terms of planetary limits, climate change, resources, the massive use of cereals and soy for animal feed, and the direct impact of industrial farming on the welfare of farmed animals. They call for an urgent move to a flourishing food system for the sake of animals, the planet and us. Some offer examples of global good practice in farming or the power of the investment community to drive change, and others highlight food business innovation and exciting developments in protein diversification. Providing a highly accessible overview of key issues, this book creates a timely resource for all concerned about the environmental, social and ethical issues facing food, farming and nature. It will be an invaluable resource and provide inspiration for students, professionals, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the general reader.
"A wide range of experts and policy makers explore innovative ideas and solutions for the future of the planet, with a focus on our health and food systems. I strongly recommend reading this book to anyone interested in a sustainable diet and a healthy environment, as well as animal welfare."
Hilal Elver, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
"The weight of evidence for changing the food system is now overwhelming, yet resistance to change is stubborn. We are all part of that. No one likes to think they aren’t in control of what they eat. How can we unlock this mismatch? This book is an important collection of arguments why we must and what needs to happen."
Tim Lang, Centre for Food Policy, City, University of London, UK
Wildlife-film.com Review:
"The October 2017 'Extinction and Livestock Conference' in London was a ground-breaking event attended by a broad spectrum of experts from many different sectors with varied interests in the impact of livestock farming. It was refreshing to see so many diverse people come together to try and find common ground in a attempt to come up with solutions to the many problems associated with intensive animal agriculture. This book collates those ideas and those of the many experts that were unable to attend this conference. It is an important book that could very well help bring about a fairer, more compassionate and planet-friendly food system, if taken notice of. The opening paragraph of the Introduction is: "There’s a sense of urgency in the air. The evidence for rapid climate change is growing; biodiversity and wildlife are obviously in trouble; the very soils on which we all depend for food are losing their vitality; water is becoming scarce and polluted; and, scandalously, poverty and hunger are still with us. Our planet itself is in turmoil." This urgency needs to be felt by all of us, not just those already in the know ... All decision-makers should read this book if they are ever going to get to grips with why a food-system so entrenched but so damaging needs to change. Lots of great ideas are put forward and the case for veganism is strong. Read this book, share the ideas and live in hope."
Jason Peters, Wildlife Film News Editor
From Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx – whose novels are infused with her knowledge and deep concern for the earth – comes an urgent and riveting history of wetlands, their ecological role and how the loss of them threatens the planet.
A lifelong environmentalist, Annie Proulx brings her wide- ranging research and scholarship to the subject of wetlands and the vitally important yet little understood role they play in preserving the environment by storing the carbon emissions that greatly contribute to climate change. Fens, bogs, swamps and marine estuaries are the earth's most desirable and dependable resources, and in four stunning parts, Proulx documents the long-misunderstood role of these wetlands in saving the planet.
Taking us on a fascinating journey through history, Proulx moves from the fens of 16th-century England to Canada's Hudson Bay lowlands, Russia’s Great Vasyugan Mire, America’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, and the 19th-century explorers who began the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Along the way, she writes of the diseases spawned in the wetlands – the Ague, malaria, Marsh Fever – and the surprisingly significant role of peat in industrialisation.
A sobering look at the degradation of wetlands over centuries and the serious ecological consequences, this is a stunningly important work and a rousing call to action by a writer whose passionate devotion to understanding and preserving the environment is on full and glorious display.
‘Magnificent, bringing to life hitherto overlooked habitats’ – Guardian
‘Proulx's sparkling book will open your eyes to humanity's reckless trashing of wetlands’ – Telegraph
‘A haunting tribute … Proulx’s poetic description of these places, and peat itself, is a pleasure to read’ – Financial Times.
Filmmakers for future: wildlife (FF:W) is an international grassroots group set up to encourage collaboration across the wildlife TV sector and help speed up the transition to a greener, more impactful and less extractive industry.
Devoted to birds and wildlife since childhood, Mark's early scientific research at Oxford, Aberdeen and the RSPB provided a solid background for his management, ambassadorial, and political lobbying activities which were to follow and his larger than life, yet quietly humane personality has provided the final tools in his own, unique, nature conservationists toolbox.
In this book, Mark mixes a great many stories from his professional life at the RSPB with personal anecdotes and passionate arguments on past and present issues in bird and nature conservation. He shows us something of the many scientists whose work paves the way for conservation action, places domestic conservation into an international context, takes us behind the scenes to glimpse the politicians who have worked with him, or against him, along the way. Mark leaves us armed with practical tips and a guiding philosophy to take wildlife conservation though the troubled years that lie ahead.
A personal, philosophical and political history of 25 years of bird conservation, this book provides an instructive and amusing read for all those who would like a glimpse into the birds and wildlife conservation world what the issues are, what must be done, how it can be done, and the challenges, highs and lows involved.
"…if you have any real interest in the workings of saving species and their habitats then it’s a tremendously rewarding ‘must read’" Chris Packham
2011 saw the database go live and evolve into a comprehensive library with four categories:
FILMS THAT HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE - Films that have been documented or otherwise proven to have made a real and tangible difference to a conservation issue.
FILMS THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO MAKING A DIFFERENCE - Undocumented or unproven but made about an issue that has found a degree of success.
FILMS THAT HAVE A CONSERVATION/ENVIRONMENTAL MESSAGE OR THEME - Good conservation films that will have raised awareness of an issue but no conclusive successes known.
FILMMAKERS WHO HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE - This category includes filmmakers and organisations that have made a significant contribution to conservation film making over time: Collectively, their films have made a difference!
We are very keen to increase the number of films that are listed, so please get involved and send in your films and/or ideas!!
A beautifully told, deeply personal growing-up memoir from the BBC presenter about life, death, love and nature.
Every minute was magical, every single thing it did was fascinating and everything it didn't do was equally wondrous, and to be sat there, with a Kestrel, a real live Kestrel, my own real live Kestrel on my wrist! I felt like I'd climbed through a hole in heaven's fence.
An introverted, unusual young boy, isolated by his obsessions and a loner at school, Chris Packham only felt happy in the fields and woods around his suburban home. But when he stole a young Kestrel from its nest, he was about to embark on a friendship that would teach him what it meant to love, and that would change him forever. In his rich, lyrical and emotionally exposing memoir, Chris brings to life his childhood in the 70s, from his bedroom bursting with fox skulls, birds' eggs and sweaty jam jars, to his feral adventures. But pervading his story is the search for freedom, meaning and acceptance in a world that didn’t understand him.
Beautifully wrought, this coming-of-age memoir will be unlike any you've ever read.
‘Fingers in the Sparkle Jar is like nothing else I know – a flickering vat of life itself. A brilliant and remarkable book.’ Robert MacFarlane
We think this book is essential reading for all interested in Chris, his career and the natural world but also anyone interested in the trials of life.
Published by Ebury Press, available at: Amazon.co.uk
This fully updated special edition of the classic complete guide to the edible species that grow around us includes a new foreword from the author and a plate section with identification guides for all major species.
Originally published in 1972, Richard Mabey’s classic foraging guide has never been out of print since. Food for Free is a complete guide to help you safely identify edible species that grow around us, together with detailed field identification notes and recipes.
In this stunning 50th anniversary edition, Richard Mabey’s updated text is accompanied by a wealth of practical information on identifying, collecting, cooking and preparing, as well as history and folklore. Informative illustrations of key species by expert botanical artists are included in a colour plate section. Beautifully written and produced in a new, readable format, Food for Free will inspire us to be more self-sufficient and make use of the natural resources around us to enhance our lives.
‘A life-enhancing classic ... Erudite and charming as well as practical and accurate ... The best possible antidote to the over-processed and the pre-packaged’ – Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
‘Still a classic’ – Financial Times
Richard Mabey is a naturalist, award-winning author and journalist. He won wide acclaim
on the publication of the original Food for Free in 1972 – which has never been out of print since. He is an active member of national and local conservation groups and lives in Norfolk.
Struggling to comprehend the shocking death of his teenage daughter, Ben Goldsmith finds solace in nature by immersing himself in plans to rewild his farm.
In July 2019, Ben Goldsmith lost his fifteen-year-old daughter, Iris, in an accident on their family farm in Somerset. Iris's death left her family reeling.
Grasping for answers, Ben threw himself into searching for some ongoing trace of his beloved child, exploring ideas that until then had seemed too abstract to mean much to him. Missing his daughter terribly and struggling to imagine how he would face the rest of his life in the shadow of this loss, Ben found solace in nature, the object of a lifelong fascination. As Ben set about rewilding his farm, nature became a vital source of meaning and hope.
This book is the story of a year of soul-searching that followed a terrible loss. In an instant, Ben's world had turned dark. Yet, unbelievably to him, the seasons kept on turning, and as he immersed himself in the dramatic restoration of nature in the place where it happened, he found healing.
In God is an Octopus, Ben tells a powerful, immersive and inspiring story of finding comfort and strength in nature after suffering loss and despair..
'Intensely readable, poetic, truthful, wise and wonderful.' – STEPHEN FRY
'A message of beauty and optimism.' – JOANNA LUMLEY
'Stunningly beautiful, immensely sad, immensely uplifting.' – GEORGE MONBIOT
'Extraordinarily powerful and moving... a book of universal wisdom.' – BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH
'Beautiful and deeply moving.' – ISABELLA TREE
'An extraordinary book.' – SUNDAY TIMES
'Unfathomable tragedy chronicled with profound love and compassion.' – RICHARD E. GRANT
'Emotive, raw and captivating.' – BENEDICT MACDONALD
What happens to nature when we are no longer there?
In early 2020, wildlife cameraman James Aldred was commissioned to film the lives of a family of goshawks in the New Forest. Then lockdown. No more cars, no more aeroplanes, no one in the woods – except James – in a place empty of people but filled with birdsong and new life.
In these silver nights and golden days, there were tumbling fox cubs, calling curlew and, of course, the soaring goshawks – shining like fire through one of our darkest times. A goshawk summer unlike any other; an extraordinary season in the forest.
WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2022
“A beautiful inspirational tale set in an extraordinary time.” – Ray Mears
‘Magical and transporting… a beautiful and deeply evocative hymn to love, hope and connection.’ HELEN MACDONALD, author of H is for Hawk
‘[An] entrancing, acutely observed, beautifully paced diary of the secretive raptor’s breeding season… Fascinating.’ BBC Wildlife
HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene by Jo-Anne McArthur
An unflinching book of photography about our conflict with non-human animals around the globe, as depicted through the lenses of forty award-winning photojournalists including Aitor Garmendia, Jo-Anne McArthur, and Andrew Skowron.
Through the lenses of forty photojournalists, this book shines a light on the invisible animals in our lives; those with whom we have a close relationship and yet fail to see. The stories within its pages are revelatory and brutal. They are proof of the emergency confronting animals globally, from industrial farming to climate change, and provide valuable insight into the relevance of animal suffering to human health.
HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene is a historical document, a memorial, and an indictment of what is and should never again be.
Published by We Animals Media and distributed by Lantern Publishing & Media, available at Amazon.co.uk
Himalaya: Mountains of Life by Kamal Bawa & Sandesh Kadur
The Eastern Himalaya—land of Gods, of ancient mountain kingdoms, of icy peaks and alpine meadows—is like no other place on Earth.
The life and landscapes of the region are as diverse, spectacular and fragile as the mountains themselves. Even today, these mountains hold many mysteries: unnamed species, primeval cultures and the promise of magical cures to heal all of humanity.
Himalaya—Mountains of Life takes us on a journey of biocultural discovery, from the great canyon of Yarlung Tsangpo and the Siang Gorge in the east to the Kali Gandaki Gorge in the west.
Along the way, Himalaya demonstrates through breathtaking imagery and words, why the preservation of this heritage is so important—not just for us, but for the future of all life on Earth.
Published by Ashoka Trust for Research in Education and the Environment, available at Amazon.co.uk
Hope in Hell : A decade to confront the climate emergency
Climate change is the defining issue of our time - we know, beyond reasonable doubt, what that science now tells us. Just as climate change is accelerating, so too must we - summoning up a greater sense of urgency, courage and shared endeavour than humankind has ever seen before.
The Age of Climate Change is an age of superlatives: most extreme this, biggest that, most costly ever. The impacts worsen every year, played out in people's backyards and communities, and more and more people around the world now realise this is going to be a massive challenge for the rest of their lives. In Hope in Hell, Porritt confronts that dilemma head on. He believes we have time to do what needs to be done, but only if we move now - and move together. In this ultimately optimistic book, he explores all these reasons to be hopeful: new technology; the power of innovation; the mobilisation of young people - and a sense of intergenerational solidarity as older generations come to understand their own obligation to secure a safer world for their children and grandchildren.
'Brave and unflinching in setting out the reality of the hell towards which we're headed, but even more urgent, passionate and compelling about the grounds for hope if we change course fast enough, Hope in Hell is a powerful call to arms from one of Britain's most eloquent and trusted campaigners.' Caroline Lucas, MP
'Extraordinarily powerful, deeply troubling, scathing but ultimately purposeful and hopeful. This book is a clarion call to action, and action now. After reading this, we know for sure that nothing, not even a pandemic, must divert us from the most serious problem facing every living creature on the planet. In plain language, Jonathon Porritt is spelling it out. This is our last chance. Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest. Then act.' Michael Morpurgo
An accessible and thought-provoking introduction to timespans in the natural world, featuring more than 80 beautifully designed diagrams and charts.
Which organisms live the longest? How does the natural world recover from wildfires? How long do eggs take to hatch? What are the world's fastest- and slowest- growing plants? Which species invest the most in parental care?
The graphic number line is a potent pattern that explains much of our world, from the life cycle of immortal jellyfish to the perfect amount of time for a 'good sleep'. Beautifully illustrated with reader-friendly infographics and stunning colour photography, How Nature Keeps Time visually maps the amounts of time bounded by growth, distance, age, reproduction, sleep, death and other key behaviours.
Join science and comedy writer Helen Pilcher as she examines a broad range of species from across the world and throughout time. As our natural world draws our attention to its plight, this fascinating book offers a calm, clear-thinking series of visual explanations based on the ultimate objective measure - time.
'A beautifully designed hardback.' – BBC Wildlife
Helen Pilcher is a tea-drinking, biscuit-nibbling science and comedy writer. She has a PhD in Cell Biology from London's Institute of Psychiatry. A former reporter for Nature, she now specializes in biology, medicine and quirky off-the-wall science, and writes for outlets including New Scientist and BBC Focus. Unusually for a self-proclaimed geek, Helen also used to be a stand-up comedian before the arrival of children meant she couldn't physically stay awake past 9pm. She now gigs from time to time, and lives in rural Warwickshire with her husband, three kids and besotted dog.
“An empowering and deeply informative book" – Moby
Challenge their beliefs; change the world
If you are a vegan, you’ll know all too well how provocative it can be – you never know when you’ll be challenged or how. But being able to face down and rebut arguments against veganism is hugely important. Not just because many of the arguments lack substance, but because every interaction provides a pivotal moment to create change.
How to Argue With a Meat Eater will teach you to not only become a skilled debater, sharing the secrets of renowned vegan educator Ed Winters, but it will arm you with powerful facts and insights that will give pause to even the most devout meat eater.
Providing you with the knowledge to become a better conversationalist and critical thinker, and the motivation to create a more ethical, kind and sustainable world, let this book be your guide and inspiration to know that, no matter what the argument, you can win every time.
"An absolute must-read – it shows how we can communicate incredibly emotive topics with confidence and compassion, and provides the reader with indispensable tools to express themselves clearly and persuasively." — Rich Roll
“Ed Winters builds on his groundbreaking debut book with a follow up that couldn’t be more timely or important. How to Argue With a Meat Eater is an empowering and deeply informative book that will leave readers more enriched and knowledgeable about veganism and how to argue effectively about it. Everyone would benefit from reading this book." — Moby
How To Go Vegan: The why, the how, and everything you need to make going vegan easy
From Veganuary
A short guide to going vegan - the why, the what and the how.
Going vegan is easy! Whether you're already a full-time vegan, considering making the switch or know someone who is, this book will give you all the tools you need to make the change towards a healthier, happier and more ethical lifestyle.
How to Go Vegan includes...
Why try vegan? Animal welfare, the environment, health benefits and your personal adventure. Vegan at home: Surprisingly vegan foods, reading labels, vegan ingredient essentials, easy replacements, how to be the only vegan in the family Vegan out in the world: Eating out, eating at friends' houses, answering questions from loved ones, travelling vegan Living the vegan lifestyle: Meal plans, tips and tricks, what to do if you're struggling, how to celebrate being a vegan
How to go vegan. It's easier than you think.
Published by Hodder & Stoughton, available at:Amazon.co.uk
How to Speak Whale : A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication
A thrilling investigation into the pioneering world of animal communication, where big data and artificial intelligence are changing our relationship with animals forever.
In 2015, wildlife filmmaker Tom Mustill was whale watching when a humpback breached onto his kayak and nearly killed him. After a video clip of the event went viral, Tom found himself inundated with theories about what happened. He became obsessed with trying to find out what the whale had been thinking and sometimes wished he could just ask it. In the process of making a film about his experience, he discovered that might not be such a crazy idea.
This is a story about the pioneers in a new age of discovery, whose cutting-edge developments in natural science and technology are taking us to the brink of decoding animal communication - and whales, with their giant mammalian brains and sophisticated vocalisations, offer one of the most realistic opportunities for us to do so. Using 'underwater ears,' robotic fish, big data and machine intelligence, leading scientists and tech-entrepreneurs across the world are working to turn the fantasy of Dr Dolittle into a reality, upending much of what we know about these mysterious creatures. But what would it mean if we were to make contact? And with climate change threatening ever more species with extinction, would doing so alter our approach to the natural world?
Enormously original and hugely entertaining, How to Speak Whale is an unforgettable look at how close we truly are to communicating with another species - and how doing so might change our world beyond recognition.
"We all wish we could communicate with animals right? It might simply be with a companion animal, a domesticated animal or it might be with something wild, a whale even. Some of us will believe that we already communicate with animals in all sorts of ways but to have a proper conversation with an animal, find out what it thinks of the impact that humans are making on the planet, the natural world, well that is just a dream, surely? Tom’s book, How to Speak Whale, may have been prompted by a very close call with a breaching humpback whale, but the journey it set him off on is fascinating as he brilliantly navigates all of the current science on animal communication, showcasing whale song and what it could all mean … The prescient question might be whether or not we have the capacity to comprehend it. Tom’s enthusiasm for the subject along with his warm delivery makes for a very charming but also important book. I can't recommend it enough." Jason Peters
We can seriously recommend the Audio Book, beautifully recorded by Tom himself, with extra whale/wildlife sounds included … most excellent for a book on animal communication!!
‘Fascinating’ Greta Thunberg
‘Enthralling’ George Monbiot
‘Brilliant’ Philip Hoare
'Extraordinary’ Christiana Figueres 'Riveting' Sy Montgomery
If you're worried about climate change, this book is an essential and reassuring read.
We often feel like we don't have the power to make real change.
But our small changes can add up to something BIG.
Packed with reassuring step by step actions and easy to follow DIY activities, How You Can Save The Planet is the perfect gift for young activists who want to make a difference.
With simple explanations, practical tips and stories from children across the world, this guide is ideal for young people who are worried about climate change and want to help our planet!
Crafted by Hendrikus van Hensbergen, whose work is featured on BBC Bitesize [JP2], this inspiring read is perfect for children at KS2.
'Every young person in the country should be given this book' Sir Tim Smit, Founder of The Eden Project
'It's enlightening, inspiring and empowering' Kate Humble, TV presenter
'Wonderfully informative, fun and practical [. . .] A great source of inspiration' The Rich Brothers, TV presenters
Alan Root is one of Africa's most bitten. In the course of his adventures he has been mauled by a leopard, a silverback gorilla and a hippo, and almost lost his life to a deadly puff adder, which claimed one of his fingers. Root's unmatched experience of East African wildlife and his appetite for risk have made him a world-class naturalist and film-maker. He's one of the great wildlife pioneers.
In Ivory, Apes & Peacocks, Alan tells the story of his life's work, from his arrival in Kenya as a young boy (furious at having to leave behind Britain's birds) to the making of his game-changing films. Instead of sticking to the Big Five animals, these looked up close at whole ecosystems - baobab trees, termite mounds, natural springs - and involved firsts such as tracking the wildebeest migration from a balloon, then flying it over Kilimanjaro, filming inside a hornbill's nest and diving with hippos and crocodiles.
Along the way we meet Sally the pet hippo and Emily the house-proud chimp, watch as Dian Fossey catches sight of her first mountain gorilla and have sundowners with George and Joy Adamson. And here, too, is Joan Root, Alan's wife and collaborator for over thirty years, who was brutally murdered in retaliation for her environmental campaigning.
In this extraordinary memoir we look at Africa's wonders through the eyes of a visionary, live through hair-raising adventure and personal sorrow, and also bear witness to a natural world now largely lost from view.
Published by Chatto and Windus, available atAmazon.co.uk
Journeys in the Wild : The Secret Life of a Cameraman
by Gavin Thurston Foreword by Sir David Attenborough
From Gavin Thurston, the award-winning Blue Planet II and Planet Earth II cameraman with a foreword by Sir David Attenborough comes extraordinary and adventurous true stories of what it takes to track down and film our planet's most captivating creatures.
Gavin has been a wildlife photographer for over thirty years. Against a backdrop of modern world history, he's lurked in the shadows of some of the world's remotest places in order to capture footage of the animal kingdom's finest: prides of lions, silverback gorillas, capuchin monkeys, brown bears, grey whales, penguins, mosquitoes - you name it he's filmed it.
From journeys to the deepest depths of the Antarctic Ocean and the wide expanse of the Saharan deserts, to the peaks of the Himalayas and the wild forests of the Congo, Gavin's experiences describe much more than just the incredible array of animals he's filmed. He invites you to come inside the cameraman's hidden world and discover the hours spent patiently waiting for the protagonists to appear; the inevitable dangers in the wings and the challenges faced and overcome; and the heart-warming, life-affirming moments the cameras miss as well as capture.
'Gavin's book is extraordinary: his easy prose and gasp-making encounters make for a gripping and very funny read. It's a rollercoaster ride with a complete professional. I loved it.' Joanna Lumley
Land of the Tiger and Beyond chronicles Mike’s remarkable journey from aspiring footballer to acclaimed filmmaker.
After an unsuccessful final trial for Leeds United, Mike pivoted to studying zoology, dedicating a decade to the field before founding and running a production company for thirty-five years.
Throughout his career, Mike has produced over 50 documentary films on wild animals, places, people, and science for renowned networks such as BBC, PBS, National Geographic, Terra Mater/Red Bull Media, and Pathé in Paris.
His fascination with Indian tigers began serendipitously over three decades ago, leading to acclaimed programs like “Tiger Crisis,” “Land of the Tigers” series for BBC, “Tiger” (a BBC special), and “Battle to Save the Tiger” hosted by David Attenborough.
Mike’s films resonate with scientists, conservationists, and anyone passionate about preserving our planet’s biodiversity. He earned his doctorate and post-doctorate at the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Oxford University.
Among his notable works are “H is for Hawk: The Next Chapter,” “The Tale of the Peacocks and Tiger,” “Thunderbirds,” “Ostrich: Life on the Run,” “Attenborough’s Wonder of Song,” “Attenborough’s Wonder of Eggs,” and “Attenborough’s Big Birds.”
Trimming a parrot's beak, emptying a dog's anal glands and neutering a cat - then lunch - followed by some tricky horse dentistry, amputating a lamb's leg and calming a distressed client...
It's all in a day's work if you're a vet: a delicate balance of managing animal welfare and ethics, educating people in pet ownership and aligning their expectations with real-life outcomes. As a job, it spans everything from managing the heartbreak of euthanasia, to informing owners that under no circumstances should they take their dog's worming pills, even if they're sure they have worms.
During his twenty-five-year career, Welsh vet Siôn Rowlands has experienced almost every animal medical issue imaginable, from rescuing an injured horse from the edge of a cliff to moisturizing a baby elephant. He's also witnessed ridiculous moments, surreal situations and the real toll it can take on a person.
Frank, funny and moving in equal measure, Letting the Cat Out of the Bag is a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the uniquely pressurised world of being a vet.
Our ancestors developed a uniquely nature-focused society, centred on esteemed poets, seers, monks, healers and wise women who were deeply connected to the land. They used this connection to the cycles of the natural world – from which we are increasingly dissociated – as an animating force in their lives.
In this illuminating new book, Manchán Magan sets out on a journey, through bogs, across rivers and over mountains, to trace these ancestor’s footsteps. He uncovers the ancient myths that have shaped our national identity and are embedded in the strata of land that have endured through millennia – from ice ages through to famines and floods.
Here, the River Shannon is a goddess, and trees and their life-sustaining root systems are hallowed. See the world in a new light in this magical exploration into the life-sustaining wisdom of what lies beneath us.
'We could do with a lot more characters like [Manchan] dotted about this world.' – Irish Independent
'Manchan creates a gorgeous tapestry that lingers in the mind's eye.' – Kerri Ni Dochartaigh
'Manchan['s] ... got some theories about the roots of the Irish language that are going to blow your head off ... an incredible storyteller.' – Blindboy Boatclub
'Manchan's passion for Ireland's ecological and poetic heritage is more urgently relevant than ever.' – Darach O Seaghdha
Manchán Magan is a writer and documentary-maker. His most recent book Thirty-Two Words for Field was a runaway bestseller. It inspired a picture book for children, Tree Dogs, Banshee Fingers and Other Irish Words for Nature, with illustrator Steve Doogan, which was also a bestseller. Manchán writes occasionally for The Irish Times and presents The Almanac of Ireland podcast for RTÉ Radio 1.
A New Book Offering Over 100 Ways You Can Replace Plastic In Your Life
Plastic Oceans International, a global nonprofit working to end plastic pollution, joins Artisan Books in announcing today (Nov 10th 2020) the publication of Living Without Plastic, from authors Christine Wong and Brigette Allen.
This new book serves as a concise guide on how to easily embrace a plastic-free or plastic-reduced lifestyle. It offers over 100 simple, sustainable, and stylish swaps throughout our households, providing readers with plastic alternatives for everything from kitchen and dining, to health, beauty, travel, and beyond.
“Brigette and I wanted to share how to break up with plastic in fun, accessible ways,” said Wong, a renowned Instagram foodie who advocates for zero-waste consumption and eco-friendly choices within the kitchen and home. “Every piece of plastic not used is a step in the right direction, and through our collective action, together we can make a difference!”
Plastic is an invention created to improve our lives, from innovations in food safety and product transit to medical sanitation and convenience in our homes. Unfortunately, our dependence on plastic is now wreaking havoc on our environment, and a growing body of science is showing that it is also invading our human bodies through the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the soil we cultivate.
“It’s an issue that we can no longer ignore. As easy as we have each contributed to the plastic pollution problem, we can now contribute to solving it by implementing alternatives to the everyday plastics we use,” said Julie Andersen, CEO of Plastic Oceans International and author of the book’s foreword. “This is the perfect guide for doing exactly that.”
In addition to presenting real-life solutions, Living Without Plastic also provides accessible information in understanding the history and implications of our plastic use.
Natural history television on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) has been one of the public broadcaster’s most popular formats. For many viewers, TV has been an important contact zone for engaging with animals they would never encounter in everyday life. These animals have also played a critical role in developing environmental awareness. But how did animals get to be on the small screen and what happened to them when they got there?
Making Animals Public: Inside the ABC’s Natural History Archive traces the cultural and political evolution of the natural history animal on the ABC. It explores different modes of capture from cages to cameras; what has come to count as a natural history animal over time; and the various sites they have inhabited – from nature, to the nation, to the environment, to the planet.
In early natural history programs audiences were invited to watch as sovereign humans there to learn or be entertained by animals that were exotic or aesthetic or scientifically interesting. Whatever the framing, these animals were resolutely other. In recent times, natural history animals have become more assertive. They are now posing uncomfortable questions to human viewers about exploitation, extinction and mutual implication in catastrophic whole earth processes like climate change.
Using a wide range of screen examples ranging from the 1950s to the 2020s, Making Animals Public focuses on shifting cultural and sociotechnical practices in ABC natural history television. Combining science and technology studies, screen studies and critical animal studies, this book develops an innovative interdisciplinary analysis of how televisual animality is crafted and made believable.
Making Animals Public analyses the significant role public television has played in filming and circulating a vast array of animals and habitats that had never been seen before. How these animals were visualised and accounted for has continually evolved. What has remined constant is the fact that natural history television has been a hugely important site for exploring the various politics of human-animal relations – good and bad – and for nurturing environmental awareness in audiences.
About the Authors:
Gay Hawkins is an Emeritus Professor at the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University. She is a leading researcher in the fields of environmental humanities, STS and the politics of materials.
Ben Dibley is a visiting fellow at Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University, Australia.
Ivan Mikolji’s work through his vast and detailed photographic documentation and as an explorer is very important when it comes to talking about scientific disclosure in Venezuela. His made a significant contribution since he makes the biological and scientific knowledge of our planet accessible to all through his pictures, observations and field trips. Ivan Mikolji is a science popularizer who seeks to show the language of nature and its processes in a way that is understandable and enjoyable for the public, far beyond the academic and scientific world.
Alberto Blanco Dávila
Editor-in-Chief of EXPLORA magazine, nature projects.
Fishes of the Orinoco in the Wild
Founder Ivan Mikolji
Mother Nature is Not Trying to Kill You A Wildlife & Bushcraft Survival Guide
Survival Guide for Living With Mother Nature and Other Things Learned in the Wild
"Having this book in your backpack just may save your life one day." Jesse Weiland, national park ranger
Prepare for all the worst-case scenarios mother earth throws at you with Mother Nature is Not Trying to Kill You the only survival guide you need to overcome wildlife, natural disasters, and everything else outdoors.
Survive the unexpected. Statistically, you're more likely to die from a vending machine than a shark. But, Rob Nelson knows many shark survivors. His college girlfriend was attacked by a crocodile and his roommate, a grizzly bear. His wife was sucked by a wave down a blowhole, he was left stranded at sea after a storm sank his sailboat, and the list goes on and on. To Rob, these "improbable" altercations are "random acts of nature," and he's learned how to survive them.
On knots, poisonous plants, and natural disasters. Featuring 52 challenges you can encounter in the wilderness, this survival guide is your year-long crash course for ultimate disaster management. Whether you're preparing for a moose attack or a nuclear fallout, Mother Nature is Not Trying to Kill You enables you to confront the natural world with skill and confidence.
This wilderness survival guidebook also includes:
Pop culture examples like Jaws and The Revenant
Nature and science-packed stories and narratives
Diagrams, survival tips, and more!
If you enjoyed books like Bushcraft 101, The Worst Case Scenario, or SAS Survival Handbook, then Mother Nature is Not Trying to Kill You is your next read!
BBC DYNASTIES CAMERAMAN'S ENTHRALLING STORY OF EMPEROR PENGUIN LIFE
When the BBC asked BAFTA-winning cameraman Lindsay McCrae to go to Antarctica to film emperor penguins he was thrilled. After discussing it with his wife Becky they agreed that, although it would mean him being away for 11 months, he should do it. But then she became pregnant and it seemed like the worst idea in the world - not just to miss the birth of his first child, but the first 7 months of his life. Weeks of anguished discussions followed before they decided he should go because it was his dream project and the chance might never come again.
My Penguin Year recounts Lindsay's adventure to the end of the Earth, filming the most resilient creatures in nature, while coping with being over 15,000km away from Becky and all the comforts of home - something which almost proved too much. Out of that experience he has written an unprecedented portrait of Antarctica's most extraordinary residents, the emperor penguins. They march up to 100 miles over solid ice to reach their breeding grounds. They choose to breed in the depths of the worst winter on the planet; and in an unusual role reversal, the males incubate the eggs, fasting for over 100 days to ensure they introduce their chicks safely into their new frozen world. And they are uniquely vulnerable to the unprecedented melting of the polar ice cap.
In weaving their story with his epic journey, Lindsay has created a masterpiece of natural observation - and a deeply moving tale of human endeavour in the harshest environment on the planet.
Chris Packham says:
'A dramatic saga forged by passion, honesty and a rare skill as a naturalist and film-maker.
Twelve men have walked on the moon. But how many have spent an entire season with the Emperors in Antarctica? Maybe more, likely less. Lindsay McCrae has - and this is his wonderful and frank story. There are lines of penguins and blizzards, but there's also the emotional turmoil of being separated from his home, his new wife and his unborn child. All his musings and observations combine to produce a compelling tale of the man, those extraordinary birds and that lonely place at the end of the earth.
So turn off the heating, put on your gloves and head deep south into a frozen land of dreams and nightmares, all played out in the world of beautiful Emperors'
Breathed on by a tiger, stalked by a lion, nearly flattened by a rhino, struck by lightning and rocked by an earthquake… A wildlife filmmaker’s life is certainly exciting.
But there’s a serious side to these adventures. In the last 50 years nature films have helped to shape public awareness of both the beauty of the natural world and its plight. Environmental issues that once seemed peripheral are now centre-stage.
Stephen Mills has been a leading cameraperson and writer and this is a book about his life in film. Natural Causes tells the story of his campaigns, his companions, his colleagues, the challenges and charms of the landscapes in which he has worked and the extraordinary wild animals he has filmed. And it is a book about one man’s modest bid to ever-so-slightly change the world. For, at its heart, Natural Causes touches on the profound spiritual importance of nature to us all.
“… if you have a dream, a mission, a wish to change the world, you can do it. You can do it as long as you accept that the dream may shrink, the mission may creep a little and the change you make may be very small and that all those little bites out of your ambitions in no way render them pointless.”
"This is a gripping story about the love of life and of nature itself. As a journalist, Stephen has influenced the agenda; as a film-maker, he’s inspired a wide audience; as a conservationist, he’s averted disasters – but above all, as this book proves, he’s a skilled storyteller. Read, enjoy, laugh and appreciate how small acts and using the power of your voice can change things for the better." – Roz Kidman Cox, former editor BBC Wildlife
For thousands of years, humans have been the architects of the natural world. Our activities have permanently altered the environment – for good and for bad.
In Nature’s Ghosts, award-winning journalist Sophie Yeo examines how the planet would have looked before humans scrubbed away its diversity: from landscapes carved out by megafauna to the primeval forests that emerged following the last Ice Age, and from the eagle-haunted skies of the Dark Ages to the flower-decked farms of more recent centuries.
Uncovering the stories of the people who have helped to shape the landscape, she seeks out their footprints even where it seems there are none to be found. And she explores the timeworn knowledge that can help to fix our broken relationship with the earth.
Along the way, Sophie encounters the environmental detectives – archaeological, cultural and ecological – reconstructing, in stunning detail, the landscapes we have lost.
Today, the natural world is more vulnerable than ever; the footprints of humanity heavier than they have ever been. But, as this urgent book argues, from the ghosts of the past, we may learn how to build a more wild and ancient future.
‘Sophie writes fantastically, chronicling the most important issues facing nature conservationists today.’ – Chris Packham
'Fascinating, deeply researched and breathtaking in its scope.' – Guy Shrubsole
'A wondrous book and a ticket for environmental time travel.' Tristan Gooley
Longlisted for the 2024 Wainwright Prize for Writing on Conservation
Ronald Blythe lived at the end of an overgrown farm track deep in the rolling countryside of the Stour Valley, on the border between Suffolk and Essex. His home was Bottengoms Farm, a sturdy yeoman's house once owned by the artist John Nash. From here, Blythe spent almost half a century observing the slow turn of the agricultural year, the church year and village life in a series of rich, lyrical rural diaries.
Beginning with the arrival of snow on New Year's Day and ending with Christmas carols sung in the village church, Next to Nature invites us to witness a simple life richly lived. With gentle wit and keen observation Blythe meditates on his life and faith, on literature, art and history, and on our place in the landscape.
It is a celebration of one of our greatest nature writers, and an unforgettable ode to the English countryside..
"All the charm, wonder, eccentricity and vigour of country life is here in these pages, and told with such engaging directness, detail and colour . . . Bliss" – STEPHEN FRY
"A capacious work that contains multitudes . . . a work to amble through, seasonally, relishing the vivid dashes of colour and the precision and delicacy of the descriptions" – THE SPECTATOR
"My favourite read of the year . . . warm, funny and moving" – SUNDAY TIMES
"A writer whose pages you turn and then turn back immediately to re-read, relish and get by heart" – SUSAN HILL, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
"The greatest living writer on the English countryside . . . Blythe's writing dances with self-deprecating wit, rebellious asides, sharp portraits of fellow writers and notes of worldliness" -- PATRICK BARKHAM, GUARDIAN
Planet Crunch – The Life (or Death?) of Planet Earth by Richard Brock
Planet Crunch is a unique perspective on planet Earth at crunch-time. Based on how the media have lifted the natural world to the front-page headlines, the book is richly illustrated, packed with commentary on wildlife, natural resources, impacts of global politics, population, climate change and our future.
Richard Brock, filmmaker, author and publisher, has created a book for everyone. He describes it as political, challenging, cheeky, significant, educational and even rude! A publication that is both up-to-date and down-to-earth.
It’s for all those who are concerned about the future at this time of “Planet Crunch”.
Richard has produced this book to be available for FREE for all, with free postage to UK addresses.
Donations to charity will be welcomed however. If you would like to contribute – say £10 – to Richard’s preferred charity local charity, the Avon Wildlife Trust, based close to where he lives, near Bristol, or to a charity of your choice, please do so. These days many charities need income to help continue projects around the world.
There's also an accompanying film, in three parts. Uniquely...Altogether...Now...The Life (or death?) of Planet Earth - Planet Crunch covers Nature and Us, Population, The Media, Tourism, Money, Waster and Plastic, Climate Change, Conservation, Energy, Water, Food, Biodiversity, Shopping, Farming, Forests and Fishing.
Rebirding - Restoring Britain's Wildlife by Benedict Macdonald
Foreword by Stephen Moss
Winner of the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation
Winner of the Richard Jefferies Society and White Horse Book Shop Literary Prize 2019
An economic solution to rewilding our landscapes, creating a future where large, wild areas maintain wildlife.
Britain has all the space it needs for an epic return of its wildlife. Only six percent of our country is built upon. Contrary to popular myth, large areas of our countryside are not productively farmed but remain deserts of opportunity for both wildlife and jobs. It is time to turn things around. Praised as ‘visionary' by conservationists and landowners alike, Rebirding sets out a compelling manifesto for restoring Britain's wildlife, rewilding its species and restoring rural jobs – to the benefit of all.
'A wonderful book, visionary, illuminating and fascinating. – George Monbiot
How did our relationship with nature become broken, why does it matter and how can we fix it?
From a past in which we were embedded in the natural world, revolutions in farming, science and industry have seen the human bond with nature eroded with the promise of prosperity offering happiness and meaning in life. This mindset may have delivered comfortable living for many, but there is growing recognition that the root cause of wildlife loss and the warming climate is people’s disconnection from nature, which is also an important factor in our mental health. Yet solutions focus on technical fixes to treat the symptoms of that damaged relationship, such as reducing carbon emissions and increasing habitat. What we urgently need is a whole new way of thinking.
Reconnection explores our hidden links with nature through the science of nature connectedness, setting out a way to revivify the relationship across society. Here is a route to a meaningful life that unites both human and nature’s wellbeing for a truly sustainable future. What's more, everybody has a role to play. From business leaders to conservationists, teachers to medics, from drivers to walkers, we can all reduce the damage we do and find new ways to bring nature into our lives. This timely book considers the problems scientifically, then offers simple, practical, positive steps for how we can all work towards a better world.
"Reconnection is a timely, clear plea to understand just how disconnected we have become from nature. Until it is spelled out, it is easy to assume things are not so bad, that reconnection is just a matter of being more aware. This book shows that the fracture lines go deeper and are more damaging than they might appear on the surface, but it is ultimately a hopeful book, offering solutions that make a greener future seem vibrant and joyful - worth striving for." – Mary Colwell, author of Beak, Tooth and Claw
"Thought provoking, brilliantly researched, and surprising in some of its findings. Also extremely readable which, given the importance of its subject, is helpful for those of us without academic backgrounds. A must-read for educators, policy makers, and anyone else trying to raise awareness of the benefits and importance of Nature Reconnection." – Brigit Strawbridge Howard, author of Dancing with Bees
Winner of the History of Science Society's Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize in the History of Science.
From the early exploits of Teddy Roosevelt in Africa to blockbuster films such as March of the Penguins, Gregg Mitman's Reel Nature reveals how changing values, scientific developments, and new technologies have come to shape American encounters with wildlife on and off the big screen.
Whether crafted to elicit thrills or to educate audiences about the real-life drama of threatened wildlife, nature films then and now have had an enormous impact on how Americans see, think about, consume, and struggle to protect animals across the globe.
Few books offer greater insight into the cultural history of American ideas of nature during the twentieth century than this one. Whether one cares about the history of filmmaking, the evolution of American environmental attitudes, or the ways that science, commerce, and entertainment have shaped each other in the creation of American consumer culture, Reel Nature is essential reading. -- William Cronon, from the Foreword
Reflections Underwater: A Multidisciplinary Exploration of Coral Reef Wonders
Why are we as humans so attracted to water and to colorful reefs? Indeed, why are reefs so dazzling? How did cleaning station symbiosis evolve? How come there are so many extraordinary defense mechanisms among reef animals? Do the denizens of reefs have consciousness? How did warning coloration evolve? In what ways do fundamental mathematical rules manifest in coral reefs? For answers to these questions and many more, take a dive into Reflections Underwater.
Coral reefs are one of the world's great natural wonders: endlessly surprising and mesmerizing kaleidoscopic fractals of color and life. But they are also under serious threat from the effects of climate change and development. Reflections Underwater is a unique, illuminating book that explores a stunning variety of topics and concepts relating to coral reefs.
Adopting a holistic, multidisciplinary perspective that weaves together scientific and humanistic ideas, including psychology, evolution, zoology, philosophy, mathematics, art, physics, and more, this book offers a compelling angle on these remarkable and fragile habitats. Meticulously researched and elegantly argued, it is illustrated throughout with exquisite photographs gleaned from the author's many marine adventures.
'This is a book that you should read if you want to be amazed anew at the richness of the coral reef, to discover new ways to think of it, to see it as you probably have never seen it before...this book’s ability to describe the science underlying the reef in a humanistic way is refreshing and intriguing.'
-- Prof. David Fortus (PhD), Weizmann Institute of Science
'Whether you are an expert in some field of marine science, a well-traveled and experienced diver who knows a lot about this environment, or a “newbie” interested in the underwater world, I am sure this book introduced you to some new and fascinating ideas and phenomena.'
-- Tom Shlesinger (PhD), Marine Ecologist, Florida Institute of Technology
For more than a quarter of a century, Oded Degany has been an avid diver and underwater photographer, documenting his encounters with the creatures that make up coral reefs. His has a multi-disciplinary background which includes a BA in physics, an MA in biological thought, an MBA, and a partial doctorate in anthropology and religious studies.
Regenesis
Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet
Regenesis
– Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet by George Monbiot
The Sunday Times bestseller
*Longlisted for the Wainwright Prize*
From the bestselling author of Feral, a breathtaking first glimpse of a new future for food and for humanity
Farming is the world's greatest cause of environmental destruction - and the one we are least prepared to talk about. We criticise urban sprawl, but farming sprawls across thirty times as much land. We have ploughed, fenced and grazed great tracts of the planet, felling forests, killing wildlife, and poisoning rivers and oceans to feed ourselves. Yet millions still go hungry.
Now the food system itself is beginning to falter. But, as George Monbiot shows us in this brilliant, bracingly original new book, we can resolve the biggest of our dilemmas and feed the world without devouring the planet.
Regenesis is a breathtaking vision of a new future for food and for humanity. Drawing on astonishing advances in soil ecology, Monbiot reveals how our changing understanding of the world beneath our feet could allow us to grow more food with less farming. He meets the people who are unlocking these methods, from the fruit and vegetable grower revolutionising our understanding of fertility; through breeders of perennial grains, liberating the land from ploughs and poisons; to the scientists pioneering new ways to grow protein and fat. Together, they show how the tiniest life forms could help us make peace with the planet, restore its living systems, and replace the age of extinction with an age of regenesis.
'This book calls for nothing less than a revolution in the future of food' Kate Raworth
'A book offering evidence-based hope is a rare thing in these days of climate and nature emergency - yet that's exactly what George Monbiot has written. Inspiring and compelling, Regenesis sets out a transformative vision of a new food future with the potential to both restore nature and feed the world. Monbiot's blueprint is both wildly ambitious and deeply practical, and might well be our last best hope of stopping the sixth great extinction'
Caroline Lucas
'Highly recommend this important talk (and the book)
If only every (any) politician would watch this, any food producer, farmer, consumer... in fact - if you eat food...
The corruption, stupidity and shortsightedness of our global food production is staggering and damaging the world beyond belief.
Change must come. Be the change.' Piers Warren
Roaming Wild details the unconventional and pioneering lives of Anna and Peter Roberts, a British couple who were instrumental in making the animal welfare movement a respectable, highly-impactful and worldwide organisation. This book explores the paths that led Anna and Peter to found and steward what is now the world's largest and most successful animal welfare charity from a backroom of their own home, with few funds, and at a time when caring for animals and our planet was seen as 'crankish' and 'sentimental'.
This is the story of their family, their era, influence, their rebellion and prophetic ideas and the development of Compassion in World Farming. It spans the period from the early 1920s when they were born, throughout the decades of their childhoods and World War II, to their highly romantic meeting and marriage in the 1950s, and then the next years of their lives as dairy and chicken farmers in rural Hampshire. This 'ordinary' part of their story preceded their move to change everything by making the 'extraordinary' decision during the tumultuous 1960s, of risking their livelihood, going vegetarian (as animal farmers), and losing the approval of their peers, to found their compassion-driven campaign. This personal transformation was at a time when the British countryside was also transforming, irrevocably and for the worse, when intensive, polluting farms were just taking root, the cruel battery and broiler system had recently been developed, and the countryside's biodiversity was being destroyed with the implementation of monoculture and the profligate spraying of lethal biocides, such as DDT.
The Roberts were at first rejected by the popular animal charities of the day; believing that the public cared only about companion animals or those in circuses, rather than those animals who suffer the most at human hands those in the food chain and so the Roberts family went out alone and set up CIWF in the face of much public derision. Then followed the highs and lows of campaign life, a court battle with an order of veal-farming Catholic monks, famine campaigns in Ethiopia, work alongside comedian Spike Milligan, model Celia Hammond and philosopher Peter Singer, challenging EU legislation, and battles with agricultural and chemical giant Monsanto. Corporate giants like McDonald's were influenced to go free-range, even the British Royal family was challenged to go free-range, and animals were put on the agenda of every major political party in the 1970s and much more.
The story interweaves the personal with the political and documents the highs and lows of family life, the judgement faced when they chose to raise their three daughters as vegetarians in the 1960s, their myriad spiritual quests, including the couple's time spent in the Indian ashram of Sathya Sai Baba, their rewilding of the land near their family home, and the story of their fifty-year love.
This is a tale of an 'ordinary couple with an extraordinary vision'.
Scubazoo's photographic images regularly appear in publications all over the world and we have published a number of successful coffee table books called, beginning with reef and Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai – Sabah’s underwater treasure.
reef has been translated into more than ten languages and sold over 150,000 copies worlwide.
Sea Change Book: Primal Joy and the Art of Underwater Tracking by Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck
There is a wild sea-forest growing beneath the wind and waves at the southern tip of Africa. Here, millions of creatures live in a borderless realm still ungoverned by man and it is strange and beautiful beyond the telling.
Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck grew up playing in these forests, and this early immersion in the ocean had a subtle and profound impact on the course of their lives. The book, edited by Philippa Ehrlich, documents their rediscovery of the forests of their childhood and showcases Craig’s photographic work over the past decade.
Craig has become a world expert in kelp forest ecology and developed the world’s first form of underwater tracking. Diving without wetsuits in the icy waters, both Ross and Craig discovered how immersion in the cold generated new reserves of energy for their minds and bodies, and how curious forest creatures became more receptive to them.
Sea to Summit One Man's Pleasure in Scotland's Wildlife By Derek B McGinn
This selection of images of creatures to be seen in Scotland, is the product of the author's enthusiasm for his native country's wild places and the things that live there. Compiled from images collected over a dozen years since his retirement from the world of education the text outlines his belief that in this digital age, through publication of their photographic work, many amateurs like himself can help introduce and inform people in Scotland, and visitors from abroad, about the natural world that lies in many cases not far from their doorsteps His particular interest in species such as mountain hare, ptarmigan and snow bunting give a clue as to his favourite places in Scotland and his photograpic images of these species have seldom been bettered. His love of the high ground is apparent too from the number of the plants illustrated which belong to the moorlands and hills. His fascination with the shorelands is well ilustrated in his images of shorebirds, from those to be found wading in sandy places to those that cling to the cliffs of Scotland's well known seabird colonies.
The accompanying audio CD does not duplicate the book's contents but provides a complementary description of Scottish habitats through twelve sound pictures or 'soundscapes' mixed from recordings made from the Atlantic to the North Sea. Particulary atmospheric are the tracks of corncrakes calling all around the stereo picture on the outer island of Barra or the "chorus" of Roe Deer barking in a Strathspey woodland.
Neither the book nor CD are exhaustive in their selection of images and sounds leaving many more species for the nature watcher, and listener to seek out inspired by this unique collection of images and sounds from the Scottish landscape. And for the visitor from far away here is an ideal, compact distillation of some of Scotland's beautiful wildlife to take home and through which to recall so much of what makes Scotland and its wildlife special.
Wildlife and nature films are a hugely popular entertainment genre: networks such as Animal Planet and Discovery are stars in the cable television universe, viewers flock to IMAX theaters to see jaw-dropping footage from the wild, and the venerable BBC still scores triumphs with series such as Planet Earth.
As cinematic technology brings ever-more-breathtaking images to the screen, and as our direct contact with nature diminishes, an ever-expanding audience craves the indirect experience of wild nature that these films provide.
But this success has a dark side, as Chris Palmer reveals in his authoritative and engrossing report on the wildlife film business. A veteran producer and film educator, Palmer looks past the headlines about TV host Steve Irwin’s death by stingray and filmmaker Timothy Treadwell falling prey to his beloved grizzlies, to uncover a more pervasive and troubling trend toward sensationalism, extreme risk-taking, and even abuse in wildlife films.
He tracks the roots of this trend to the early days of the genre, and he profiles a new breed of skilled, ethical filmmakers whose work enlightens as well as entertains, and who represents the future that Palmer envisions for the industry he loves.
Published by Sierra Club Books, available at: Amazon.co.uk.
Sixty Harvests Left
How to Reach a Nature-Friendly Future
Taking its title from a chilling warning made by the United Nations that the world's soils could be lost within a lifetime, Sixty Harvests Left uncovers how the food industry is threatening the planet. Put simply, without soils there will be no food: game over. And time is running out.
From the United Kingdom to Italy, from Brazil to the Gambia to the USA, Philip Lymbery, the internationally acclaimed author of Farmageddon, goes behind the scenes of industrial farming and confronts 'Big Agriculture', where mega-farms, chemicals and animal cages are sweeping the countryside and jeopardising the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the nature that we treasure.
In his investigations, however, he also finds hope in the pioneers who are battling to bring landscapes back to life, who are rethinking farming methods, rediscovering traditional techniques and developing technologies to feed an ever-expanding global population.
Impassioned, balanced and persuasive, Sixty Harvests Left not only demonstrates why future harvests matter more than ever, but reveals how we can restore our planet for a nature-friendly future.
"The warnings are coming thick and fast now and Lymbery's are clear, concise and truly frightening - we are burning and poisoning the global larder. But we have solutions that we must implement now" -- Chris Packham
"The chilling title is the red flag; the contents, however, lay out all the remedies to save the planet and its species, including ours, and make for absorbing and sometimes terrifying reading. Minutely researched, and written for laymen as well as experts, Sixty Harvests Left deserves to be read world-wide and acted upon immediately. I cannot recommend it highly enough." -- Joanna Lumley
"In this beautifully written book, Philip Lymbery describes how intensive agriculture harms the environment and inflicts suffering on sentient animals. But after visiting and talking to those on the front line - scientists, farmers and food providers - he is able to show that there are sustainable alternatives. And that they are working. There is indeed hope for the future of our planet, and each one of us can play a part. I urge you to read Sixty Harvests Left." -- Dr Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
"We seriously can't recommend this book enough. It's a must read." JP
Get to grips with your camera and learn how to start taking photos that you are proud of.
If you are relatively new to wildlife photography, then this 100+ page eBook is essential for you.
Understand your camera and learn techniques used by professionals to achieve beautiful shots.
You’ll be able to…
Learn all the basics and how to operate your camera.
Know how to find wildlife and set up a hide.
Finally decide which camera and lens you need to buy.
Learn expert techniques for photographing wildlife.
Break into the business and promote your photography.
And more…
So You Want to Be a Wildlife Photographer is written by Will Nicholls (founder of Nature TTL), and includes many of the most common questions they get asked by you.
Get expert advice from a professional wildlife photographer.
Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival
and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy
&
Lean Logic: A Dictionary for the Future
and How to Survive It
Surviving the Future Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy
by
David Fleming, Shaun Chamberlin
Surviving the Future is a story drawn from the fertile ground of the late David Fleming’s extraordinary Lean Logic: A Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It. That hardback consists of four hundred and four interlinked dictionary entries, inviting readers to choose their own path through its radical vision. More here...
Lean Logic A Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It by
David Fleming
Edited by Shaun Chamberlin
Lean Logic is David Fleming’s masterpiece, the product of more than thirty years’ work and a testament to the creative brilliance of one of Britain’s most important intellectuals.
A dictionary unlike any other, it leads readers through Fleming’s stimulating exploration of fields as diverse as culture, history, science, art, logic, ethics, myth, economics, and anthropology, being made up of four hundred and four engaging essay-entries covering topics such as Boredom, Community, Debt, Growth, Harmless Lunatics, Land, Lean Thinking, Nanotechnology, Play, Religion, Spirit, Trust, and Utopia. More here...
For the whole of human history, we have lived alongside birds. We have hunted and domesticated them for food; venerated them in our mythologies, religion and rituals; exploited them for their natural resources; and been inspired by them for our music, art and poetry.
In Ten Birds that Changed the World4, naturalist and author Stephen Moss tells the gripping story of this long and eventful relationship through ten key species from all seven of the world's continents.
From Odin's faithful raven companions to Darwin's finches, and from the wild turkey of the Americas to the emperor penguin as potent symbol of the climate crisis, this is a fascinating, eye-opening and endlessly engaging work of natural history.
The Book of Being Chimp is Adrian Cale's entertaining celebration of the chimpanzee.
Written with fact-filled, often witty reverence and featuring 100 of the author's beautiful photographs, it is a fun and informative step-by-step guide to chimpanzee life. The captivating pictures are accompanied by a simple, humorous, and engaging text which tells you all about the contrasting lives of chimps in the wild and those being rehabilitated at rescue centres.
The book is split into two main parts, presented across 40 beautifully designed spreads. Each spread title starts with the word 'being' as part of a sequential guide to the various stages, characteristics, behaviour, quirks and challenges of chimp life.
Part 1 - Being a Chimp – details their life in the wild - from birth, through growth and development stages, to what makes them tick, what they eat, how they communicate and more. Spreads include being a baby, being a mum, being like us, being a community, being groomed, being clever and so on.
Part 2 - Being helped to be a Chimp – covers the vastly different life of rehabilitating chimps at rescue centres and what they go through learning to be chimps all over again. Spreads include being rescued, being seen by the vet, being supported, being bottle-fed, being encouraged, being happy and so on.
This charming book is a warm, witty and informative look at the wonderful but challenging world of simply being a chimpanzee.
"Emotive, informative, inspirational and enchanting, with stunning photographs and clear writing throughout… If chimps themselves could read, this might well be their own how-to-grow-up guide."
- Dr Jane Goodall, DBE - Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
"This warm, witty and beautiful book encourages everyone to see how much we share with chimps – and their right to share the planet with us too."
- Patrick Barkham - Bestselling natural history author“
"A beautiful book with stunning photographs, this is a wonderfully humorous, informative and personal story all about chimps. Quite simply, a great read for all the family.” - Iolo Williams - BBC Willdife Tv Presenter (Springwatch, Winterwatch)
"Just when you think chimpanzees can't be any more fascinating! This beautiful book shares new insights into the lives of our closest cousins. Written in a funny and engaging way, you are left feeling empowered to conserve them and their wild environment." Megan McCubbin - BBC Wildlife TV Presenter & Zoologist (Animal Park, Springwatch)
In a world that seems so troubled, how do we hold on to hope?
Looking at the headlines--the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval--it can be hard to feel optimistic. And yet hope has never been more desperately needed.
In this urgent book, Jane Goodall, the world's most famous living naturalist, and Douglas Abrams, the internationally bestselling co-author of The Book of Joy, explore through intimate and thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least understood elements of human nature: hope. In The Book of Hope, Jane focuses on her Four Reasons for Hope: The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit.
Drawing on decades of work that has helped expand our understanding of what it means to be human and what we all need to do to help build a better world, The Book of Hope touches on vital questions, including: How do we stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our children? What is the relationship between hope and action? Filled with moving and inspirational stories and photographs from Jane's remarkable career, The Book of Hope is a deeply personal conversation with one of the most beloved figures in the world today.
While discussing the experiences that shaped her discoveries and beliefs, Jane tells the story of how she became a messenger of hope, from living through World War II to her years in Gombe to realizing she had to leave the forest to travel the world in her role as an advocate for environmental justice. And for the first time, she shares her profound revelations about her next, and perhaps final, adventure.
The second book in the Global Icons Series--which launched with the instant classic The Book of Joy with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu -- The Book of Hope is a rare and intimate look not only at the nature of hope but also into the heart and mind of a woman who revolutionized how we view the world around us and has spent a lifetime fighting for our future.
There is still hope, and this book will help guide us to it.
The enormity of climate change and biodiversity loss can leave us feeling overwhelmed. How can an individual ever make a difference?
Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell know firsthand how spectacularly nature can bounce back if you give it the chance. And what comes is not just wildlife in super-abundance, but solutions to the other environmental crises we face.
The Book of Wilding is a handbook for how we can all help restore nature. It is ambitious, visionary and pragmatic. The book has grown out of Isabella and Charlie's mission to help rewild Britain, Europe and the rest of the world by sharing knowledge from their pioneering project at Knepp in Sussex. It is inspired by the requests they receive from people wanting to learn how to rewild everything from unprofitable farms, landed estates and rivers, to ponds, allotments, churchyards, urban parks, gardens, window boxes and public spaces.. The Book of Wilding has the answers.
'Important and empowering' - BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH
'Get this great guide and be inspired' - STEPHEN FRY
'A handbook of hope ... Buy it, read it, start changing things right now' - JOANNA LUMLEY
'Brilliantly readable and incredibly hard-working' - HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL
'A deep, dazzling and indispensable guide to the most important task of all: the restoration of the living planet' - GEORGE MONBIOT
Tiffany Francis-Baker explores how the relationship between humans and horses has shaped the British landscape, how horses have captured our wild imaginations, and how this connection has evolved and become part of our nation's ecosystems.
Many of us enjoy walking on a bridleway. These ancient networks are familiar to walkers and riders and crisscross the British countryside, but we rarely stop to think about how these old routes came to be.
In The Bridleway, Tiffany Francis-Baker examines our relationship with horses and ponders how they have become part of our nation's ecosystems. From atop her horse, Tiffany discovers how horses are woven into the fabric of British culture, from street and pub names to trading routes and coaching inns. As she investigates how horses have shaped British landscapes, she offers a glimpse into the intriguing history of the bridleway.
Along the way, Tiffany visits a horse fair and learns about Traveller communities. She explores the role of equestrian sport and inclusivity, sees rewilding in action on the Knepp Estate in Sussex and undertakes detective work to uncover ancient bridleways lost to time and meet the closest living ancestors of the truly wild horse.
Part-domesticated and part-fiercely independent, horses can teach us a lot about our landscape and help us understand nature and our place within it. Except for the dogs and cats we choose to share our homes with, we have allowed horses far deeper into our society than any other animal. And as Tiffany investigates why horses have captured Britons' attention, she reveals how deeply rooted they have been in our culture for thousands of years.
'[Francis-Baker's] ability to closely observe nature in all its beauty makes this book a delight for horse-lovers and non-equestrians alike . A fascinating journey through the world of horses and our enduring relationship with them.' – Helen Moat, BBC Countryfile
'The charm of her book lies in wayside details.' -- Susanna Forrest, The Spectator
Tiffany Francis is a writer, artist and environmentalist from the South Downs in Hampshire. With a mixed background in the arts, rural heritage and conservation, her work is fuelled by a love for the natural world and a passion for protecting it. She writes and illustrates for national publications and has appeared on BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4. Her books include Food You Can Forage, Concise Foraging Guide, Bees and Beekeeping and Dark Skies.
We still have time to change the world. From Greta Thunberg, the world's leading climate activist, comes the essential handbook for making it happen.
You might think it's an impossible task: secure a safe future for life on Earth, at a scale and speed never seen, against all the odds. There is hope - but only if we listen to the science before it's too late.
In The Climate Book, Greta Thunberg has gathered the wisdom of over one hundred experts - geophysicists, oceanographers and meteorologists; engineers, economists and mathematicians; historians, philosophers and indigenous leaders - to equip us all with the knowledge we need to combat climate disaster. Alongside them, she shares her own stories of demonstrating and uncovering greenwashing around the world, revealing how much we have been kept in the dark. This is one of our biggest challenges, she shows, but also our greatest source of hope. Once we are given the full picture, how can we not act? And if a schoolchild's strike could ignite a global protest, what could we do collectively if we tried?
We are alive at the most decisive time in the history of humanity. Together, we can do the seemingly impossible. But it has to be us, and it has to be now.
"With The Climate Book, a stunning and essential new work, Greta Thunberg takes her mission to the next level ... [It is] an incredible and moving resource. There are chapters on almost everything you might need to know about ... the book is a curated, portable library of knowledge, full of classics. Everyone will get something different from reading this book ... Itis an extraordinary body of work and I can't recommend it highly enough. You feel the passion as well as the intellectual heft of the authors, and that is what is so moving about it. It is time for all of us to rise up" -- Rowan Hooper — New Scientist
"This book is superb at explaining the urgency and importance of preventing climate change... its writers weave messages with skill and beauty... this is a campaigning book of course, but much more than that" -- Gaia Vince — Guardian
The End of Animal Farming How Scientists, Entrepreneurs, and Activists Are Building an Animal-Free Food System by Jacy Reese
Many books and articles have documented the devastation animal agriculture causes to human health, the economy, the environment, and of course animal welfare. Public figures from Bill Nye to Richard Branson have said that the future of food is animal-free. But readers and listeners are left with one burning question: How do we actually get from here to there? In The End of Animal Farming (Beacon Press: November 6, 2018), Jacy Reese outlines an evidence-based roadmap to a humane, ethical, efficient food system where slaughterhouses are obsolete.
Reese tells the stories of activists using data to steer policy and behavior, scientists making clean meat — real meat made from animal cells without animal slaughter, entrepreneurs founding million-dollar food companies (even a billion in one case!), and thoughtful consumers driving demand to help build this animal-free food system. The End of Animal Farming calls upon readers to join these change-makers in one of the most important social movements of our time. In broader terms, Reese outlines methods for studying effective social change and the expansion of humanity's moral circle, paving the way for future effective altruists to tackle the world's most pressing social problems.
Published by Beacon Press, available at Amazon.co.uk
The Fight For The South Downs – The long struggle to protect one of Britain's most treasured landscapes
by Robin Crane
Published by Brown Dog Books
Published on the 18 April 2024
The Fight For The South Downs The long struggle to protect one of Britain's most treasured landscapes Written by Robin Crane, Edited by Margaret Paren
Those who have a deep affection for Britain’s countryside will be totally absorbed by this extraordinary history of environmentalists’ efforts to conserve the glorious South Downs.
After describing the special qualities of the area and earlier attempts to safeguard it, the story of a twenty-year campaign to secure National Park status for this special part of England is recounted.
Strong forces opposed, but the South Downs Campaign, which eventually grew to represent 159 national, regional and local groups, won through and the national park was established in 2010.
Author Robin Crane chaired the meeting of seven people who founded the South Downs Campaign in 1990. He remained chairman until the South Downs National Park was finally designated. From the outset the campaign was run by a team of both volunteers and professionals. The Campaign for National Parks, The Ramblers Association, Sussex Wildlife Trust and Sussex and Hampshire CPREs were the lead organisations. Margaret Paren, who took a prominent role in the last half of the Campaign has edited this book. She chaired the South Downs National Park Authority for its first ten years.
AUTHOR ROBIN CRANE - After seven years as a regular army officer Robin Crane joined Guinness as a maltster. This led him to Lincolnshire where he became actively involved with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. A film he made for the Trust resulted in the BBC Natural History Unit recruiting him to make programmes for the “World About Us” series. He moved to Sussex in 1967 where he established his own production company and made environmental, scientific, equestrian, training and public relations films which won several national and international awards. He became chairman of the Sussex Wildlife Trust and then chairman of the Royal Society for Nature Conservation In 1999 he was awarded the CBE for services to nature conservation. Meanwhile in 1990 he chaired the first meeting of the South Downs Campaign. He remained as chairman, treasurer and fund-raiser until the South Downs National Park was confirmed. In recognition of this work he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University of Sussex in 2010.
Editor MARGARET PAREN - A retired senior civil servant, has kindly edited the book as well as writing most of the accounts of the Public Inquiry. She was awarded an OBE for her work as vice-chairman of the South Downs Campaign in its later years and was chair of the South Downs National Park Authority for its first ten years.
The Great Animal Orchestra How Scientists, Entrepreneurs, and Activists Are Building an Animal-Free Food System by Bernie Krause
Musician and naturalist Bernie Krause is one of the world's leading experts in natural sound, and he's spent his life discovering and recording nature's rich chorus. Searching far beyond our modern world's honking horns and buzzing machinery, he has sought out the truly wild places that remain, where natural soundscapes exist virtually unchanged from when the earliest humans first inhabited the earth.
Krause shares fascinating insight into how deeply animals rely on their aural habitat to survive and the damaging effects of extraneous noise on the delicate balance between predator and prey. But natural soundscapes aren't vital only to the animal kingdom; Krause explores how the myriad voices and rhythms of the natural world formed a basis from which our own musical expression emerged.
From snapping shrimp, popping viruses, and the songs of humpback whales -- whose voices, if unimpeded, could circle the earth in hours -- to cracking glaciers, bubbling streams, and the roar of intense storms; from melody-singing birds to the organlike drone of wind blowing over reeds, the sounds Krause has experienced and describes are like no others. And from recording jaguars at night in the Amazon rain forest to encountering mountain gorillas in Africa's Virunga Mountains, Krause offers an intense and intensely personal narrative of the planet's deep and connected natural sounds and rhythm.
The Great Animal Orchestra is the story of one man's pursuit of natural music in its purest form, and an impassioned case for the conservation of one of our most overlooked natural resources-the music of the wild.
A "passionate amalgam of science and autobiography" that will leave you hearing -- and seeing -- nature as never before (New York Times Book Review).
Published by Little, Brown & Co., available at Amazon.co.uk
The Highland Pony: A Celebration features the versatile, economical and much loved Highland pony.
This stunning film showcases the pony in Scotland's breath-taking hill scenery and coastal landscapes as well as further afield. It traces past and present uses of Scotland's largest native pony breed, its fascinating history and past highs and lows. All aspects of the pony are well covered from showing to dressage, endurance to TREC, as well as breed standards, stallions, mares and foals.
The DVD was made by Caroline Brett, a wildlife documentary film producer/director and narrated by BBC presenter and cameraman Gordon Buchanan. It is a stunning production that reveals a wealth of information and will fascinate everyone interested in horses and ponies.
The Last Dance: Saving India's Dancing Bears by Alan Knight OBE & Sean Wyte
The Last Dance looks at how the barbaric practice of dancing bears worked and how the coalition set about bringing it to an end and rescuing every bear off the streets of India. It exposes the terrible suffering the bears endured to make them dance. Compelling photos show bears being surrendered and the ropes being cut to set them free.
The book describes the process of negotiation with the Kalandar gypsies and explains how they were persuaded to give up their bears and accept alternative livelihood training. The three groups share the belief that animal welfare and human welfare go hand in hand and so wanted to ensure that the people s needs were also met. No bears were bought their lives were traded in exchange for training the Kalandar gypsies in another profession.
The Last Dance takes you inside the sanctuaries in Agra, Bhopal and Bannerghatta where the bears have been released and now enjoy a peaceful, contented retirement. They receive expert veterinary care to restore them to full health, including treatment for their torn noses and infected muzzles. Specialist dental treatment is given to repair their broken teeth and end the agony of inflamed abscesses. Finally, on 18 Dec 2009 the reader sees Raju, the last dancing bear, walking up the stony road to the bear sanctuary in the Bannerghatta Biological Park near Bangalore, Southern India. Alan Knight, Kartick Satyanarayan and Mary Hutton, founder of Free the Bears, are waiting at the gates to welcome him. The dance of the bears in India is finally brought to a historic end!
Royalties from the sale of this book will go towards the International Animal Rescue (IAR) charity based at Uckfield, West Sussex, who need funds to help care for the 600 surviving bears safely cared for in three sanctuaries across India.
Available from Wordery with FREE DELIVERY WORLDWIDE
The Lost Rainforests of Britain tells the captivating story of a unique habitat most people do not even know we had on this island, chronicling its history, loss, and efforts to protect the last few remaining patches.
In 2020, writer and campaigner Guy Shrubsole moved from London to Devon. As he explored the wooded valleys, rivers and tors of Dartmoor, Guy discovered a spectacular habitat that he had never encountered before: temperate rainforest. Entranced, he would spend the coming months investigating the history, ecology and distribution of rainforests across England, Wales and Scotland.
Britain, Guy discovered, was once a rainforest nation.
This is the story of a unique habitat that has been so ravaged, most people today don't realise it exists. Temperate rainforest may once have covered up to one-fifth of Britain and played host to a dazzling variety of luminous life-forms, inspiring Celtic druids, Welsh wizards, Romantic poets, and Arthur Conan Doyle's most loved creations. Though only fragments now remain, they form a rare and internationally important habitat, home to lush ferns and beardy lichens, pine martens and pied flycatchers. But why are even environmentalists unaware of their existence? And how have we managed to so comprehensively excise them from our cultural memory?
Taking the reader on an awe-inspiring journey through the Atlantic oakwoods and hazelwoods of the Western Highlands and the Lake District, down to the rainforests of Wales, Devon and Cornwall, The Lost Rainforests of Britain maps these under-recognised ecosystems in exquisite detail - but underlines that without immediate political and public support, we risk losing them from the landscape, and perhaps our collective memory, forever. A rich, elegaic and boundary-pushing feat of research and reportage, this is the extraordinary tale of one person's quest to find Britain's lost rainforests, and bring them back.
‘A treasure chest full of woodland jewels, rare, precious and beautiful’
– Chris Packham
‘A magnificent and crucial book that opens our eyes to untold wonders’
– George Monbiot
The Lynx and Us by David Hetherington with images by Laurent Geslin
Unlike wolves and bears that weaved their way into our childhood consciousness, the lynx is largely unknown to us. What do these secretive ambush hunters look like? What do they eat? How do they live? And how do they get on with people?
Using examples from across Europe, ‘The Lynx and Us’ describes how this enigmatic predator is recovering lost ground and, crucially, what that means for the human population in this, the busiest of continents.
As wolves, bears and lynx return to landscapes across the Continent, it seems likely that Britain will be the last corner of Europe without any of its missing large predators. This book concludes therefore, with a question: What would it mean to live once more alongside Europe’s largest cat, the Eurasian lynx?
The Native Pony Stallion is a guide to handling and working with an entire pony. The book covers each stage from foal to maturity, and offers advice on how to care for a stallion and prepare him for various disciplines including showing and breeding.
It contains detailed veterinary guidance, information about stallions from the Native Pony Societies, useful tips and helpful insights on each British native pony breed gleaned from interviews with experienced pony people.
The Norfolk Cranes' Story By John Buxton, Chris Durdin and Nick Upton
This book – published in July 2011 – tells the story of how cranes bred at Horsey in Norfolk, and how they were protected and studied there.
The cranes’ story starts with their arrival at Horsey in 1979. Their first nesting attempt was in 1981 and the first chick fledged in 1982.
From this slow start in the Broads, the re-colonisation of this iconic wetland bird is now taking small but steady steps forwards elsewhere in the UK.
Their guardian at Horsey was – and is – John Buxton. Much of what we know about cranes in the UK was contained in John’s memory and notebooks.
The co-author is Chris Durdin from Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays and for many years on the RSPB's staff. With John providing the information and Chris doing the writing, this was how the book was completed.
In part three, Cranes in Europe, Nick Upton describes the challenges facing cranes in the rest of Europe, charting their recent rise in numbers that has contributed to their reappearance in the UK.
Check out the website and get the book here!
Hardback; 133 pages; 65 colour photos; six black & white photos; three colour illustrations, one of which is a map. £30.00
There Is No Planet B
A Handbook for the Make or Break Years
Updated Edition
Feeding the world, climate change, biodiversity, antibiotics, plastics, pandemics - the list of concerns seems endless. But what is most pressing, and what should we do first?
Do we all need to become vegetarian? How can we fly in a low-carbon world? How can we take control of technology? And, given the global nature of the challenges we now face, what on Earth can any of us do, as individuals? Mike Berners-Lee has crunched the numbers and plotted a course of action that is full of hope, practical, and enjoyable. This is the big-picture perspective on the environmental and economic challenges of our day, laid out in one place, and traced through to the underlying roots - questions of how we live and think.
This updated edition has new material on protests, pandemics, wildfires, investments, carbon targets and of course, on the key question: given all this, what can I do?
"A film 10 years in the Making ... I was told it was virtually impossible to do!
The film covers the lives of sparrowhawks throughout the year from November to August when all adult and juvenile sparrowhawks disperse and covers why up to 19 species of songbird choose to nest right next to it.
The closer the songbirds nest to the sparrowhawk the more successful they are in rearing there broods keeping the balance of nature just right." Dave Culley
"After spending 10 years filming the lives of Sparrowhawks ... a pair of Tawny Owls moved onto the island forcing the sparrowhawks out. This gave me an opportunity to film another of our great and very elusive British birds' lives.
Tawny Owls are often heard but very rarely seen, until now." Dave Culley
For twenty years John Aitchison has been travelling the world to film wildlife for the BBC and other broadcasters, taking him to far-away places on every continent. The Shark and the Albatross is the story of these journeys of discovery, of his encounters with animals and occasional enterprising individuals in remote and sometimes dangerous places. His destinations include the far north and the far south, expeditions to film for Frozen Planet and other natural history series, in Svalbard, Alaska, the remote Atlantic island of South Georgia and the Antarctic. They also encompass wild places in India, China and the United States. In all he finds and describes key moments in the lives of animals, among them polar bears and penguins, seals and whales, sharks and birds, and wolves and lynxes.
He reveals what happens behind the scenes and beyond the camera. He explains the practicalities and challenges of the filming process, and the problems of survival in perilous places. He records touching moments and dramatic incidents, some ending in success, others desperately sad. There are times when a hunted animal triumphs against the odds, and others when, in spite of preparation for every outcome, disaster strikes. And, as the author shows in several incidents that combine nail-biting tension with hair-raising hilarity, disaster can strike for film-makers too.
This is natural history writing at its absolute best: evocative, informative and gripping from first to last.
Imagine a world in which humans can talk to honeybees, or decode whale language. Using digital tools found on any smartphone, scientists are revealing the unsuspected, wondrous world of non-human sounds. Bioacoustics is spurring breakthroughs in interspecies communication, conservation, and environmental regeneration; a ray of hope in the fight to save Earth’s most endangered species.
The natural world teems with remarkable conversations, many beyond human hearing range. Scientists are using ground-breaking digital technologies to uncover these astonishing sounds, revealing vibrant communication among our fellow creatures across the Tree of Life.
At once meditative and scientific, The Sounds of Life shares fascinating and surprising stories of non-human sound, interweaving insights from technological innovation and traditional knowledge. We meet scientists using sound to protect and regenerate endangered species from the Great Barrier Reef to the Arctic and the Amazon. We discover the shocking impacts of noise pollution on both animals and plants. We learn how artificial intelligence can decode non-human sounds, and meet the researchers building dictionaries in ’East African Elephant’ and ‘Sperm Whalish’. At the frontiers of innovation, we explore digitally mediated dialogues with bats and honeybees.
The Sounds of Life offers hope for environmental conservation and affirms humanity’s relationship with nature in the digital age. After learning about the unsuspected wonders of nature’s sounds, we will never experience walks outdoors in the same way again.
‘Beautifully written, thoroughly researched, and packed with insight.
A wonderful invitation to expansive listening’
David George Haskell, author of Sounds Wild and Broken:
Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction
The third and final updated edition of David Attenborough’s classic Life trilogy. Life on Earth covered evolution, Living Planet, ecology, and now The Trials of Life tackles ethology, the study of how animals behave.
‘This is, quite simply, the best thing I’ve ever done.’
Sir David Attenborough on the TV series, The Trials of Life, upon which this book is based.
This is the third and last of Sir David’s great natural history books based on his TV series and competes his survey of the animal world that began with Life on Earth and continues with Living Planet.
In Life on Earth, Sir David showed how each group of animals evolved. In Living Planet he looked at the way they have adapted to the whole range of habitats in which they live. Now, in Trials of Life, he completes the story by revealing how animals behave – and why.
Praise for the New Edition of Life on Earth:
‘It does not disappoint. The new Life on Earth is as
glorious as the first’ – Guardian
‘A beautiful and wide-ranging work. The breadth of natural history covered is extraordinary and mesmerising’ – New Scientist
'A profound book, which simultaneously makes me terrified and hopeful about the future' Jonathan Safran Foer
Selected as a Book of the Year 2019 by the Sunday Times, Spectator and New Statesman
A Waterstones Paperback of the Year and shortlisted for the Foyles Book of the Year 2019
Longlisted for the PEN / E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
It is worse, much worse, than you think.
The slowness of climate change is a fairy tale, perhaps as pernicious as the one that says it isn't happening at all, and if your anxiety about it is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible, even within the lifetime of a teenager today.
Over the past decades, the term "Anthropocene" has climbed into the popular imagination - a name given to the geologic era we live in now, one defined by human intervention in the life of the planet. But however sanguine you might be about the proposition that we have ravaged the natural world, which we surely have, it is another thing entirely to consider the possibility that we have only provoked it, engineering first in ignorance and then in denial a climate system that will now go to war with us for many centuries, perhaps until it destroys us. In the meantime, it will remake us, transforming every aspect of the way we live-the planet no longer nurturing a dream of abundance, but a living nightmare.
Piers Warren and Ella Bee Glendining are both experienced vegan cooks. Piers is a conservationist, author and keen grower of organic fruit and vegetables. He is the founder and Principal of Wildeye The International School of Wildlife Film-making and has written a dozen books, including the bestseller How to Store Your Garden Produce. He has a long interest in self-sufficiency and permaculture and is convinced that growing your own food and following a vegan lifestyle are important contributions to lowering your carbon footprint and living more lightly on the Earth. Ella Bee is a passionate advocate of animal rights, having been vegetarian since the age of five and making the transition to veganism several years ago. She's spent much time since experimenting with different ingredients and developing delicious new recipes.
What is the meaning of a bird’s song, a baboon’s bark, an owl’s hoot, or a dolphin’s clicks?
In The Voices of Nature, Nicolas Mathevon explores the mysteries of animal sound. Putting readers in the middle of animal soundscapes that range from the steamy heat of the Amazon jungle to the icy terrain of the Arctic, Mathevon reveals the amazing variety of animal vocalizations. He describes how animals use sound to express emotion, to choose a mate, to trick others, to mark their territory, to call for help, and much more. What may seem like random chirps, squawks, and cries are actually signals that, like our human words, allow animals to carry on conversations with others.
Mathevon explains how the science of bioacoustics works to decipher the ways animals make and hear sounds, what information is encoded in these sound signals, and what this information is used for in daily life. Drawing on these findings as well as observations in the wild, Mathevon describes, among many other things, how animals communicate with their offspring, how they exchange information despite ambient noise, how sound travels underwater, how birds and mammals learn to vocalize, and even how animals express emotion though sound.
Finally, Mathevon asks if these vocalizations, complex and expressive as they are, amount to language. For readers who have wondered about the meaning behind a robin’s song or cicadas’ relentless “tchik-tchik-tchik,” this book offers a listening guide for the endlessly varied concert of nature.
'There's no one better than Mathevon to tell us about how diverse animals talk with one another and here's what he had to say about his new landmark, fact-based book, which is a lot of fun to read. His enthusiasm is contagious!' – Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today
'Mathevon delivers fascinating insights into animal communication. . . . This will change how readers hear the animals around them.' – Publishers Weekly
Nicolas Mathevon is Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences and Animal Behavior at the University of Saint-Etienne, senior member of the Institut universitaire de France, member of Academia Europaea, and president of the International Bioacoustics Society. He is also a former visiting Miller Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a former visiting professor at Hunter College, City University of New York.
Every time we eat, we have the power to radically transform the world we live in.
Our choices can help alleviate the most pressing issues we face today: the climate crisis, infectious and chronic diseases, human exploitation and, of course, non-human exploitation. Undeniably, these issues can be uncomfortable to learn about but the benefits of doing so cannot be overstated. It is quite literally a matter of life and death.
Through exploring the major ways that our current system of animal farming affects the world around us, as well as the cultural and psychological factors that drive our behaviours, This Is Vegan Propaganda answers the pressing question, is there a better way?
Whether you are a vegan already or curious to learn more, this book will show you the other side of the story that has been hidden for far too long. Based on years of research and conversations with slaughterhouse workers and farmers, to animal rights philosophers, environmentalists and everyday consumers, vegan educator and public speaker Ed Winters will give you the knowledge to understand the true scale and enormity of the issues at stake.
This Is Vegan Propaganda is the empowering and groundbreaking book on veganism that everyone, vegan and sceptic alike, needs to read.
“Ed has used his vast knowledge regarding meat & dairy production to create a must read book for everyone, vegan and non-vegan alike. His arguments are compelling and grounded in facts and logic. This is Vegan Propaganda (And Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You) presents an indisputable case for veganism and shows us that there is a far better way of feeding the planet. An eye-opening book of our time."
– Moby
Traffication develops a bold new idea: that the trillions of miles of driving we do each year are just as destructive to our natural environment as any of the better known threats, such as habitat loss or intensive farming. The problem is not simply one of roadkill; the impacts of roads are far more pervasive, and they impact our wildlife in many subtle and unpredictable ways.
Using the latest research, the book reveals how road traffic shatters essential biological processes, affecting how animals communicate, move around, feed, reproduce and die. Most importantly, it shows that the influence of traffic extends well beyond the verge, and that a busy road can strip the wildlife from our countryside for miles around. In the UK, almost nowhere is exempt from this environmental toll. Yet the final message here is one of hope: by identifying the car as a major cause of the catastrophic loss of wildlife, the solutions to our biodiversity crisis suddenly become much clearer.
The first step to solving any problem is to recognise that it exists in the first place. But with road traffic, we are not even at that crucial initial stage in our recovery. Quite simply, Traffication does for road traffic what Silent Spring did for agrochemicals: awakening us from our collective road-blindness and opening up a whole new chapter in conservation. This urgent book is an essential contribution to the debate on how we restore the health of our countryside – and of our own minds and bodies.
'Traffication tells the story of how quickly the car transformed our world and how, equally quickly, scientists highlighted the downsides. But despite several decades of growing evidence, the impact of traffic on the environment remains focused upon congestion, climate change and air pollution, while ignoring the more rural issues that impact directly on nature. The author offers beautiful, heart felt writing and some hopeful concluding chapters.' – Baroness Jenny Jones, UK Green Party
'A brilliant and comprehensive expose of what roads are doing to our wildlife: meticulous, persuasive, challenging and brilliantly researched.' – Ben Macdonald, author of Rebirding and Cornerstones.
Dr Paul Donald worked in the research department of the RSPB for over twenty years, latterly as Principal Scientist, before moving to BirdLife International as Senior Scientist. He is a recipient of the prestigious ZSL/Marsh Award for Conservation Science and an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Cambridge.
You don't have to be an animal rights activist to take an interest in how we treat other creatures.
All of us, with few exceptions, use animals in some way: for food, research, recreation and companionship.
In Britain we eat around a billion chickens every year, while 60% of all mammals on Earth, by biomass, are now livestock. In 2020, approximately 2.88 million scientific procedures involving living animals were carried out in Great Britain.
Because all this happens in our name, as consumers and citizens we have a duty to understand, to care and to exert some influence over how animals are used. But because such use is ingrained in our daily lives and largely happens behind closed doors, we are barely aware of it. The animals deserve better. Understanding the inconsistencies in our attitudes, in the law and in what is deemed acceptable practice is an important first step.
This timely and incisive book makes compelling reading for anyone who has an interest in animals, whether wild or domestic, free-living or captive, people intrigued about how their food is produced, and those keen to make informed and intelligent decisions.
'This is a brilliant book and I recommend that you buy it and read it.' -- Mark Avery, author and environmental campaigner
'This fascinating and engaging book challenges us all to make better lives for animals.' -- Chris Packham, broadcaster and author of Back to Nature
Alick Simmons is a veterinarian and a naturalist. After a 35-year public service career controlling epidemic diseases of livestock, in 2015 he began conservation volunteering. As well as practical tasks such as surveying waders and catching cranes, he advises a number of conservation organisations on animal welfare and ethics.
Unfair Game: An Exposé of South Africa's Captive-bred Lion Industry
by Michael Ashcroft
Published by Biteback Publishing
Unfair Game: An Exposé of South Africa's Captive-bred Lion Industry by Michael Ashcroft
In April 2019, Lord Ashcroft published the results of his year-long investigation into South Africa's captive-bred lion industry. Over eleven pages of a single edition of the Mail on Sunday, he showed why this sickening trade, which involves appalling cruelty to the 'King of the Savannah' from birth to death, has become a stain on the country.
Unfair Game features the shocking results of a new inquiry Lord Ashcroft has conducted into South Africa's lion business. In the book, he shows how tourists are unwittingly being used to support the abuse of lions; he details how lions are being tranquillised and then hunted in enclosed spaces; he urges the British government to ban the import of captive-bred lion trophies; and he demonstrates why Asia's insatiable appetite for lion bones has become a multi-million-dollar business linked to criminality and corruption, which now underpins South Africa's captive lion industry.
Drawn from thousands of photos taken over fifteen years, We Animals illustrates and investigates animals in the human environment: those who are used for food, fashion, entertainment, and research, as well as the lucky few who are rescued.
The book includes previously unseen photographs and a final chapter entitled “Notes from the Field”, which is a compilation of journal entries written while doing investigative work both at home and abroad.
Published by We Animals Media and distributed by Lantern Publishing & Media, available at Amazon.co.uk
We Are the Weather
Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast
In We Are the Weather, Jonathan Safran Foer explores the central global dilemma of our time in a surprising, deeply personal, and urgent new way.
Some people reject the fact, overwhelmingly supported by scientists, that our planet is warming because of human activity. But do those of us who accept the reality of human-caused climate change truly believe it? If we did, surely we would be roused to act on what we know. Will future generations distinguish between those who didn't believe in the science of global warming and those who said they accepted the science but failed to change their lives in response?
The task of saving the planet will involve a great reckoning with ourselves-with our all-too-human reluctance to sacrifice immediate comfort for the sake of the future. We have, he reveals, turned our planet into a farm for growing animal products, and the consequences are catastrophic. Only collective action will save our home and way of life. And it all starts with what we eat-and don't eat-for breakfast.
Read this book. Saving Planet Earth starts right here, right now — Stella McCartney
Jonathan Safran Foer has laid down an urgent challenge with this book. Thought-provoking, humane and incisive, We Are the Weather confronts our personal entanglement in the climate crisis through the food on our plates. A necessary book about the way we eat and the enormous difference our daily choices can make. — Julian Hoffman
Tucked away in the flat lands of rural East Anglia lies Wicken Fen, so loved for its big skies and tiny creatures, boasting over 9,000 recorded species.
For 125 years, this wildlife sanctuary has been cared for by the National Trust. A dedicated team look after this precious wetland of international importance, working with herds of free-roaming horses and cattle and weathering the elements to cope creatively with the dramas of a life outdoors at the cutting edge of conservation.
Wetland Diaries is a seasonal account of ranger life on Wicken Fen, saving a once widespread landscape and revealing the spectrum of emotions experienced in the process.
'Ajay’s passion for conservation and his encyclopaedic knowledge of Wicken Fen ooze out of every single page' -- Iolo Williams
Ajay Tegala shares his passion for the natural world through his work as a TV presenter, and his credits include BBC ‘Springwatch’ and the documentary ‘Inside the Bat Cave’. As a wildlife ranger, he is grounded in the world of conservation. At the age of fifteen, he decided to become a conservationist after a week’s work experience with The National Trust. He studied Environmental Conservation and volunteered as an assistant warden on the Norfolk coast at Blakeney Point. After graduating, he became the full-time ranger on the Point, protecting shorebirds and seals.
This book was designed to finally put an end to that age old question about where vegans get their protein from. I talk through my journey from being the biggest meat eater that most people have ever met to where I am today, some misconceptions about protein, how much protein you really need and where to get it from. I then present you with 30 delicious, healthy, high protein recipes including:
Morning meals
Dips and spread
Soups, chillies, stews and more
Salads and nibbles
Hearty mains
Baked savoury delights
And healthy treats
All recipes have full macros included and the book can be downloaded on multiple devices.
While it’s true that the recipes in this book are perfect for those requiring a larger protein intake (e.g. strength and physique athletes), they are based around healthful whole plant foods, making them suitable for all. My aim for this book is to show you just how easy it is for ANYONE to meet their protein needs with plants so every recipe was created with that in mind. I didn’t want to create just another cookbook; I wanted to create something that really, finally, made it clear that protein is not an issue!
Exploring the Hidden Lives of Britain’s Grey Seals
There are fewer grey seals in the world than endangered African elephants, but the British Isles host almost half of this global population. Every year these charismatic animals, with their expressive eyes and whiskers more sensitive than our fingertips, haul out on our shores to breed and raise their pups.
Susan Richardson has always been entranced by seals; they seem to have surfaced at key junctions throughout her life, comforting her as an anxious child, bringing joy as she began to spread her wings as a writer and helping her to find her way after the loss of her mother. Now she sets out to trace the rhythm of their lives, travelling the coasts clockwise from Cornwall to Norfolk, in line with the autumn pupping season. Along the way she explores the myths surrounding seals, from their shapeshifting selkie skins to the claims that they decimate fish populations, and she discovers that the greatest dangers they face come from co-existing with us.
Brimming with vivid descriptions of the natural world, Where the Seals Sing is a lyrical tale of memory, rescue and rehabilitation. While loss, both personal and ecological, is a recurring theme, the human–seal connection that flows through the story is stirring and uplifting.
'Cut and precise, archaic and innovative, transcendent and in-the-moment, [Susan Richardson] sees the life of the sea as a mirror of ourselves, and vice versa: always changing, always the same … Vital, glorious and salutary' – Philip Hoare
This book offers an absorbing look at why and how humans can so wholeheartedly devote ourselves to certain animals and then allow others to suffer needlessly, especially those slaughtered for our consumption.
Social psychologist Melanie Joy explores the many ways we numb ourselves and disconnect from our natural empathy for farmed animals. She coins the term "carnism" to describe the belief system that has conditioned us to eat certain animals and not others.
In Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows, Joy investigates factory farming, exposing how cruelly the animals are treated, the hazards that meatpacking workers face, and the environmental impact of raising 10 billion animals for food each year.
Controversial and challenging, this book will change the way you think about food forever.
"An absorbing examination of why humans feel affection and compassion for certain animals but are callous to the suffering of others." -- Publishers Weekly
"I think Gandhi would have loved Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows. For this is a book that can change the way you think and change the way you live. It will lead you from denial to awareness, from passivity to action, and from resignation to hope." -- John Robbins, author ofDiet for a New America andThe Food Revolution
"Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows is groundbreaking. Melanie Joy brilliantly explains why people resist information that would help themmake more healthful food choices--and how they can overcome this."-- Michael Greger, MD, New York Times bestselling author ofHow Not to Die and founder of nutritionfacts.org
Dr. Melanie Joy is a Harvard-educated psychologist, celebrated speaker, and the author of six books, including the award-winningBeyond Beliefs: A Guide to Improving Relationships and Communication for Vegans, Vegetarians, and Meat Eaters. Her work has been featured in major media outlets around the world, and she has received a number of awards, including the Ahimsa Award - previously given to the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela - for her work on global nonviolence. Joy has given talks and trainings in over 50 countries, and she is also the founding president of the nonprofit organization Beyond Carnism.
Founder/Author/MD: Piers Warren
Manager/Editor: Jason Peters
Also check out Black Shuck: The Devil's Dog – A terrifying new supernatural thriller by Piers Warren set in the village of Blakeney on the North Norfolk coast.
Wild Fell: Fighting for nature on a Lake District hill farm
By Lee Schofield
In 2015, England's last and loneliest golden eagle died in an unmarked spot among the remote eastern fells of the Lake District. It was a tragic day for the nation's wildlife, but the fight to restore the landscape had already begun.
Lee Schofield, ecologist and site manager for RSPB Haweswater is leading efforts to breathe life back into two hill farms and their thirty square kilometres of sprawling upland habitat. The farms sit at the edge of the region's largest reservoir, beneath which lie the remains of a submerged village. The area's history has been a turbulent one for both its people and its wildlife, leaving its habitats in tatters.
In the search for inspiration, Lee sought out England's rarest mountain flower and travelled from the wild fells of Norway to the pristine meadows of the Alps. Informed, too, by the local land, its history and the people who have shaped it, Lee and his team have remeandered a straightened river and are repairing damaged wetlands, meadows and woods. Each year, the landscape is becoming richer, wilder and better able to withstand the shocks of a changing climate.
But in the contested landscape of the Lake District, change is not always welcomed, and success relies on finding a balance between rewilding and respecting cherished farming traditions. This is not only a story of nature in recovery, it is also the story of Lee's personal connection to place, and the highs and lows of working for nature amid fierce opposition.
Wild Fell is a call to recognise that the solutions for a richer world lie at our feet; by focusing on flowers, we can rebuild landscapes fit for eagles again.
A landscape of flowers is a landscape of hope.
Published by Doubleday, available at Amazon.co.uk.
'I found myself turning the pages with an inward leap of joy' - Isabella Tree
WildFilmHistorywas a unique multimedia guide to the history and heritage of wildlife filmmaking.
From ‘lost and forgotten’ material to the most astounding developments in wildlife filmmaking plus som ‘behind the scenes’ photographs and oral histories with industry pioneers, this is an invaluable free resource which applauds the determination, ingenuity and passion of individuals with an enthusiasm for the natural world.
This resource was allowed to disappear by Wildscreen due to apparent lack of funding.
In Wilding, Isabella Tree tells the story of the ‘Knepp experiment’, a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope.
Forced to accept that intensive farming on the heavy clay of their land at Knepp was economically unsustainable, Isabella Tree and her husband Charlie Burrell made a spectacular leap of faith: they decided to step back and let nature take over. Thanks to the introduction of free-roaming cattle, ponies, pigs and deer – proxies of the large animals that once roamed Britain – the 3,500 acre project has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife numbers and diversity in little over a decade.
Extremely rare species, including turtle doves, nightingales, peregrine falcons, lesser spotted woodpeckers and purple emperor butterflies, are now breeding at Knepp, and populations of other species are rocketing. The Burrells’ degraded agricultural land has become a functioning ecosystem again, heaving with life – all by itself.
Personal and inspirational, Wilding is an astonishing account of the beauty and strength of nature, when it is given as much freedom as possible.
‘A poignant, practical and moving story of how to fix our broken land, this should be conservation's salvation; this should be its future; this is a new hope’ – Chris Packham
Highly Commended by the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize.
Winner of the Richard Jefferies Society and White Horse Book Shop Literary Prize.
Wild Isles:
The book of the BBC TV series presented by David Attenborough
This beautifully illustrated overview of the wildlife of the British Isles showcases the diversity of our plant and animal life.
Wild Isles is a celebration of the wildlife found on a relatively modest collection of islands positioned at a latitude so northerly to be unattractive to many animals and plants. Despite these unpromising foundations, the islands of Britain and Ireland, together with more than 6,000 lesser islets that make up our archipelago, contain some of the most diverse, beautiful and wildlife-rich landscapes and seas on our planet.
This book will explore the fascinating relationships within and between species who make their home on our beautiful isles.
Each chapter focuses on a particular kind of wild space. Britain and Ireland are dominated by a wide variety of grasslands from lowland water meadows to upland moors, and we will see how these human-shaped, semi-natural landscapes thrum with insect, bird and mammal life. Life requires water to flourish, and streams and rivers carry freshwater through our landscape, creating unique ecosystems and interrelations within and beside these waters, which are revealed in a third section. While Britain and Ireland’s woodlands are comparatively thin on the ground compared with most of continental Europe, we will see some of the forests and trees that remain are unusually ancient and, great repositories of life. Finally, of course, we are surrounded by sea, and our position on the continental shelf before it plunges into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean gives rise to an often overlooked plenty of marine life. A glorious richness divided into five breathtaking sections.
Patrick Barkham and Alastair Fothergill's book 'Wild Isles' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 13-03-2023.
Can Britain make room for wildlife? Stephen Moss believes it can.
The newspaper headlines tell us that Britain’s wildlife is in trouble. It’s not just rare creatures that are vanishing, hares and hedgehogs, skylarks and water voles, even the humble house sparrow, are in freefall. But there is also good news. Otters have returned to the River Tyne; there are now beavers on the River Otter; and peregrines have taken up residence in the heart of London.
Stephen Moss travels the length and breadth of the UK, from the remote archipelago of St Kilda to our inner cities, to witness at first-hand how our wild creatures are faring and ask how we can bring back Britain’s wildlife.
This study examines why the Kruger Park struggled to become a leading venue for wildlife filmmaking and then, paradoxically, at a time when South Africa came under increasing political and military pressure, wildlife filmmaking took off very successfully. Another paradox is that the growth in wildlife filmmaking also paralleled the growth of wildlife hunting in Southern Africa.
The study turns to Actor-Network theory to examine the complex interplay between local filmmakers, international commissioning agents like Mike Rosenberg, international broadcasters and the animals involved. It argues that Southern African filmmakers were often able to aim successfully both at European and North American markets and points to ways in which innovations from Southern Africa influenced broadcasting trends internationally, particularly in the move away from a British blue-chip BBC ethos and style.
It concludes with an examination of Africam and WildEarth and the vision of founder Graham Wallington about the future of wildlife documentary.
"Wildlife Documentaries in Southern Africa explores a vast and neglected terrain within the field of wildlife documentary studies. Glenn's Polemical approach and enthusiasm for archival adventure not only broadens our understanding of the ecology of wildlife filmmaking, but it also emphasizes the significance of these films in Southern African screen cultures." – Dr. Ian-Malcolm Rijsdijk, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Film and Media Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
"A wildlife adventure like no other - not solely in media studies, zoology or literature. This is a work of recovery, review, and restitution. It 'is a theoretical game-changer, told from the perspectives of the filmmakers themselves. Readers are taken on a rollicking safari that redefines documentary film theory. The real analysis is in the backstories, the paper trails, and in the decision-making networks." – Keyan G. Tomaselli, University of Johannesburg, and recipient of the 'Heroes and Legends Award, and Simon 'Mbunu' Sabela Awards.
"Ian has done an excellent job of finding the gems in thousands of sources to capture the essence of wildlife filmmaking, a strange intangible blend of science and art, intuition and discipline, and most of all a profession with profound passions to save the planet." – Dereck Joubert.
"This is a vividly written and innovative book on wildlife filmmakers in southern Africa. Ian Glenn explains how they emerged at the top of their field globally, were awarded Emmys and Golden Pandas, and reached a mass audience. He celebrates their contribution to a sympathetic understanding of wild animals and to environmental conservation." -- William Beinart, Emeritus Professor, St Antony's College, University of Oxford, UK.
Wildlife Photography Fieldcraft is an approachable step-by-step guide on how to find UK wildlife and use natural history understanding to aid successful photography.
Inspiring images and comprehensive detail make this book an essential tool for the amateur wildlife photographer or naturalist who wishes to document their finds.
Offers a simple systematic approach to achieving better photographs
Packed with insightful tips on how best to find wildlife to photograph
Illustrated with inspiring images and examples
Many photographers wish to capture stunning and memorable images of the natural world, yet the whole process can be a challenge. Not only does getting the perfect shot require a complex mixture of skill and luck, but there is little practical advice available on how to find wildlife to photograph. This unique book describes a straightforward system for how to successfully locate wildlife, the most difficult aspect of wildlife photography. The patience and persistence have to come from you, but equipped with the right fieldcraft there is far more chance of getting the results - and the special moments - you are looking for.
Individual chapters offer guidance on how to photograph birds, mammals, butterflies and dragonflies, as well as reptiles and some of our more elusive species. The particularities of various habitat types are discussed, and there are tips on equipment, technical specifications and how to make a good portable hide. While sharing some of her most successful and beautiful images, the author also gives useful examples of when things didn't quite work out - reflecting on how things could have been done differently to get a better outcome. With the help of this book you'll soon be taking the photographs you've always dreamed of, sometimes.
"The biggest challenge for nature photographers everywhere is finding great examples of wildlife to take pictures of. In this book, Susan Young helps you understand the subtleties of various habitats to improve your chances of finding the birds, mammals, insects and reptiles that live there. There’s also useful advice on equipment and a guide to building a hide."
– Graeme Green, BBC Wildlife
A guide to rewilding your family, by adventurer and naturalist Steve Backshall and Olympic gold medallist rower Helen Glover, with contributions from Bear Grylls, Tim Peake, Michaela Strachan, Sir Chris Hoy, Judy Murray and many more.
THIS IS YOUR MAP TO A MORE ADVENTUROUS, WILDER FUTURE.
With contributions from: Bear Grylls on embracing adventure; Ed Stafford on flirting with danger; Sir Chris Hoy on riding bikes; Judy Murray on rainy day kitchen games; Michaela Strachan on creative word games; Gordon Buchanan on toasting marshmallows; Caroline Lucas on protecting the planet; Wayne Bridge on garden football; and many more.
The ultimate handbook for raising WILDER, HAPPIER, MUDDIER, MORE RESILIENT kids - whatever the weather and wherever you live.
In the last few years parents everywhere have realised how crucial the freedom of the outside world is, not only for their kids' wellbeing, but the whole family's. They've also realised, however, that it's not always that easy.
That's where this book comes in. Taking you through different environments and activities to explore, from minibeasts in the garden and pond dipping all the way through to beach Olympics and sea swimming (via rainy days, wild woods and river exploration), there are ideas small and big for all ages that will get them - and you - more engaged and involved with nature, and the wildlife in it.
"Conjures up a world of pre-internet fun, a compendium of lost outdoor arts with an eclectic list of contributors" – The Times
A complete tool-kit of information for all wildlife film-makers – established and newcomers. Listings of wildlife production companies, footage libraries, distributors, broadcasters, location managers/fixers, film festivals, organisations, publications and more, with contact details, weblinks and descriptions. Including answers to those all-important questions such as whether companies take people on work experience or consider co-productions, how to submit proposals etc.
Invaluable information at your fingertips to save hours of trawling through the Internet and sending many emails.
Second edition of WIld Pages fully updated and expanded - 355 packed pages.
A complete tool-kit of information for all wildlife film-makers – established and newcomers.
Listings of wildlife production companies, footage libraries, distributors, broadcasters, location managers/fixers, film festivals, organisations, publications, freelancers and more, with contact details, weblinks and descriptions
Including answers to those all-important questions such as whether companies take people on work experience or consider co-productions, how to submit proposals etc.
Invaluable information at your fingertips to save hours of trawling through the Internet and sending many emails.
Latest edition of WIld Pages fully updated with 274 packed pages.
A complete tool-kit of information for all wildlife film-makers – established and newcomers.
Listings of wildlife production companies, footage libraries, distributors, broadcasters, location managers/fixers, film festivals, organisations, publications, freelancers and more, with contact details, weblinks and descriptions
Including answers to those all-important questions such as whether companies take people on work experience or consider co-productions, how to submit proposals etc.
Invaluable information at your fingertips to save hours of trawling through the Internet and sending many emails.
Paperback: you can order it as a paperback from many online bookstores all over the world (RRP £14.95). For example, it is available from Amazon.co.uk & Amazon.com for paperback and Kindle versions.
eBook Order: ‘Wild Pages: The Wildlife Film-makers Resource Guide’ as an eBook is in the form of a PDF file (5Mb) with active email and weblinks for all entries. You can order it by PayPal for immediate download using the button found here.
Arkive was an initiative of the UK-based charity Wildscreen – which uses the power of wildlife films and photos to promote a greater understanding of the natural world and the need for its conservation.
Arkive (www.arkive.org – N/A) was the world’s leading online encyclopaedia about the natural world with over 16,000 in-depth species fact-files and more than 100,000 films and photos. It’s renowned for the depth of information provided and for its accuracy, with fact-files sourced from, or checked by, academic experts.
"ARKive was founded by Wildscreen, a UK registered educational charity based in Bristol, in 2003 and has grown to become the world’s largest encyclopedia of life on earth by identifying and collecting films, photographs and recordings of the world’s wildlife in a central digital archive of the world’s top wildlife filmmakers and photographers, conservationists, and scientists . Even though this vision of a permanent and accessible archive of audiovisual wildlife material gained the support of many of the world’s major broadcasters, it was not possible to continuously raise suffient funds to keep ARKive alive; unfortunatley. the website was closed in February 2019." – More here: icwb.com/one-life
Wildscreen Exchange empowers conservation organisations by connecting them with world-leading filmmakers and photographers to create ground-breaking communications about our natural world. Photographers and filmmakers donate images and footage free for use by not-for-profit organisations in their online and offline communication campaigns.
Working with the most influential content creators in the natural history genre and the conservation organisations with the greatest tales to tell, Wildscreen Exchange documents, crafts and shares exclusive, untold stories that the world needs to see, motivating meaningful change and hope for the future.
Mike Linley has been producing and filming factual wildlife documentaries for over 30 years. Showing TV audiences all over the planet the wonders of the natural world has given him an immense amount of pleasure.
However, one thing that’s always concerned him is that the programmes he's made have only been viewable at home, on the TV, removed from the wild spaces of Britain.
But now new technology is changing this.
Over the past year he has been working with interpretation specialists Ugly Studios to develop interactive touchscreen displays.
These screens enable his vast catalogue of digital video footage, photographs and wildlife facts to be viewed in situ, on a reserve, right there, where the wildlife can be seen.
Not only is this fascinating for visitors, it is a useful tool for visitor centre staff to use; helping visitors identify the wild species they have seen and so learn more about them.
A nature diary from zoologist and wildlife photographer Hannah Stitfall, about her close encounters with British wildlife in the Cornish countryside.
Get up close to Cornwall's wildlife with this magical guide to the year.
Hannah Stitfall is a wildlife photographer and zoologist, who regularly gets up in the early hours of the morning to try and catch sight of some of Cornwall's best hidden wildlife. She will spend hours on end waiting for a creature to appear among a hedgerow, scurrying across Cornwall's open fields, or taking flight across its towering cliffs and sandy beaches. In these brief, magical moments, Hannah is able to see and capture animal behavior that the general public rarely get to witness.
In this book, Hannah shares her incredible stories, beautiful photographs, and often funny meetings with Cornwall's wildlife through the course of a year. From brown hares boxing in the grass in the spring, watching an otter cub hunt in the wetlands in winter, to witnessing the unique bioluminescence of a glow-worm in the summer, Wild Treasures is a remarkable diary, informative guide and joyous celebration of Cornwarll's wonderful creatures.
'An anarchically charming calendar of Cornwall's wildlife. This is Stitfall in spadefuls; she celebrates the ragged corner of the UK and all its natural treasures. So refreshing!' -- Chris Packham
'Wild adventures found on every page! Hannah perfectly captures the journey and feelings of watching wildlife - the anticipation, the caution, the excitement and, eventually, the utopia. Her words both glue you to the story but also encourage you to get your boots on and find these precious spectacles for yourself. A joyful, heartwarming and important read for nature lovers!' -- Megan McCubbin
Hannah Stitfall is a wildlife filmmaker, broadcaster and zoologist. She's presented for The One Show, BBC Earth and Radio 4, and she's the digital presenter for Springwatch and Winterwatch. Hannah is also the host of Oceans: Life Under Water, a podcast in association with Greenpeace and Crowd Network.
An engaging blend of conservation stories and humorous, personal anecdotes from Philippa Forrester about women who, like her, choose to live and work in the wild.
Surviving in the wilderness has long been associated with men, and conservation and environmental biology have traditionally been male-dominated subjects. Yet many remarkable women also choose to live and work in wild and challenging landscapes.
In Wild Woman, Philippa Forrester considers the grit and determination required for women to maintain connections to wildlife and shares stories of female conservation heroes and other extraordinary wild women working in nature.
Talking to women from around the world, Philippa studies and celebrates what it means to be a wild woman. From the sixteenth-century botanist who was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe to modern-day women responding to bear attacks in Yellowstone, working to rewild reserves in South Africa, photographing Caribou in the Arctic and more, Philippa examines how these women benefit from a life spent in the wilderness and also considers what the natural world gains from them.
Relating some of her own experiences from three decades spent travelling around the world and working in some of the wildest places on Earth, Philippa asks: what does it take for a woman to live or work in the wild?
"Wild Woman is a timely reminder of the feminine energy behind some groundbreaking successes in global wildlife conservation.Through deeply personal experiences, Philippa shows us with spirit and gusto that the natural world is a source of strength, wisdom, humour and comfort." – Sophie Pavelle, author of Forget Me Not
"After years of child-rearing and being wifely, Philippa Forrester emerges with a lot of pertinent questions. Wild Woman is a piercing, funny, self deprecating answer to what it is to be wild. Locally, globally, diverse and female, it is full of a lifetime's awe – and wise. This delightfully brilliant, sometimes rightfully angry book, puts women where they should be: at the heart of conservation, knowing what it is to be wild, to tune in, mend and support the natural world and our place in it. I am cheering her, and all these wonderful women on!" – Nicola Chester, author of On Gallows Down
"A powerful testament to why women must have a greater say when conserving our natural world." – Mike Dilger, naturalist and broadcaster
