talk | Christine Lucas

Day 18: The Wildlife Trusts’ Big Wild Weekend kicks off today with a talk hosted by CEO, Craig Bennett. He chats to an exciting panel of authors who were inspired by the natural world! You can register for the free talk here.

Nature is one of life’s great inspirations and no wonder there are so many authors who were/are inspired by its cruelty, terror and sheer beauty. Below is a non exhaustive list of authors who have been thus inspired.

The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Graham

This classic children’s story published in 1908 focuses on the adventures of Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger and is an example of anthropomorphism. With it’s evocative descriptions of the Edwardian countryside it had to make this list.

Wind in the Willows

Animal Farm – George Orwell

Animal Farm – George Orwell

Another example of anthropomorphism, with farm yard animals overthrowing their human masters but in time themselves becoming corrupted. Orwell’s anti-utopian satire is based on the Russian Revolution.

The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkein

Tolkein heavily uses the natural world as a backdrop for his The Lord of the Rings saga. There are mountain ranges, rivers and old gnarly woods. He also uses anthropomorphism with his Ents (trees), giving them voices and personalities. The Lord of the Rings highlights that industrialisation creates an alienation with the natural world.

H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald

H is for Hawk – Helen McDonald

This 2014 memoir recalls the author coming to terms with her grief as she trains her unruly goshawk. This book speaks loud and clear of how wildlife and nature can heal a broken heart and mind.

The Lost Words – Robert McFarlane

It’s not just adults who are becoming disconnected with nature, children too are not learning of the magic from the natural world. Words like, conker, ivy, raven are becoming lost and this book of spells beautifully illustrated by Jackie Morris hopes to rectify that.

The Lost Words

A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson

Bryson’s 1998 autobiographical account of his attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail, shows him struggling to cope in the American wilderness.

Crow – Ted Hughes – Crow

The rural landscape of Hughes’ birthplace, Yorkshire had a lasting impression on his poetry, especially the animals that populated the rolling moors. Crow, The Thought Fox and the Hawk in the Rain are just a few of his collections.

Crow

Bird Therapy

Bird Therapy – Joe Harkness

The author, struggling with his mental health, writes this memoir highlighting the importance of nature on our well being. Using bird watching as a way out of depression.

Many Victorian novelists were heavily inspired by nature, such as the Brontë’s, Thomas Hardy and Charles’ Dickens. Not to mention the romantic poets, William Wordsworth and his Daffodils, John Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s To a Skylark.

What is your favourite nature inspired book?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

Day 6: As part of today’s 30 Days Wild, a talk with Springwatch and The Wildlife Trusts’ ambassador, Hannah Stitfall is scheduled for 6pm to 7pm, entitled, Webcam Wildlife, you can sign up for the hour long talk here.

Webcams and camera traps are a great way to discover wildlife in your garden. Hannah chats to a panel of experts about their experiences, offering practical hints and tips for your own camera traps.

I’ve already signed up for the talk and it got me thinking about the footage I have recorded in the past of wildlife and the webcams I watch.

At present the only webcam I am watching is the Dyfi Osprey Project. I have mentioned this webcam before but 2021 is the first year I have tuned in daily. The unrivaled footage focuses on an osprey nest in mid-Wales. This year Telyn and Idris have raised two chicks. It’s addictive viewing! You can watch too, here.

Dyfi Ospreys 2021

My own attempts at setting up a camera trap has been limited. I’ve had video cameras running while participating in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch and caught many feathered visitors visiting my feeders. However, I’ve only left a camera out in the hope of getting a closer idea of the wildlife that visits once, and then I knew that space would be visited frequently. Below are a few of the birds I have caught on camera.