Title: Nature's Treasures
Genre: Education Natural History
Format: Paperback
Dedication: Available
Postage: Free UK only.

Website: http://www.benhoare.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/benhoarewild

The Book;
The world is filled with curious objects made by plants, animals, and even by the Earth itself. Dive into this collection of more than 100 intriguing items from the natural world and discover the stories behind them.

Learn how huge whales eat tiny animals from looking at their bristly teeth, why butterflies shine and glitter in the sunlight from seeing their minute wing scales, how plants transport water and food around from examining a delicate leaf skeleton, and what makes every snowflake unique from admiring their miniature, branching crystals of ice. A bird's egg, a lump of coal, a cacao pod, a mermaid's purse, a fossil, a pine cone, an owl pellet, and a chrysalis - all tell a story. Arranged by animal, vegetable, or mineral, objects are shown with truly stunning photography and colourful illustrations to help explain the science behind them. The lively descriptions by best-selling nature writer Ben Hoare explore the remarkable tales behind each item and all are packed with information.

A Treasury of Nature takes you on a tour of the Earth through the things made by nature. This book is for every inquisitive child who loves to spot objects when exploring outside and wants to know more about the wonderful and mysterious natural world.

The Author:
Ben Hoare is an award-winning journalist who has written and edited many natural-history books and magazines for DK, the BBC, London's Natural History Museum and many others. Think of a well-known wildlife or nature writer who writes in English, and Ben has probably edited their words at some point. Since 2008 he has been Features Editor of BBC Wildlife Magazine. In 2015 Ben was awarded the Dilys Breese Medal for science communication by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) - he is one of only fifteen people to hold the award.

Title: Park Life
Genre: Natural History
Format: Paperback
Dedication: Available
Postage: Free UK only.

Website: http://t-media.org.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rickattmedia

The Book:
This beautifully written book chronicles a year in the life of a large urban park on the banks of the Warwickshire Avon, and the surprising wildlife to be found as the seasons unfold. There are exiting discoveries, little-known facts, tips on identification, and the legends associated with many of our wild creatures. From long-distance migrants to spectacular predators, each month brings something new and uplifting.

“A fascinating diary of a year of discovery”. (Stephen Moss, Naturalist and Author).

“A walk in the park will never be quite the same after reading this”. (Nic Hallam, BBRC).

The Author:
Rick Thompson is a former journalist and broadcaster and a lifelong birdwatcher. He worked for BBC News for 27 years, starting at BBC Birmingham where he produced and presented regional wildlife programmes as well as reporting the news. He moved to London where he became a senior editor with BBC Television News and The World Service. Later he returned to the Midlands as the BBC's Head of News, Current Affairs and Local Programmes.

For several years Rick wrote and illustrated a regular column on birds for the Countryside magazine, and for four years he was a member of the Governing Council of the RSPB. He is regularly asked to moderate European conferences on the environment, sustainable energy, transport and climate change. His new book, 'Park Life', is a diary of the wildlife year in a large urban park beside the River Avon, with tips on identification, some surprising discoveries, and the folklore and legends associated with many species.

He says, "I believe that exposure to nature is incredibly important for people's physical and mental well-being, and getting to know the birds and other wildlife near your home is fascinating and uplifting. With four out of five people in Britain living in towns and cities, urban green spaces are vital for our health and happiness. I hope this diary of a year in a large town park will encourage people to get out into the natural environment, and enjoy the changing seasons and the marvellous variety of creatures and plant life that can be found close to home. I also hope that planners, developers, farmers and local authorities will protect our valuable wildlife habitats and invest in more accessible green spaces".

Title: Light Rains Sometimes Fall
Genre: Nature
Format: Paperback
Dedication: Available
Postage: Free UK only.

Website: https://levparikian.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LevParikian

The Book;
See the British year afresh and experience a new way of connecting with nature – through the prism of Japan’s seventy-two ancient microseasons.

Across seventy-two short chapters and twelve months, writer and nature lover Lev Parikian charts the changes that each of these ancient microseasons (of a just a few days each) bring to his local patch – garden, streets, park and wild cemetery.

From the birth of spring (risshun) in early February to ‘the greater cold’ (daikan) in late January, Lev draws our eye to the exquisite beauty of the outside world, day-to-day.

Instead of Japan’s lotus blossom, praying mantis and bear, he watches bramble, woodlouse and urban fox; hawthorn, dragonfly and peregrine. But the seasonal rhythms – and the power of nature to reflect and enhance our mood – remain.

By turns reflective, witty and joyous, this is both a nature diary and a revelation of the beauty of the small and subtle changes of the everyday, allowing us to ‘look, look again, look better’.

The Author:
ev Parikian is a writer, conductor and hopeless birdwatcher. His first book, Waving, Not Drowning, was published in 2013. His numerous conducting credits include the re-recording of the theme tune for Hancock's Half Hour for Radio 4. As a birdwatcher, his most prized sightings are a golden oriole in the Alpujarras and a black redstart at Dungeness Power Station.

Title: Treasured Islands
Genre: Travel
Format: Paperback
Dedication: Available
Postage: Free UK only.

Website: http://peter-naldrett.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeterNaldrett

The Book;
A comprehensive and inspiring guide to 200 of Britain's most beautiful and interesting islands. Whether it's a sandy paradise or a wild Scottish outpost with a warm pub, it's time to plan your island getaway.

The British Isles includes some 194 inhabited islands (out of a total of over 6,000), ranging from remote lost worlds to famous and popular holiday spots. And Treasured Islands includes them all, in one enticing package.

This wonderfully comprehensive and inspiring guide starts off with a Best of… section, highlighting the ten best islands for foodies, wildlife, adrenaline-junkies and pure escapism. Then, region by region, the author explores the UK's most wonderful islands, including:

Shetlands, Fair Isle, Orkneys, Outer Hebrides, Inner Hebrides, Isle of Arran
Lindisfarne, Isle of Man, Walney Island
Anglesey, Pembrokeshire Island
Foulness and Canvey Islands
Isle of Sheppey, Lundy
Isle of Wight, Isles of Scilly, Channel Islands, Islands of Ireland
Tidal Islands (to include Burgh Island, Holy Island and St Michael's Mount)
Inland Islands (to include Eel Pie, Derwent Isle and Peel Island in the Lake District)
Remote Islands

Illustrated with beautiful colour photography, the text ensures you won't miss out on must-see attractions, wildlife and natural features, local food specialties, sporting activities, best places to stay and eat, and all-important transport links to and from the mainland, and other nearby islands. For some light relief, there are interesting historical and cultural anecdotes woven through, giving a fascinating insight into the way of life on these sometimes remote settlements.

The Author:
I'm a Sheffield-based writer and have written a number of guides to the Peak District, Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. When I'm not wandering in National Parks, I write newspaper columns and magazine features. I'm currently working on a new book with Bloomsbury.

Title: Wanderland
Genre: Nature - Travel - Memoir
Format: Paperback
Dedication: Available
Postage: Free UK only.

Book Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF8I_bW1nx8

Website: https://www.jinireddy.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jini_Reddy

The Book;
Alone on a remote mountaintop one dark night, a woman hears a mysterious voice.

Propelled by the memory and after years of dreaming about it, Jini Reddy dares to delve into the 'wanderlands' of Britain, heading off in search of the magical in the landscape.

A London journalist with multicultural roots and a perennial outsider, she determinedly sets off on this unorthodox path. Serendipity and her inner compass guide her around the country in pursuit of the Other and a connection to Britain's captivating natural world. Where might this lead? And if you know what it is to be Othered yourself, how might this colour your experiences? And what if, in invoking the spirit of the land, 'it' decides to make its presence felt?

Whether following a 'cult' map to a hidden well that refuses to reveal itself, attempting to persuade a labyrinth to spill its secrets, embarking on a coast-to-coast pilgrimage or searching for a mystical land temple, Jini depicts a whimsical, natural Britain. Along the way, she tracks down ephemeral wild art, encounters women who worship The Goddess, falls deeper in love with her birth land and struggles – but mostly fails – to get to grips with its lore. Throughout, she rejoices in the wildness we cannot see and celebrates the natural beauty we can, while offering glimpses of her Canadian childhood and her Indian parents' struggles in apartheid-era South Africa.

Wanderland is a book in which the heart leads, all things are possible and the Other, both wild and human, comes in from the cold. It is a paean to the joy of roaming, both figuratively and imaginatively, and to the joy of finding your place in the world.

The Author:
Jini Reddy is the author of Wanderland, shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Award for Travel Book of the Year and for the Wainwright Prize. She has contributed to anthologies, penned a guidebook, and her texts and poems have been displayed in exhibitions at London’s Southbank Centre and at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. As a travel (and features) writer, she has written widely for national press and in 2019 was named a National Geographic Woman of Impact. In her work, she increasingly occupies a cross-cultural, cross-genre space where place, spirituality and culture meet. Jini was born in Britain to Indian parents from South Africa, and raised in Quebec, Canada. She now makes her home in southwest London.

Title: The Bumblebee Flies Anyway
Genre: Nature - Education
Format: Paperback
Dedication: Available
Postage: Free UK only.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kate_Bradbury

The Book;
Finding herself in a new home in Brighton, Kate Bradbury sets about transforming her decked, barren backyard into a beautiful wildlife garden. She documents the unbuttoning of the earth and the rebirth of the garden, the rewilding of a tiny urban space. On her own she unscrews, saws, and hammers the decking away, she clears the builders' rubble and rubbish beneath it, and she digs and enriches the soil, gradually planting it up with plants she knows will attract wildlife. She erects bird boxes and bee hotels, hangs feeders and grows nectar- and pollen-rich plants, and slowly brings life back to the garden.

But while she's doing this her neighbors continue to pave and deck their gardens. The wildlife she tries to save is further threatened, and she feels she's fighting an uphill battle. Is there any point in gardening for wildlife when everyone else is drowning the land in poison and cement?

Throughout her story, Kate draws on an eclectic and eccentric cast of friends and colleagues, who donate plants and a greenhouse, tolerate her gawping at butterflies at Gay Pride, and accompany her on trips to visit rare bumblebees and nightingales.

The Author:
Kate Bradbury is an award-winning garden writer, broadcaster and TV presenter, specialising in wildlife gardening. She has written four wildlife gardening books, including Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything, and How to Create a Wildlife Pond. Her garden was featured as part of the Garden Watch campaign for BBC Springwatch, and she presents wildlife gardening VTs on BBC Gardeners’ World. She regularly appears on radio and has taken part in Radio Four’s Saturday Live and Gardeners’ Question Time, and has presented Tweet of the Day. She also regularly appears on the popular RHS gardening podcast and has also appeared on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show.