A guide for young bird enthusiasts and a competition for students
Our monthly selection of books plus news on the best trees, climate action, weedkiller and more
Good morning! I’m Sarah Hartley and this is The Northern Eco weekly update. As you’ve received this newsletter then either you subscribed, or someone forwarded it to you. If the latter, then you can click on this handy little button below.
As it’s the last Tuesday of the month, we’re starting today’s newsletter with the latest book recommendations with a green tinge from Claire and Alan at The Wonky Tree bookshop. (For news, scroll down the page.) But before we do that - have you ever visited The Wonky Tree? Well now you can via this video!
Local : A Search for Nearby Nature and Wildness by Alastair Humphreys
Shortlisted for the 2024 Wainwright Prize for nature writing
A search for nearby nature and wildness. After years of expeditions all over the world, adventurer Alastair Humphreys spends a year exploring the detailed local map around his home. Can this unassuming landscape, marked by the glow of city lights and the hum of busy roads, hold any surprises for the world traveller or satisfy his wanderlust? Could a single map provide a lifetime of exploration?
Discovering more about the natural world than in all his years in remote environments, he learns the value of truly getting to know his neighbourhood.
“An ode to slowing down, Local is a celebration of curiosity and time spent outdoors, as well as a rallying cry to protect the wild places on our doorstep.”
You can order this book here.
Nature’s Ghosts: The World We Lost and How to Bring it Back by Sophie Yeo
Shortlisted for the 2024 Wainwright Prize for Writing on Conservation.
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.”
You can order this book here.
Fly: A Child's Guide to Birds and Where to Spot Them by David Lindo
Shortlisted for the 2024 Wainwright Prize for Children’s Nature and Conservation Writing
This beautifully crafted book is a stunning introduction to the world of birds. New to this popular series is Fly, a fully-illustrated guide to the incredible diversity of birdlife around the world for young bird enthusiasts. A stunning collection of more than 150 birds awaits discovery in this beautiful book: meet the lesser flamingo - 'hero of the friendly flock' - and discover other flocking birds, from the chimney swift to the starling, whose murmurations mesmerise birdwatchers from around the world.
Next, meet the Adélie penguin - 'hero of the water world' - and discover other birds that are more at home in the sea than the sky, and continue through the avian world as you meet birds with brilliant beaks, fantastic feet, wonderful wings, eye-catching colours and more. Author David Lindo, the Urban Birder, is the perfect guide to the world of birds, bringing together an aviary of species with super-human abilities, splendid plumage, and surprising behaviours. He also delves into the world of folklore and mythology, showing how cultures from ancient to modern have been inspired by their feathered friends.
“The book is packed with interesting facts and extraordinary species - did you know that a swift can spend up to four years on the wing? Or that the white tern lays her egg on a bare branch?This book is sure to instil a love of birds among young readers aged 7+”
You can order this book here.
(The links to The Northern Eco bookstore are affiliate links, meaning I get a tiny commission if you decide to make a purchase through my link, at no cost to you.)
The three most clicked links from last week were:
Ban the use and sale of Monsanto
Yorkshire Water Announces £1.5m scheme to reduce sewage in River Ure at Ripon
In other news
📝 If there’s a young environmentalist in your household, they might be interested in this global competition with a $300 prize. The renowned Pulitzer Center is offering the letter-writing contest, ‘Local Letters for Global Change.’ The contest allows students “to practice global citizenship, civic action and persuasive writing, all while exploring the underreported issues that matter to them through Pulitzer Center news stories”. Enter here.
🌏 North Yorkshire Council has defended the progress it has made in the two years since it declared a climate emergency following criticism that it regards tackling carbon emissions as “an inconvenience”. Full report from Stuart Minting at Richmondshire Today.
🌳 The Woodland Trust is inviting readers to vote for their favourite tree to help the charity crown this year's Tree of the Year:
“Our expert panel has shortlisted 12 fantastic oaks from across the UK for Tree of the Year 2024. Now is your chance to vote for your favourite and help us crown a champion. The winner will represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year competition!”
Voting is open until 11.59pm 21 October.
🐝 An Ilkley woman has launched a petition calling on Bradford Council to stop spraying glyphosate weedkiller around the district. This includes playparks and playing fields, and on all the school grounds maintained by the council. You can sign the petition at Change.org here.
🌞 J Sainsbury’s supermarket is looking to place hundreds of solar panels on the roof of one of it’s York stores, writes Darren Greenwood at the York Press.
If you’re looking for some days out inspiration, paid subscribers can enjoy these 10 eco events to enjoy before summer’s over.
We’d love to meet you at Saturday’s Eco Living and Wellness Fair (see below). We have a few lovely items from the eco shop on offer but, more importantly it’s a chance for us to hear from you in person!
I shall be taking a short holiday, so the next weekly news round-up will be back on Tuesday, September 10. See you then!
🌼 Thank you for reading edition number 91 of The Northern Eco. This newsletter remains independent, free unless you want to pay, ad-free and proudly reader supported thanks to paying subscribers. The main newsletter is sent out at 7am on a Tuesday and wouldn’t exist without paying subscribers. Please do subscribe to keep it going - I can’t do it without your support. Thanks!
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