Mark Cocker ends his review in The Spectator of Matthew Oates’ new book with this comment on a key argument that the book sets out: “Most impressive of all is his concluding chapter, aptly entitled ‘Towards Some Meaning’, where he diagnoses why conservation has so often failed to protect these quintessential inhabitants of ecological transience. He also seeks to answer his…
Once I began to read this book, I could not put it down – and that for me is one sign of a really good book! The introduction all rings true, giving important rationale points and highlighting what teachers already have: ‘the skills and competencies to teach outside as well as inside. … any approach…
Nature’s Playground is a beautiful book jam packed with well thought out ideas for encouraging children to enjoy the great outdoors. Fiona Danks and Jo Schofield have combined their experiences giving their own children freedom to explore wild places with Fiona’s history in environmental education and Jo’s career as a professional photographer to produce a…
When you visit a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or an SSSI do you ever question the decisions behind the creation and management of such an area? Are there now so many ‘givens’ in the world of conservation that we blindly accept these as a justification for the many decisions taken on…
The British Beekeepers Association, in partnership with Egmont Publishing, have created a new bee-friendly guide inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh, with activities for families to help save honey bees. In the Guide, which can be found here, Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet plant a flowering window box, in Oxford. Pooh’s 10-point guide to saving bees is listed by the…
Pig’s Egg is a brilliant book that explains about animal life cycles in a novel and amusing way. Pig is upset that his friends goose, duck and hen can fly and that they don’t have time to spend with him, as their eggs have all hatched (which introduces new vocabulary, particularly ‘gosling’ as a baby goose).…
This is a brilliant book for use as a teachers’ guide and for lesson planning where the teacher wishes to focus on nature and environmental issues. I especially like the practical sections (make and do). What child could resist making a bee hotel, a hedgehog box or a pond for frogs? The ‘Ten Things to…
‘Can We Save the Tiger?’ is a stunning book. Open it to any page and you can guarantee a visual treat. Vicky White’s illustrations are the real highlight of this plea to curb human caused extinction. The half sketch book, half detailed painting style, where backgrounds and details come and go, gives a stunning fading…