Ben Ballin reviews The World We’ll Leave Behind – Grasping the Sustainability Challenge by William Scott and Paul Vare; publisher Routledge. ISBN 9781783537730 The foreword to this encyclopaedic book sets the bar high: this is to be a brief introduction to the chief environmental and social challenges facing the world, the key ideas underpinning them…
The Little Book of Trees provides a simple well-presented guide, suitable for children aged 9+ and adults alike. It is arranged in alphabetical order by tree name, from Alder to Yew, with over 40 trees listed. Clear photos help to identify the trees. Each tree has its own dedicated page with facts including its preferred…
A publication with the title Urban Environmental Education Review sounds as if it’s an academic journal, but it’s actually a book, edited by Marianne Krasny and Alex Russ at Cornell’s renowned Department of Natural Resources, and published by Cornell University Press. That said, it has the feel of a journal in that it’s a series…
Beautifully written and illustrated with clear photographic instructions throughout, Naomi Walmsley and Dan Westall have brought together all of the key elements of forest school into an accessible and easy read. The book encompasses all that is needed to lead successful sessions across the primary age range and beyond, with its abundance of natural crafts,…
Is it Silent Spring, perhaps? Or Walden? The Natural History of Selbourne, maybe, or A Sand County Almanac? Then there’s Last Child in the Woods, Small is Beautiful or The Web of Life. The Prelude, perchance, The Deserted Village, or The Mores? Or Emile. Is it Bedford 2046, Marx’s Ecology, The Child in the City, or Streetwise? Or Deep Ecology: living as if nature mattered, Ariadne’s Thread, Environmentalism, or After Sustainability? Is it The Skeptical Environmentalist, or Capitalism as if the World Matters. Or Collapse: how societies choose…
The secret life of Flies is a very enjoyable read. McAlister shows her love of this group of insects and, through her chatty style, opens up a secret world to us. Her factual information is punctuated with many anecdotes, often amusing, on the behaviour and role of detrivores and cophrages, necrophages and vegetarians, fungivores, predators…
Facing up to Climate Reality: honesty, disaster and hope is the sequel to an earlier 2014 collection of essays: The Post-Growth Project. The book’s task as set out in a Foreword is to “confront the brutal reality of the long-term climate damage that [economic] growth has already made inevitable. Honesty about this situation is something…
Geographical regularly publishes reviews of significant books. Here are links to some of its recent output: Jared Diamond’s UPHEAVAL: How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change Edward O Wilson’s GENESIS: On the Deep Origin of Societies James Lovelock’s Novacene: the coming age of hyperintelligence Lewis Dartnell’s Origins: how the Earth made us Andrew Blum’s Weather Machine: how we see into the…
Resurrection Trust is a book of “funny, dark, mad, bad, upbeat, downbeat and fantastical short stories about living sustainably”. They arose from the University of Southampton’s Green Stories writing competition. The editor, Amanda Saint, says that the stories “showcase a myriad of different ideas about how humans can live more harmoniously with nature, and each…
Dinosaurs hold a particular fascination among young children. This beautifully illustrated book will swiftly become a favourite for reading aloud to groups of early years pupils, with just a few words in large print on each page, which are dominated by the large, simple, colourful images of dinosaurs. The book tells the story of a…
Here’s an initial selection of books with environmental themes suitable for primary education that has been put together by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education CLPE. The Storm Whale by Benji Davies Simon and Schuster 9781471115684 Noi lives a self-sufficient life with his dad by the sea in an isolated home reminiscent of the fishing huts at…
Aimed at 8-12 year olds, this is a well-organised book that offers a ‘head start’ to anyone interested in finding out more about birds. The first half of the book gives essential information and useful tips to young birders, including how to recognise different bird species (looking at size, shape, colour, behaviour, calls etc.); the…