Updated: Jul 18, 2023
There are so many books out there on wildlife, nature, plants and much more. They are fascinating, interesting and teach you so much of the natural world. I have always been a poor reader, something I am trying to actively change in my life to better my knowledge and enjoy a new hobby. Well I would defiantly say this has recently been working and I have a newfound love for reading. As you are aware, I am incredibly interested in nature, wildlife and doing things sustainable and being an eco-friendly individual. To inspire me with this I have been focusing on books about nature and our incredible world. Therefore, these are my top 5 nature books of 2022 that I have read, reviewed and which have changed my thinking or enlightened my life that I am recommending to you.
This is the first book I have picked up in my new quest to absorb written knowledge and I can tell you it is a great place to start. All I can say is, wow, there is so much to learn just about our forests and woods.. This book will teach you so much and an incredible amount you never thought would be related to trees. It is written by Peter Wohlleben, who is a German forester who has observed these woods, trees and forests his entire life. In this incredible fascinating book he teaches how tree help each other, migrate and communicate to each other in incredible and newly discovered ways. He goes into great depth of all the organisms that share the forests and how they help each other to thrive in the ‘survival of the fittest’ natural world.
It is clear that trees are immensely responsive to their environment and are social creatures that are vital to our survival. It is also clear that there is so much more to the little local woods to the major forests than you would have first thought. I believe there are two reasons this book fascinated me soo much. Firstly, I love nature and trees specifically, as they come in a huge array of sizes and shapes and just look incredible. Secondly, trees are hugely important to our survival and that of many, many animals, so deserve our admiration for this fact alone. If you want to learn more about the mystic woods, you use play in then I would defiantly recommend this book.
I have seen this book being recommend very highly for anyone looking to connect with nature. I will also be the first to say that this book does not disappoint. Written by Isabella Tree who along with the conservationist husband, Charlie Burrell transforms their farm from a struggling estate in Knepp to a thriving wildlife and nature haven. Along the way, as Isabella and her husband learn more about the ecology, she teaches this to us through the book, raising our awareness of the fragile habitats we and our wildlife lives in. This fascinating book goes through the impact of the farmland and the impact of the war through ‘dig for victory’. Alongside, the dependence on pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers. The book is an intriguing story of the farming industry and environment collapse in the UK and how Knepp is pulling themselves out of this by giving control of their land over to nature and its wildlife. I love how it delves into history and science relating it to nature and detailing how through the discoveries at the Knepp estate is changing the way we currently or up recently thought of our wildlife and the history of England's natural history.
Although I don’t agree with everything in the book and what they are doing at Knepp, it is a new perspective on rewilding and the history of our nature and ecology is refreshing and incredible intriguing. The book is thought provoking, changing how we farm, revitalise the soils and our entire ecosystem, which in turn improves our land increasing our food yields. If you read this book it will surely give you inspiration for the future of our farmlands and highlighting the huge importance for us to take note of the work done at Knepp. The only thing that bugs me is that I wish I could inherit a farm or a decent plot of land and follow in their footsteps, perhaps one day...
The magnificent snow leopard is my partners favourite animal. Easily understandable due to it being an isolated mysterious creature with a beyond elegant appearance. Due to this and it’s incredible rareness the snow leopard has become a fascinating most precious gem for people to find. Well this is what Peter Matthiessen does whilst assisting a friend on an exhibition to the Himalayas. He looks for the snow leopard with the same idealistic idea of hunting one down in one of the worlds most secluded places just to grasp a glimpse of its unrivalled magnificent, even if for just a few seconds.
The book mixes the sense of adventure, travel, both the highlights and the gruelling aspects with the spiritual awakening, self-reflection and desire to understand the world and personal enlightenment. Throughout the book he describes the incredible scenic views he witnesses along the extended trek to find mountain goats. All the while seeming to be so close, yet so far from the magnificent snow leopard. The journey takes them through picturesque scenes, as well to ancient temples, meeting mystic people and making friends, essentially everything you would want from an adventure.
The book is a leading inspiration for numerous naturalists, spiritualists and adventures alike. As well as a well written book that even helps with accepting failure through realising the incredible wonders and experience you can have. It is a book that makes you yearn for adventure, nature, wildlife and unrivalled scenes of beauty and is likely to ignite passion in anyone reading it to do the same.
Now the books I have read so far has made me want to run in the fields, explore the ancient forests, and go on a mountain adventure. However, one thing was missing, the water. I have always loved bodies of water in any form, the sea, lakes, rivers or ponds. Therefore, I picked up this book which dives into the heart of the English countryside stable of the humble pond.
John Lewis-Stempel goes through the daily running at his farm and his frequent encounters with the pond there, another he visits in France, as well as a handful of others on his travels throughout a year across each season (Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn). As previously, I don’t agree with everything he does. However, I love his enthusiasm for the ponds he comes across that seem to give him a welcome escape from life. His interactions with these quintessential ponds makes me want to find one of my very own to enjoy. His use of words really manages to capture the essence of ponds, the feelings, the smells that bring back memories of my childhood adventures.
He also adds much to his book, through helping to identify what to look for and what you might be able to see, as well as what makes ponds so important. He takes this further through further detailing the history of ponds, how they were used, maintained and are a huge part of our heritage. The books gives you a great glimpse at ponds and all the life surrounding them, whilst also providing a number of poems to further create the countryside atmosphere. Ponds are clearly a strong beating heart to British wildlife. Even at the end John Lewis-Stempel goes into how to create a number of different ponds, plant them, maintain them and enjoy them, whilst also going into depth of how you can add features to further help wildlife to flourish. A great unique book.
Now, I don’t know anyone who has not seen at least one documentary of David Attenborough’s. Also, whilst watching it not feel as though the cinematography had taken you to another world alongside the information and artistic language David Attenborough strings out helping to inform and intrigue you further into these varying worlds. Well the great Sir David Attenborough has brought this to the written word in this book, which just by his name alone should be enough of a recommendation, however, if not you should definitely pick this up and you will enjoy nature more and be even more informed about it.
This book goes through amazing aspects of the earth and the incredibly varying environments that are all unique, incredible and hold simply amazing creatures throughout our planet. The book beautifully brings these biomes from across the earth to life in perfect snapshots, detailing what it is like there and the animals that compete to live in these places. The more you get into it the more it will amaze you the different realms that exist right now, all while being informational and interesting. Would probably say it has been my most enjoyed book out of the 5 and one you should quickly snap up.
Conclusions
I would defiantly say that last year I have a newfound love for reading. I would say I am incredibly impressed with these first few books I have picked up and they have done so much to inspire me to keep reading and learning more about our natural world. They have taught me so much about the world we live in and the animals we share it with. Reading these books always brings new life in my fascination and amazement of nature and its wildlife and I would recommend each one of them to anyone who has the same interests and passions. Let me know what you think of these books and tell me what nature books you would recommend.
Updated: Jul 18, 2023
Greenwashing is the disinformation of an organisation so that it presents itself in an environmentally responsible public image. Essentially, companies recognise the climate emergency or at least recognise the incredibly large growing mass of people who do and therefore, listening and ensuring their products are eco-friendly sustainable and have a minimal impact. This is a great marketing point, as it allows people to know they share our ethics and will then buy or use their products or services without jeopardising your own ethics and goals. Then here comes Evil Corp. They don’t want to put money in to actually achieve a green, sustainable and eco-friendly business but want to make you believe they are and willing to spend your money with them. This is where greenwashing appears.
Greenwashing can appear in many aspects and it can be hard to tell the signs. Companies will use a number of tricks to paint a product or service as green, eco or ethical from its image, its words used to the “certification” it acclaims to hold. Though there are many ways greenwashing appears, there are still some companies that are good, you just have to do some research or just think about what they are doing and if this meets a green ethic. Some key ways to do this is just by understanding the company and what they deal in, for example it is quite obvious huge fossil fuel companies aren’t really environmentally friendly, yet there can also be quite niche examples. Here are 8 cases of greenwashing you should be aware off:
Volkswagen and Audi used emission cheating software to deceptively advertise diesel vehicle as clean and environmentally friendly, when the were not.
Kauai coffee pods were advertised as 100% compostable with a fine print detailing this had only been certified at “industrial facilities”. The company agreed that this was misleading, as the coffee pods are not certified for backyard compositing.
Ikea noted as a major sustainable corporation have been linked to illegal logging in Ukraine, which is supposedly linked to the wood certification scheme ‘Forest Stewardship Council’ that has been described as greenwashing the timber industry.
Tide purclean detailed their laundry detergent is 100% plant based when it was only 75%, due to this the company agreed to change their packaging to not be so deceptive.
Starbucks released a “straw-less lid” that actually contained more plastic than the old lid and straw combination. Starbucks didn’t even deny this but pressed that it was made from a polypropylene, a commonly-accepted recyclable plastic. However, as only 9% of the world’s plastic is recycled, it is still creating a greater amount of plastic waste.
H&M have used displays and even slogans that are strikingly similar to those used by climate activist, things like “climate crusader”, as well as pictures of eco-activists, which they use as brand ambassadors. This is all to follow the growing sustainability trend. Yet they don’t really practice what they preach. Even their conscious collection, which is marketed as sustainable has higher damaging synthetic material than their main line. Many clothing brands like this also contribute a great amount to textile waste, which often ends in landfill.
BP changed their name to Beyond Petroleum and added solar panels to their gas station, then focused their advertisement on their low-carbon energy products, yet more than 96% of its annual spend is on oil and gas.
Coca-Cola has been ranked the number 1 plastic polluter and with this title they are still currently stating they are not going to abandon their plastic bottles. Yet still advertise that they are sustainable and eco-friendly.
This is just a handful of the greenwashing that goes on every day, there are many more cases of greenwashing, some that are pending, have been settled or dismissed and many more still ongoing. One story I heard detailed a company who produced eco-paint when the only thing eco-friendly about it was that the pot was recyclable. It angers me companies do this, to pray on people good ethics to further line their pockets. It is also annoying that some companies have for years defiled the environment and then switched to eco-friendly alternative or start to and make out like they were green to begin with, again this is misleading and unfair to the companies starting out with the world in mind.
There are many things to look for to find out if a company is guilty of greenwashing and you should be aware of these. Start with a mindset, where you can look at things in the broader sense by questioning a company’s motive, as well as its primary service/product. Also be aware of niche elements of greenwashing for example I am aware how plant based is the future due to often using drastically lest resources and being less harmful to the environment but can actually still contain products that are harmful such as palm oil. Not all palm oil is harmful but it is if done in an unsustainable way. It is also important that greenwashing can appear in all aspects not just when buying something, banks often brand the money you store with them as life changing and help to fund revolutionary (& green) businesses but neglect to mention the life crippling effect they have when invested in fossil fuel conglomerates. Here are some key things to look out for when buying a product or service:
Vague: Often in a companies catchphrase, motto or slogan they will use eco-friendly terminology but that don’t have an actual meaning to how they are green. For example using a broad term like eco-friendly but without noting how.
Imagery: This is used on product labels such as wildlife, trees, nature and the colour green to associate with a green message. Even though this gives the feeling of an eco-friendly products or service this is just a form of green marketing and does not mean anything.
False Certification: Companies use keen catchphrases that make you want to buy their products such as ‘organic, recycled, recyclable, etc. but unfortunately are not. They are just put onto a product or service to get you to buy them. This is often through some self-declaration or certification that has not be vetted. Make sure to check these claims and if it is actually possible for you to achieve e.g. recyclable locally or has to be sent away to the manufacture.
Swindle: Company’s might have a sustainable/eco-friendly product to wave and attract you but then once at their store show numerous other products that don’t meet the environmentally friendly disclaimer of the one that brought you there.
Simply put greenwashing is disgusting and a deceptive act for the rich to get richer with no care for the environment. It is used to trick people who are actually trying to make an active change through conscious decisions with their money, which is plainly upsetting. Therefore, I have tried to shed some light on greenwashing, some cases of it and what to look for, so you do not fall for it. One more part of inspiration that has always stuck with me on greenwashing comes from one of my favourite spoken word artist who gave the following lyrics:
“our revolution is quickly becoming a catchphrase, a colour to paint the walls of our castles, shell corporation the worlds second largest private sector oil company has now marketed itself as a leader in green technology, there new motto ‘we can pass as green if we just put green dye in the gasoline’”
- Watsky
Updated: Jul 18, 2023
Now, I am sure you know I love plants, nature, wildlife and I have always seen the amazing landmark of the domes of the Eden Project in pictures and wanted to visit them. Well on a family holiday or staycation due to the pandemic my family hired a cottage in Devon, only a stones throw away from The Eden Project from my current approximate 6+ hour journey. Well as this is a blog about nature and wildlife and the Eden Project is a place for this I thought I would detail a bit more about The Eden Project and my experience visiting the site in Cornwall. So here is my Eden Project review.
If you want the very brief overview, I would say the Eden Project is a plant lover’s dream, that I would highly recommend a visit for anyone who want to reconnect with nature, see some amazing plants or just wants a pleasant day out.
Who is Eden Project?
Eden Project is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England within an ex-clay pit that was repurposed to give it life with the diverse plants and wildlife we see today. This idea became a reality and also created the charity it is today, which has the aim of exploring the interconnections between all living things. They also have several other goals include connection people with the natural world, celebrating plants and nature, working to regenerate damages landscapes, recognising the planetary emergency and need to protect the Earth.
The Eden Project has many goals that align with mine including; Implementing a creative and cultural place to provoke, captivate and inspire and undertake works on regenerative sustainability making thing better for the environment, society and economically.
Eden Project have also gone international and have site across the UK and in Australia, China, Cost Rica, New Zealand and USA. I was lucky to get a glimpse of some of the other sites from the pictures and 3D mock ups that were on show in the café between the biomes. The Eden Project has the motto of reconnecting people with nature with the additional goals to protect, preserve and encouraging it. So if you like the sound of this check out one of the ones that is closes to you and I am sure you wont be disappointed.
Cornwall Eden Project
A famous landmark of the UK is the famous Eden Project located in Cornwall. Alongside the massive ex-quarry regeneration into a nature hotspot sits several structures, predominantly consisting of the two famous domes, the rainforest biome and Mediterranean biome. There is also several other elements including the Outdoor Gardens, Invisible Worlds Exhibition, numerous sculptures and more.
At first I was slightly concerned it was going to be like another luxury garden, which has many of its plants ripped out and replaced to create a pristine view. However, I can assure you this was not the case To me it appeared that the majority of the plants had been there for years to grow and develop, which was especially the case within the rainforest biome dome. To quickly summarise my experience at the Eden Project definitely rekindled my love for nature and is a must for anyone who want to get expired by earth.
Outdoor Gardens
Before we even got through the front gate, walking down from the carpark, above the quarry, through the mounds among the paths the banks had been planted with numerous trees, bushes and flowers, alongside some beautifully painted beehives. It was great to see large hives flourishing, which I am sure also help the plants through the hard pollinating efforts of the bees. This helped clarifying that the Eden Project is not another manicured garden but a place for nature and wildlife to thrive.
Once we got inside and a quick tea break, we began the walk high up in the quarry with stunning views of the biomes, which I am incredibly eager to get into. The route started high up in the ex-quarry with these parts being filled with trees, bushes, flower, dry stone walls, moss and more. It was clear the Eden Project had given sections of this land back to nature, allowing the local wildlife to flourish. It even gave me ideas of what I could do in my garden, such as making a living gazebo, as seen below.
Along the way we experienced numerous sculptures connecting man-made life with nature creating beautiful art to further peoples enjoyment of their trip here. Down among the buildings a much more manicured section of the ex-quarry still highlighted some amazing plants and even a small agricultural section showing the numerous crops grown throughout the world. Nearer the biomes there is also additional features from garden arches covered in plants to a manmade water stream that were also home to further wildlife such as the frog we saw floating within it.
Rainforest Biomes
This was defiantly the highlight for me, it was full of the most exotic and beautiful plants, huge lushes green leaves, massive trees, waterfalls and wildlife that I feel would make most want to see the exotic lands these plants come from. Meandering through the biome weaving around the streams, small waterfalls, ponds (pools) there were millions of plants to see. I must have took about 500+ pictures of the plants, flowers, leaves only a fraction on here (more on my Instagram).
There was also quite a bit of wildlife to see. Throughout the trail was a few birds flying about but more interestingly the long ant trails lining up the trees. There were also some quirky looking birds with what I can only describe as having ‘wild’ hair lurking around the trees pecking at I assume the numerous insect in the undergrowth. The massive waterfall was also incredibly impressible and trickled down in streams, smaller waterfalls that swell into small bodies of water surrounded by more plants. The biome was also full of information about the impacts we are having on the planet, as well as crops grown in more tropical climates. Stunning and information.
Mediterranean Biome
Off into the Mediterranean Biome, which was nowhere near the size of the previous Rainforest Biomes but definitely captured the essence of the Mediterranean. From the carefully selected plants, cacti, deeply aged olive trees to the beautiful tiled floors, crisp white walls taking me back to my holiday across the seas. Throughout the biome they had install authentic tiled floors, gravelled surfaced to some of the planted areas, clay pots to further create the humid atmosphere.
There was some incredibly bright coloured flowers throughout the biome, which contrasted beautifully with the pure white walls. It was nice to see the different type of plants you get in a completely different atmosphere. Inside the biome there was a huge sculpture art piece at the centre, which was incredibly stunning. It also housed an Mediterranean café to allow you enjoy the dome for longer.
Why write about it?
Well if you love houseplants or like to see nature that you are unlikely to see without travelling across the globe I wanted to provide a great recommendation to any UK residence or even those visiting. It is an incredible place that has rehabilitated a scar in the landscape to a nature haven for wildlife to thrive and for people to reconnect with. This blog is about sustainability and helping the planet heal and for wildlife flourish, whilst enjoying some incredible plants, which fits with what the Eden Project is all about. Personally, I couldn't recommend it more, go in the spring and summer to further enjoy all the gardens in bloom and I am sure you will not regret it.
