It was a calm Sunday morning round the camp fire at the chalet at Wytham Woods. 10 of us gathered at the chalet in the Woods, where the fire was lit, and hot drinks and cake awaited. We had each brought a book, loosely related to nature or climate, to tell other people about. It was a wonderful wide ranging discussion about books from novels and poetry to field guides and economics. We covered over 20 different books, in enough depth to whet the appetite to go away and read them - that seems good value for a book club!
The event was organised by me, Kim Polgreen, Youth Educator in Residence, and Alice Little, Writer in Residence at Wytham Woods. It was such a delight to share thoughts, hopes and fears with others who are also interested in these topics. We are going to do it again on 15th May!
The books that were discussed and recommended are as follows. The links are all to www.bookshop.org which supports local independent bookshops.
The Peace of Wild Things. Poetry. Wendell Berry.
Engish Pastoral: An Inheritance. James Rebanks.
Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild. Lucy Jones.
If Women Rose Rooted: A life-changing journey to authenticity and belonging. Sharon Blackie.
Big Panda Tiny Dragon. James Norbury.
Swimming with Seals. Victoria Whitworth.
All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharing K. Wilkinson.
Turn the Tide on Climate Anxiety: Sustainable Action for Your Mental Health and the Planet. Megan Kennedy-Woodard and Patrick Kennedy-Williams.
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate. Peter Wohlleben.
Who Owns England?: How We Lost Our Land and How to Take it Back. Guy Shrubsole.
Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. Kate Raworth.
A Wood of One's Own. Ruth Pavey.
The Overstory. Richard Powers.
The Wood: The Life & Times of Cockshutt Wood. John Lewis-Stempel.
The Salt Path. Raynor Winn.
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. Katherine May.
The Last Wilderness: A Journey into Silence. Neil Ansell.
Dream Island. Ronald Lockley.
The Walker's Guide to Outdoor Clues and Signs: Their Meaning and the Art of Making Predictions and Deductions. Tristan Gooley.
RSPB Handbook of British Birds. Peter Holden and Richard Gregory
The Unofficial Countryside. Richard Mabey (Author) Mary Newcomb (Illustrator).
Diary of a Young Naturalist. Dara McAnulty.
Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the Wisdom and Intelligence of the Forest. Suzanne Simard.
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Robin Wall Kimmerer