‘A feast for mind and soul, a treasure trove of insights into the enigmatic and enchanting world of the birds we share our lives with but barely notice. I have learnt so much. Every page is a thrill. Bird School has opened my eyes' Isabella Tree, author of WildingStep into the hide for a glorious new encounter with the British wildClose to Adam Nicolson’s home in Sussex, there is a forgotten field overrun by bracken and thicketed by brambles. It is the haunt of deer and many birds – nightingales, the occasional cuckoo, ravens, robins, owls and in summer the sweet-singing warblers that come north from Africa to breed in English woods.This gorgeous book charts his attempt to encounter birds, to engage with a marvellous layer of life he had previously almost ignored. He wanted to look and listen, to return to ‘bird school’ and see what it might teach him.He built a small shed amongst the trees with nesting boxes and bird feeders. Cocooned inside, season after season, he got to know the birds: where they nest, how they sing, how they mate and fight, what preys on them, what they are like as living things.Beautifully written and woven through with philosophy, literature, science and a sense of wonder, always conscious that that this is an age in which the natural world is under siege, Bird School pulls back the curtain on seemingly ordinary birds, taking a long, careful and concerned look at our relationship with the wild. Read more

Watch a thousand years unfold in the life of one magnificent tree!A thousand years ago, a tiny acorn fell to the ground. As the years pass, it grows . . . and GROWS into an enormous oak tree! As the centuries sweep by, children play games around the tree. Families dance about it. A fleeing king even hides inside its hollow trunk!The tree gives food and shelter to a host of animals, from squirrels and badgers to birds and beetles.After a thousand years, the ancient tree finally falls in a storm - but a new acorn sprouts, and the cycle of life begins all over again.The tree's magical life story is brought to life in Julia Donaldson's rich, dramatic rhyme.Victoria Sandøy's gorgeous, atmospheric illustrations perfectly capture the changing seasons, and the people and wildlife that pass byChildren will love spotting all the creatures in the pictures, and seeing the games children play around the treeThis is a book that encourages us all to look more closely at nature, and to appreciate the wonder of our ancient trees.The final pages of the book contain extra fascinating facts about oak trees and the animals that depend on them.Praise for The Christmas Pine, also by Julia Donaldson and Victoria Sandøy: "Magical . . . as well as paying tribute to tradition, the gentle rhythmic verse and stunning pictures illuminate the two other things close to Julia's heart: the power of children and song"Julia Donaldson is the author of many of the best-loved children's books ever written. She has been awarded a CBE for services to literature, and is the most celebrated children's writer in Britain today.Many of Julia Donaldson's beloved picture books have been made into award-winning animated films which are regularly shown on the BBC at Christmas. Read more

*** THE INSTANT TOP TEN BESTSELLER *** ‘This spare but elegant account is an unexpected delight, and as soothing as a walk down a tree-dappled lane at sunset’ – Daily Mail‘Gentle and timeless, Paul is the authentic voice of the countryside. This is the story of a man at one with the land.’ – Lara Maiklem, author of Mudlarking'It is impossible not to like Lamb, or this book' – Sunday Times Paul Lamb is a hedgelayer. From the end of summer until the birds nest in the spring, he maintains the ancient boundaries of the British countryside. He lives in his wagon, as many itinerant farm workers used to, and travels the south-west corner of England, restoring an important but often forgotten part of our country.   Hedgerows are a living structure, woven into the fabric of rural life, a vital aspect of man’s partnership with nature. As traditional management techniques are lost to modernisation, hedges have declined dramatically. Paul works alone and by hand to rejuvenate these linear woodlands, saving the homes of the wildlife that rely on them and bringing many other ecological benefits.   Following the rhythm of the seasons, Of Thorn & Briar describes Paul’s life on the road and the practical aspects of his job. It is about practising a craft with skill, preserving our heritage for future generations and celebrating the glory of the landscape he’s spent his life caring for.   Read more

'A hymn of love to the world ... A journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise' Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, LoveAs a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two ways of knowledge together. Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings - asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass - offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return. Read more

'There can be a perverse pleasure, as well as a sense of rightness and beauty, in insisting on flowering just when the world expects you to become quiet and diminish.' Sharon BlackieWhat is Hagitude? It means being at ease with the unique power women embody in the second half of their life. It means having a strong sense of who we are and what we have to offer the world. And a firm belief in our place in the ever-shifting web of life.For the woman who wishes to flourish without chasing eternal youth comes Hagitude. Interweaving myth, psychology, landscape and ecofeminism, acclaimed author Sharon Blackie reclaims the mid years as an alchemical moment - from which to shift into your chosen, authentic and fulfilling future - and the elder years as a path to dynamic influence.'A fascinating book ... well researched, packed with stories and bursting with lovely descriptions of the natural world. There's plenty in it to inspire women of every age.' Christina Patterson, Sunday Times Read more

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER'A scientific memoir as gripping as any HBO drama series' Kate Kellaway, ObserverA dazzling scientific detective story from the ecologist who first discovered the hidden language of trees No one has done more to transform our understanding of trees than the world-renowned scientist Suzanne Simard. Now she shares the secrets of a lifetime spent uncovering startling truths about trees: their cooperation, healing capacity, memory, wisdom and sentience. Raised in the forests of British Columbia, where her family has lived for generations, Professor Simard did not set out to be a scientist. She was working in the forest service when she first discovered how trees communicate underground through an immense web of fungi, at the centre of which lie the Mother Trees: the mysterious, powerful entities that nurture their kin and sustain the forest. Though her ground-breaking findings were initially dismissed and even ridiculed, they are now firmly supported by the data. As her remarkable journey shows us, science is not a realm apart from ordinary life, but deeply connected with our humanity. In Finding the Mother Tree, she reveals how the complex cycle of forest life - on which we rely for our existence - offers profound lessons about resilience and kinship, and must be preserved before it's too late. Read more

Sunday Times Bestseller‘A paradigm-smashing chronicle of joyous entanglement’ Charles FosterWaterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month (September)Are trees social beings? How do trees live? Do they feel pain or have awareness of their surroundings?In The Hidden Life of Trees Peter Wohlleben makes the case that the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death and regeneration he has observed in his woodland.A walk in the woods will never be the same again. Read more

'From her chambers in London, one of Britain's most dazzling legal minds is taking on the challenge of a lifetime.' VOGUE'Law could be our planet's greatest hope. I was punching the air as I read this powerful, inspiring book.'ISABELLA TREE'Fascinating and compelling . . . A vital book for our times.' JULIAN HOFFMAN*Can a planet have legal rights? Could it be defended in a court of law? How do we redefine a 'right to life'? A revolution is taking place. Around the world, ordinary people are turning to courts, seeking justice for environmental wrongs. At the forefront of this movement, pioneering barrister Monica Feria-Tinta advocates not only for people, but also for those who have no voice: for rivers, forests and endangered species. In A Barrister for the Earth, Feria-Tinta takes us behind the scenes of ten real cases as she argues against the destruction of cloud forests and for sovereign states to account for inaction. Each of these are landmarks signalling that we are at an important juncture, in which the law can be a powerful tool for the lasting change. Read more

This book will transform how you see our biggest environmental problems – and show how together we can solve them.** THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER **'Truly essential' MARGARET ATWOOD‘Inspiring' DAVID WALLACE-WELLS‘Shines with positivity’ RUTGER BREGMAN ‘Unmissable' TIM SPECTOR-------------------------------------------We are bombarded by doomsday headlines that tell us the soil won't be able to support crops, fish will vanish from our oceans, that we should reconsider having children.But in this bold, radically hopeful book, data scientist Hannah Ritchie argues that if we zoom out, a very different picture emerges. The data shows we've made so much progress on these problems, and so fast, that we could be on track to achieve true sustainability for the first time in history.Packed with the latest research, practical guidance and enlightening graphics, this book will make you rethink almost everything you've been told about the environment, from the virtues of eating locally and living in the countryside, to the evils of overpopulation, plastic straws and palm oil. It will give you the tools to understand what works, what doesn't and what we urgently need to focus on so we can leave a sustainable planet for future generations.These problems are big. But they are solvable. We are not doomed. We can build a better future for everyone. Let's turn that opportunity into reality.---------------------------------------‘A book for anyone who finds it difficult to believe in a better future’ THE TIMES‘I hope people around the world read this book, understand our planet isn’t a lost cause, and get inspired to help fix it’ Bill GatesA STYLIST BEST NON-FICTION 2024 * A GUARDIAN BIGGEST FICTION AND NON-FICTION FOR 2024 * A FINANCIAL TIMES, SCOTSMAN, PROSPECT AND NEW SCIENTIST BOOK OF THE YEAR* A WATERSTONES ‘BOOK YOU NEED TO READ IN 2024’ Read more

FOYLES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARA SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERTHE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING - HIGHLY COMMENDEDLONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE SUNDAY TIMES, TELEGRAPH, PROSPECT, THE NEW YORKER AND BBC HISTORY WATERSTONES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH'The best book on the history of life on Earth I have ever read' Tom Holland'Epically cinematic... A book of almost unimaginable riches' Sunday TimesThis is the past as we've never seen it before. Otherlands is an epic, exhilarating journey into deep time, showing us the Earth as it used to exist, and the worlds that were here before ours.Award-winning young palaeobiologist Thomas Halliday immerses us in a series of ancient landscapes, from the mammoth steppe in Ice Age Alaska to the lush rainforests of Eocene Antarctica, with its colonies of giant penguins, to Ediacaran Australia, where the moon is far brighter than ours today. We visit the birthplace of humanity; we hear the crashing of the highest waterfall the Earth has ever known; and we watch as life emerges again after the asteroid hits, and the age of the mammal dawns.Otherlands is a staggering imaginative feat: an emotional narrative that underscores the tenacity of life - yet also the fragility of seemingly permanent ecosystems, including our own. To read it is to see the last 500 million years not as an endless expanse of unfathomable time, but as a series of worlds, simultaneously fabulous and familiar.Sunday Times bestseller, March 2023 Read more

“teeming with fascinating and enlightening insights” ObserverA narrative investigation into the new science of plant intelligence and sentience, from National Association of Science Writers Award winner and Livingston Award finalist Zoe Schlanger.Look at the green organism across the room or through the window: the potted plant, or the grass or a tree. Think how a life spent constantly growing yet rooted in a single spot comes with tremendous challenges. To meet them, plants have come up with some of the most creative methods for surviving of any living thing – us included. Many are so ingenious that they seem nearly impossible.Did you know plants can communicate when they are being eaten, allowing nearby plants to bolster their defences? They move and that movement stops when they are anaesthetised. They also use electricity for internal communication. They can hear the sounds of caterpillars eating. Plants can remember the last time they have been visited by a bee and how many times they have been visited – so they have a concept of time and can count. Plants can not only communicate with each other, they can also communicate with other species of plants and animals, allowing them to manipulate animals to defend or fertilise them.So look again at the potted plant, or the grass or the tree and wonder: are plants intelligent?Or perhaps ask an even more fundamental question: are they conscious?The Light Eaters will completely redefine how you think about plants. Packed with the most amazing stories of the life of plants it will open your eyes to the extraordinary green life forms we share the planet with. Read more

Following on from its successful launch in 2009, Collins Wild Flower Guide – the ultimate reference book for wild flower enthusiasts – now enters its second edition.Featuring all flowering plants, including trees and grasses, and ferns, this fully revised and updated field guide to the wild flowers of Britain and northern Europe is the most complete illustrated, single-volume guide ever published.Leading botanical artists have been specially commissioned to ensure accurate, detailed illustrations. Species are described and illustrated on the same page, with up-to-date authoritative text aiding identification. Plants are arranged by family, with their key features highlighted for quick and easy reference. The text offers a complete account of over 1,900 wild flowers of Britain and Ireland, along with a summary of their European distribution.Collins Wild Flower Guide is an indispensable guide for all those with an interest in the countryside, whether amateur or expert. Read more

WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CONSERVATION 2023The Sunday Times Science Book of the YearAs seen on Countryfile‘If anyone was born to save Britain’s rainforests, it was Guy Shrubsole’ Sunday TimesShortlisted for the Richard Jefferies Society Literary PrizeTemperate rainforest may once have covered up to one-fifth of Britain, inspiring Celtic druids, Welsh wizards, Romantic poets, and Arthur Conan Doyle’s most loved creations. Though only fragments now remain, they are home to a dazzling variety of luminous life-forms.In this awe-inspiring investigation, Guy Shrubsole travels through the Western Highlands and the Lake District, down to the rainforests of Wales, Devon, and Cornwall to map these spectacular lost worlds for the first time.This is the extraordinary tale of one person’s quest to find Britain’s lost rainforests – and bring them back.*Guy's next book The Lie of the Land is out now*Guy Shrubsole's book 'The Lost Rainforests of Britain' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2023-05-29. Read more

The first book in the bestselling BATTLE OF THE BEETLES series – perfect for fans of Roald Dahl!Winner of the Branford Boase Award 2017Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2017Shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Children's Book Award 2016Chosen for the Tom Fletcher Book Club'Truly great storytelling.' MICHAEL MORPURGO'Funny, exciting and genuinely eccentric' PHILIP REEVE'Roald Dahl meets 101 Dalmatians in a rollicking ride, full of adventure with vivid characters' EXPRESS'By the end, you'll think beetles are the coolest creatures on the planet' TOM FLETCHERDarkus can't believe his eyes when a huge insect drops out of the trouser leg of his horrible new neighbour. It's a giant beetle – and it seems to want to communicate.But how can a boy be friends with a beetle? And what does a beetle have to do with the disappearance of his dad and the arrival of Lucretia Cutter, with her taste for creepy jewellery?The first book in MG Leonard's acclaimed trilogy, followed by Beetle Queen and Battle of the Beetles!Featuring exotic beetles, a daring quest, a mixture of bold male and female characters and a truly venomous villainIncludes brilliant illustrations by Julia SardàFrom the author of Hunt for the Golden Scarab, Twitch and the Adventure on Trains series, co-written with Sam Sedgman Read more

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Important and empowering' - BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH'Get this great guide and be inspired' - STEPHEN FRY'A handbook of hope ... Buy it, read it, start changing things right now' - JOANNA LUMLEY_______________The enormity of climate change and biodiversity loss can leave us feeling overwhelmed. How can an individual ever make a difference?Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell know firsthand how spectacularly nature can bounce back if you give it the chance. And what comes is not just wildlife in super-abundance, but solutions to the other environmental crises we face.The Book of Wilding is a handbook for how we can all help restore nature. It is ambitious, visionary and pragmatic. The book has grown out of Isabella and Charlie's mission to help rewild Britain, Europe and the rest of the world by sharing knowledge from their pioneering project at Knepp in Sussex. It is inspired by the requests they receive from people wanting to learn how to rewild everything from unprofitable farms, landed estates and rivers, to ponds, allotments, churchyards, urban parks, gardens, window boxes and public spaces.. The Book of Wilding has the answers._______________'Brilliantly readable and incredibly hard-working' - HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL'A deep, dazzling and indispensable guide to the most important task of all: the restoration of the living planet' - GEORGE MONBIOT Read more

'A powerfully disruptive book for disrupted times ... If you're looking for transformative ideas, this book is for you.' KATE RAWORTH, economist and author of Doughnut EconomicsA Financial Times Book of the Year______________________________________Our planet is in trouble. But how can we reverse the current crisis and create a sustainable future? The answer is: DEGROWTH.Less is More is the wake-up call we need. By shining a light on ecological breakdown and the system that's causing it, Hickel shows how we can bring our economy back into balance with the living world and build a thriving society for all. This is our chance to change course, but we must act now.______________________________________'A masterpiece... Less is More covers centuries and continents, spans academic disciplines, and connects contemporary and ancient events in a way which cannot be put down until it's finished.' DANNY DORLING, Professor of Geography, University of Oxford'Jason is able to personalise the global and swarm the mind in the way that insects used to in abundance but soon shan't unless we are able to heed his beautifully rendered warning.' RUSSELL BRAND'Jason Hickel shows that recovering the commons and decolonizing nature, cultures, and humanity are necessary conditions for hope of a common future in our common home.' VANDANA SHIVA, author of Making Peace With the Earth'This is a book we have all been waiting for. Jason Hickel dispels ecomodernist fantasies of "green growth". Only degrowth can avoid climate breakdown. The facts are indisputable and they are in this book.' GIORGIS KALLIS, author of Degrowth'Capitalism has robbed us of our ability to even imagine something different; Less is More gives us the ability to not only dream of another world, but also the tools by which we can make that vision real.' ASAD REHMAN, director of War on Want'One of the most important books I have read ... does something extremely rare: it outlines a clear path to a sustainable future for all.' RAOUL MARTINEZ, author of Creating Freedom'Jason Hickel takes us on a profound journey through the last 500 years of capitalism and into the current crisis of ecological collapse. Less is More is required reading for anyone interested in what it means to live in the Anthropocene, and what we can do about it.' ALNOOR LADHA, co-founder of The Rules'Excellent analysis...This book explores not only the systemic flaws but the deeply cultural beliefs that need to be uprooted and replaced.' ADELE WALTON Read more

THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER*A Financial Times Most Anticipated Book of 2024*“Can a graphic novel save the planet? Perhaps.” – Elizabeth KolbertIs this the end of the world? Perhaps not. In this eye-opening, hopeful and hugely entertaining bestseller, a climate expert takes a leading graphic novelist on a journey to understand the profound changes that our planet is undergoing. The scientist, Jean-Marc Jancovici, walks us through just about everything: from the innermost workings of our minds to toothbrushes, office jobs, and oil; ancient history and modern geopolitics; economics and ecology; the unfolding climate crisis and its consequences for us all. As he describes the world we live in - a world whose future is deeply uncertain - the artist, Christophe Blain, listens and draws.Coming face to face with global warming, the unlikely duo - along with Mother Nature, Pop Eye and Jiminy Cricket, among others - create a picture of what the solution to our predicament actually looks like. Yes, we have a fossil-fuel problem, but simply switching to renewable energy won’t fix it. We can and must rethink everything: our energy supply, our economies and our whole world. They leave us with an inspiring vision of the future in which food, education, housing, transport and communities - in other words, all of us - work together and, with a few technological fixes, succeed in creating a world without end.“Masterful and unforgettable... A testament to the power of the graphic novel" - Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis“READ. THIS. BOOK.”- Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalistOver 1 million copies sold since publication, The Guardian, October 2024 Read more

The Sunday Times bestseller *Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize*A New Statesman and Spectator Book of the Year'This book calls for nothing less than a revolution in the future of food' Kate RaworthFrom the bestselling author of Feral, a breathtaking first glimpse of a new future for food and for humanityFarming is the world's greatest cause of environmental destruction - and the one we are least prepared to talk about. We criticise urban sprawl, but farming sprawls across thirty times as much land. We have ploughed, fenced and grazed great tracts of the planet, felling forests, killing wildlife, and poisoning rivers and oceans to feed ourselves. Yet millions still go hungry.Now the food system itself is beginning to falter. But, as George Monbiot shows us in this brilliant, bracingly original new book, we can resolve the biggest of our dilemmas and feed the world without devouring the planet.Regenesis is a breathtaking vision of a new future for food and for humanity. Drawing on astonishing advances in soil ecology, Monbiot reveals how our changing understanding of the world beneath our feet could allow us to grow more food with less farming. He meets the people who are unlocking these methods, from the fruit and vegetable grower revolutionising our understanding of fertility; through breeders of perennial grains, liberating the land from ploughs and poisons; to the scientists pioneering new ways to grow protein and fat. Together, they show how the tiniest life forms could help us make peace with the planet, restore its living systems, and replace the age of extinction with an age of regenesis. Read more

A TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR'Beautifully written, movingly told and meticulously researched ... a convincing plea for a wilder, richer world' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding'By the time I'd read the first chapter, I'd resolved to take my son into the woods every afternoon over winter. By the time I'd read the sixth, I was wanting to break prisoners out of cells and onto the mossy moors. Losing Eden rigorously and convincingly tells of the value of the natural universe to our human hearts' Amy Liptrot, author of The OutrunToday many of us live indoor lives, disconnected from the natural world as never before. And yet nature remains deeply ingrained in our language, culture and consciousness. For centuries, we have acted on an intuitive sense that we need communion with the wild to feel well. Now, in the moment of our great migration away from the rest of nature, more and more scientific evidence is emerging to confirm its place at the heart of our psychological wellbeing. So what happens, asks acclaimed journalist Lucy Jones, as we lose our bond with the natural world-might we also be losing part of ourselves? Delicately observed and rigorously researched, Losing Eden is an enthralling journey through this new research, exploring how and why connecting with the living world can so drastically affect our health. Travelling from forest schools in East London to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault via primeval woodlands, Californian laboratories and ecotherapists' couches, Jones takes us to the cutting edge of human biology, neuroscience and psychology, and discovers new ways of understanding our increasingly dysfunctional relationship with the earth. Urgent and uplifting, Losing Eden is a rallying cry for a wilder way of life - for finding asylum in the soil and joy in the trees - which might just help us to save the living planet, as well as ourselves. Read more

This classic guide to the butterflies of Britain and northern Europe enters its third edition as part of the authoritative Collins Guide series.This comprehensive guide to the butterflies of Britain and Europe features over 400 species, depicting both male and female insects. Species descriptions include details on taxonomic nomenclature, distribution, flight period, variation, habitat, behaviour and life cycle. Subspecies are included where there is significant variation, and distribution maps accompany each widespread species.Illustrated by Richard Lewington, the world's leading butterfly illustrator, this is an ideal field guide for travelling naturalists and butterfly enthusiasts alike and is an essential addition to every nature lover's bookshelves. Read more