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Wild Green Wonders: A Life in Nature
Wild Green Wonders brings you a selection of twenty years' worth of Patrick Barkham's writings for the Guardian , bearing witness to the many changes we have imposed upon the planet and the challenges lying ahead for the future of nature.
From Norwegian wolves to protests against the HS2 railway, peregrine falcons nesting by the Thames to Britain's last lion tamer, Barkham paints an ever-changing portrait of contemporary wildlife. This collection also presents thought-provoking interviews with conservationists, scientists, activists and writers such as Rosamund Young, Ronald Blythe and other eco-luminaries, including Sir David Attenborough and Brian May.
'Siding with the planet is siding with the underdog, and this has motivated much of my journalism', Barkham writes. Wild Green Wonders is his chronicle.
From Norwegian wolves to protests against the HS2 railway, peregrine falcons nesting by the Thames to Britain's last lion tamer, Barkham paints an ever-changing portrait of contemporary wildlife. This collection also presents thought-provoking interviews with conservationists, scientists, activists and writers such as Rosamund Young, Ronald Blythe and other eco-luminaries, including Sir David Attenborough and Brian May.
'Siding with the planet is siding with the underdog, and this has motivated much of my journalism', Barkham writes. Wild Green Wonders is his chronicle.
- GenresNatureNonfictionEssays
432 pages, Hardcover
Published February 24, 2022
9 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Barkham
12 books36 followersPatrick Barkham first went butterfly spotting as a child with his father in Norfolk. His book The Butterfly Isles documents his search for as many species as possible as an adult.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 12, 2025
This is a thoughtful collection of nature essays written for the Guardian over a period of years. Barkham has added addendums to some of the essays when there has been a change to an issue. The essays range from cautionary to uplifting and overall there is a sense of hope, if we do something.
April 2, 2022
What a wonderful book this was. Written in five parts with around eight chapters in each part, Wild Green Wonders contains a multitude of different wildlife topics collected by Patrick Barkham from his days as nature writer at the Guardian newspaper.
The book opens with The Lonliest Bat in England. A mouse-eared bat who's hibernation location is kept secret as it is quite literally the last one in the Country.
Barkham takes us on a journey through Animal rights and wrongs where we hear the voices of both sides of an environmental problem. Red squirrels in the North being fiercely protected by residents who don't want the invasive greys coming in and killing off the reds. They are culled on sight, whereas the locals in the south who have only ever grown up with grey squirrels voicing their outraged opinions on the horror of killing the greys. Then there is the plight of the farmer and the protected wolves in Finland.
We read about Wild people such as David Attenborough, Brian May and Dara McAnulty.
One of the most angering chapters was that of the HS2. I was so shocked by how much damage to ancient forests this line has done but what upset me the most was the story of an elderly man who had been living in his Grade II listed house all his life. It belonged to his grandparents, then his parents. Queen Elizabth I stayed there in 1601 and it took him ten years to renovate it due to strict protocols on listed buildings. Six weeks after he finished he received a letter saying the train line was coming through and his house would be bulldozed. Sadly in 2020, that is exactly what happened. The line managed to bypass golf courses and stately homes but ruined this man's entire life and an important piece of history. Absolutely shocking.
"Siding with the planet is siding with the underdog and this has motivated much of my journalism" Patrick Barkham.
The book opens with The Lonliest Bat in England. A mouse-eared bat who's hibernation location is kept secret as it is quite literally the last one in the Country.
Barkham takes us on a journey through Animal rights and wrongs where we hear the voices of both sides of an environmental problem. Red squirrels in the North being fiercely protected by residents who don't want the invasive greys coming in and killing off the reds. They are culled on sight, whereas the locals in the south who have only ever grown up with grey squirrels voicing their outraged opinions on the horror of killing the greys. Then there is the plight of the farmer and the protected wolves in Finland.
We read about Wild people such as David Attenborough, Brian May and Dara McAnulty.
One of the most angering chapters was that of the HS2. I was so shocked by how much damage to ancient forests this line has done but what upset me the most was the story of an elderly man who had been living in his Grade II listed house all his life. It belonged to his grandparents, then his parents. Queen Elizabth I stayed there in 1601 and it took him ten years to renovate it due to strict protocols on listed buildings. Six weeks after he finished he received a letter saying the train line was coming through and his house would be bulldozed. Sadly in 2020, that is exactly what happened. The line managed to bypass golf courses and stately homes but ruined this man's entire life and an important piece of history. Absolutely shocking.
"Siding with the planet is siding with the underdog and this has motivated much of my journalism" Patrick Barkham.
October 28, 2022
Clearly as a collection of articles for newspapers it's a book to dip in and out of, and there's a chance you will have read some of it before. But in many ways I preferred that to the rather contrived theme of the author's 'Islander'.
Patrick says he's not comfortable writing in a more polemical style like his Guardian colleague George Monbiot. I think his style is readable and I enjoyed virtually every piece in here. If I was to be picky I think one of the longer sections where he walked parts of the HS2 route could have been omitted or more judiciously edited. I most liked the piece about the rare bat, and how the author got drawn in to the story of the bat and the people monitoring it.
In short a fine collection of short essays about British nature and the environment.
Patrick says he's not comfortable writing in a more polemical style like his Guardian colleague George Monbiot. I think his style is readable and I enjoyed virtually every piece in here. If I was to be picky I think one of the longer sections where he walked parts of the HS2 route could have been omitted or more judiciously edited. I most liked the piece about the rare bat, and how the author got drawn in to the story of the bat and the people monitoring it.
In short a fine collection of short essays about British nature and the environment.
November 1, 2023
A collection of Patrick Barkham's articles for The Guardian over the last 20 yrs in which he talks about anything & everything Nature related. Interesting, informative & very varied. Lovely Book but it won't cheer you up. So much species loss and very little reintroduction or protection. Not to mention climate change.....
March 4, 2022
This is a great collection of articles by a great nature journalist, he writes with feeling and does a great job of reporting both sides of debates. but be prepared to have your views stirred up.
May 29, 2024
A fantastic collection of short and informative articles, full of wit, charm and natural wonder.
September 28, 2025
A beautiful collection of features - perfect pre-bed reading. Doesn't shy away from discussing the problems we've created in our environments, but also leaves you with hope.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews