Writing The Blackbird’s Song & Other Wonders of Nature was a special time, and the book was published 24th October, less than a year after I typed the first words. Finished in July this year it is current. A practical guide to connecting with nature, based on years of research and a writing process that generated new ideas. Special though because it reminded me of the need to keep on finding everyday wonders of nature, bombarded, as we are, with other demands on our attention.

I’m writing this blog as I sit beneath an ash tree. The ground becoming more leaf than earth, as a dunnock hops about quietly searching for food just a few feet away from me. It is these simple shared moments that are special, and it sometimes feels like they have to be carved out of a day busy with other things. The Blackbird’s Song is a guide to help others find and enjoy their own moments, to cast off the demands of busy lives and focus on the joy and calm of nature that can be found close to home.

Month by month, The Blackbird’s Song introduces nature connection science and stories that provide the foundations for activities, from simply breathing and noticing to travelling in time. Each month ends with an activity for nature, to give back. The Blackbird’s Song is not a pill to pop, it’s a guide to developing a reciprocal relationship within nature.

My dunnock friend is now perched, its gaze taking in all that surrounds. A great tit and blue tit perch close by momentarily then leave. The dunnock drops down and returns to its search of the golden leaves.

Each month The Blackbird’s Song highlights these everyday birds, ‘angels’ as they are messengers from an extinction many millions of years ago. Although the book provides simplicity for the individual, it touches on the deeper meaning that surround our connections with nature, from deep time and the need for good ancestors to our worldview.

The science of nature connection is a wonder of its own, from hidden, yet vital, microbes that keep us well, to how the soft fascination of a single flower can help manage our moods. There’s science in the power of tapping into the awe and wonder of nature and reflecting upon the moments we enjoy. Different ways of knowing are introduced and how scientific and spiritual mysteries might combine as we seek the essence of nature. All this informs suggestions of how to reconnect with the natural world.

Science gives us a better understanding of our connections with the rest of nature and through art those connections can be understood further still. Understandings that can be discovered and shared through stories, maps and song. The Blackbird’s Song seeks connections with nature through head, heart and hands.

The dunnock has now left, to be found as an angel in March and a hedgerow near you, soon after the blackbird’s return to song. Below are some comments from others that have read The Blackbird’s Song & Other Wonders of Nature.

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A wonderful “rough guide” to the planet we live on… Read it and pass it on as a gift of love from you to those around you so they can learn to feel comfortable in their own skins and ultimately, be happy. ― Sir Tim Smit, The Eden Project

Inspiring and rooted in research, The Blackbird’s Song will surely transform lives. ― Melissa Harrison, author and nature writer.

A treasury of practical ways to reconnect with nature and feed your soul. ― Mary-Ann Ochota, author and broadcaster.