Ian Carter - Human, Nature: A Naturalist’s Thoughts on Wildlife and Wild Places

A wise, thoughtful and very readable series of essays from someone who spent his working life at the forefront of nature conservation, and has now shared his accumulated wisdom with the rest of us.

Stephen Moss, author and naturalist

A highly enjoyable read informative, thought-provoking and above all balanced. Ian Carter wears his copious knowledge extremely lightly.

Lev Parikian, author of Into The Tangled Bankand Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear?

A wonderful collection of heartfelt, insightful essays each one like a privileged chat about the highs, lows and many conundrums of three decades working with nature, from one of its most personable and pragmatic champions. We need people like Ian.

Dr Amy-Jane Beer, naturalist, writer and campaigner

Human, Naturedeserves to be read very widely ... here is a book that considers all the most pressing questions we face as we attempt to understand and fundamentally change our relationship with the natural world. Most importantly, it makes the connections between them, and quietly asserts the need for us to start making more connections between sites, whole landscapes, and each other.

Matt Merritt, editor of Bird Watchingmagazine and author of A Sky Full of Birds

I love the warmth and refreshing candour of Ians writing. Readable and relatable this is an enriching book, from a reliable witness. Highly recommended.

Conor Jameson, author and conservationist

Ian Carter offers highly readable musings on the most pressing issues facing Britains beleaguered wildlife. Balancing obvious expertise with refreshing honesty ... His infectious passion for the great outdoors sings from every page.

Dan Eatherley, author of Invasive Aliens

A deeply engaging account of our complex relationship with the natural world. Drawing on his conservation expertise and lifelong passion for wildlife, Ian explores a wide range of contentious issues and shares the joy of reconnecting with nature in this enlightening, honest and very accessible book.

Nic Wilson, nature writer and GuardianCountry Diarist

It has been a real pleasure for me as a country-dweller to read Ian Carters work, because he somehow tells it like it is more than any other rural writer I know ... What he describes is not a fancied landscape cloaked with nostalgia or the ethereal pastures of the far-fetched poet, but a very real place in which birds fly and die in equal measure.

Martin Hesp, journalist and novelist

One of the best accounts I have ever read of the complex relationship between humans and wildlife, celebrating the huge benefits it can bring and full of wise comment on the dilemmas it often poses.

Jonathan Elphick, natural history author and editor

Human, Nature

Ian Carter recently left Natural England after a career as an ornithologist spanning twenty-five years. He was closely involved with the Red Kite reintroduction programme in England and has a particular interest in the conservation of birds of prey, bird reintroductions and wildlife management more generally. He is especially interested in the cultural aspects of nature conservation and how these interact with science to influence our attitudes towards the natural world. He has written articles for various wildlife magazines including British Birdsand British Wildlife, and has co-authored many papers in scientific journals. He also wrote The Red Kite(Arlequin Press, second edition 2007) and, with Dan Powell, The Red Kites Year(Pelagic Publishing 2019). He has been on the Editorial Board of British Birdsfor more than twenty years. Although not a habitual note taker in the field, he keeps a wildlife journal and has written something in it (however dull) every day for over thirty-five years.

Human, Nature

A Naturalists Thoughts on Wildlife and Wild Places

IAN CARTER

PELAGIC PUBLISHING

Published by Pelagic Publishing
PO Box 874
Exeter
EX3 9BR
UK

www.pelagicpublishing.com

Human, Nature: A Naturalists Thoughts on Wildlife and Wild Places

ISBN 978-1-78427-257-9 (Hbk)
ISBN 978-1-78427-258-6 (ePub)