Today is World Nature Conservation Day highlighting the threats to our wildlife on both a local and global scale from the effects of habitat loss, climate change and pollution.
The River Singers by Tom Moorhouse, published to critical acclaim last year and out now in paperback, is the story of a family of water voles who journey along The Great River to find a new home. Tom will be visiting a number of blogs over the next couple of weeks, answering questions and providing a fun fact or two about water voles! And to kick off the tour, we asked him, when did your passion for nature begin?
I grew up in a very small market town in the North East (called Barnard Castle, or “Barney”), surrounded by hills and woods (and, yes, a river runs past the town). So I spent a lot of time walking and playing out in the countryside. And I have very clear memories of sitting down with my Mother and consuming every David Attenborough documentary I could (not literally, you understand…old VHS videos are tricky to chew). So it’s fair to say that the passion began quite early on! And I’m really glad that there’s a spotlight on World Nature Conservation Day because it needs all the attention it can get. Even if the sheer ethical and moral weight of our responsibility not to allow species and habitats to go extinct were insufficient (which it shouldn’t be, but somehow is), it’s about time folks realised the colossal inadvisability of continually undermining the ecological resources that support our access to things like clean water and abundant food. You know: the non-essentials. Basically what we are collectively doing is the equivalent of sitting high up in a tree and sawing through the branch we’re sitting on…Phew. And breathe. Sorry. Rant over. But yes, today is an important day.
Catch Tom over at the following blogs from tomorrow until Friday 8th August:
Tuesday 29th July – Smiling Like Sunshine
Wednesday 30th July – Serenity You
Thursday 31st July – Confession of a SAHM
Friday 1st August – Library Mice
Saturday 2nd August – My Mummies Pennies
Monday 4th August – Madhouse Family Reviews
Tuesday 5th August – Red Peffer
Friday 8th August – Making It Up