ASK AN ECO ACTIVIST
This month Dara Mcanulty, teenage winner of Britain’s top prize for nature writing
YOU’VE WRITTEN TWO BOOKS AT 17…
Writing about nature is part of the fabric of my being. I’m autistic and, until three years ago, talking to anyone outside of my family was a no-go. It felt easier to write. In 2016, when I was 12, I started a blog. It enabled me to express myself and opened my world to like-minded people. As it became popular, my confidence grew. I began to write with more passion and was offered a book deal.
AND YOU WON THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE!
Winning the Wainwright [for his first book, Diary of a Young Naturalist, in 2020] felt incredible. Nature writing is mostly the domain of older writers, but winning gave me hope that young voices are valued, too.
YOU’VE ALSO WALKED THE TALK…
Yes, I’ve been on a quite a few marches! My first, when I was 14, was The People’s Walk for Wildlife. It led me to No 10 to speak to John Randall, the environment advisor to Theresa May. I’ve also been on several Global Climate Strikes [part of the movement inspired by Greta Thunberg]. I haven’t been on any for a while, but there are many ways of being an activist. Writing has helped me get my message out.
WERE YOU ALWAYS A WILD CHILD?
I spent my early life in Belfast, and I’d kick and scream when it was time to go home from the park. I often experience sensory overload, but nature helps me feel at peace. When I was nine, my family moved to County Fermanagh. I remember being bewildered because I had never heard cows lowing, but I soon found the countryside comforting. I felt I’d been set free. I spent a lot of time in the garden, looking for worms and woodlice under stones.
AND YOU HAVE A PASSION FOR BIRDS…
Birds of prey set my imagination on fire. Whenever I see a buzzard, sparrowhawk or, if I’m lucky, a kestrel, my body grows light. My love of birds began at primary school, when the RSPB gave a talk about red kites. They became extinct in Northern Ireland 200 years ago, but were reintroduced in 2008. I then discovered many birds of prey were endangered and raised £6,000 for Northern Ireland’s first raptor satellite tagging programme to deter criminal killing. There are now at least 20 breeding pairs of red kites here. Nature can recover, if we let it.
IS YOUR FAMILY ANIMAL-MAD, TOO?
My dad is a conservation scientist, helping to protect wild places in Northern Ireland, and my mum loves nature and encourages me to write about it. I have a brother, Lorcan, and sister, Bláthnaid, and we’re as close as otters. We never get far when we go on walks because we’re always stopping to look at flowers and butterflies. It takes an hour to walk a mile. To tune into details like the bristles on a dandelion head or the ruby crown of a goldfinch can expand your entire world.
SHOULD NATURE BE ON THE SYLLABUS?
To me, learning about the natural world is as essential as learning to read or write. That’s why my latest book, Wild Child, is aimed at children. We are part of nature – it’s our life-support system – and it’s in danger. It inspires compassion, a trait we should all nurture.
WHAT’S NEXT?
I’m writing another book called Wanderings of a Young Naturalist about Celtic mythology. Then I’ll finish my A-levels in biology, chemistry, maths and politics. I hope to study biology at university. Whenever I can, I’ll be out in the wild-flower meadows or climbing the Mourne Mountains, close to home, looking for red kites. We live in the area where they were first released – quite the poetic circle.