EVERY DAY NATURE

This little book may appear a bit twee. But it is in fact both a powerful manifesto and gentle guide to bringing the natural world into your life. Andy Beer shows that nature isn’t just the preserve of experts who have the equipment and get everything’s name right. It’s for all of us, essential to our wellbeing – and the everyday variety is just as exciting as the kind restricted to reserves or remote places.

Organised in a diary format, there is an entry for every day of the year, focusing on a specific animal, plant or other natural treat (such as clouds or dew) with bright watercolours lighting up the pages. Dip in and out on days that suit you, rediscovering the emperor dragonfly with its “blue-striped tail and stiff gossamer wings” or the wild pansies which caused Titania to fall in love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Or loyally take a minute every morning to read the entry for that day. “I, too, have ignored the news in favour of a daily dose of nature,” admits Beer. Given recent troubles, this soothing book is more timely than even the author could have anticipated. National Trust Books, £12.99; ISBN: 978-1-911657-09-5