Forget Me Not: Finding the forgotten species of climate-change Britain

I FIRST OPENED this book during the July heatwave. By the time I’d reached the fourth chapter, on the plight of the grey long-eared bat, I was sweating. It seemed apt – this chapter documents Pavelle’s midnight hunt for the rarest bat in Britain on the Jurassic Coast where one of the last maternity roosts survives. Populations of grey long-eared bats thrive in southern Europe but may be forced to migrate to the UK due to increasing global temperatures, only to find our own climate too volatile in the future to survive.

This protected bat is one of 10 species that Pavelle, a zoologist and science communicator, hunts for on her hiking and biking tour of Great Britain. From the dung beetle to the harbour porpoise, Pavelle gives voice to the flora and fauna whose survival is in question in the British Isles. These species could disappear by 2050 and be forgotten by the end of the century if their habitats continue to decline. Her low-carbon trip takes her from Bodmin Moor to Orkney.

Some may find Pavelle’s narration too ‘millennial’, with its pop culture references and anthropomorphism. But for me, her voice was refreshingly easy to read and her reasoned arguments – such as the need to investigate the dangers wind power poses to wildlife – are simple to comprehend despite their complexities.

At times the narrative is a little chaotic, but I got acclimatised to the pace and believe the book is better for it. Pavelle offers a sense of urgency and hope. Forget Me Not reads like your knowledgeable friend debating the end of days at the pub whilst managing not to patronise or pander. Pavelle has written a book about climate change with deep adoration of the natural world at its heart.