JC Niala & Amanda Tuke talk to Stephen Moss | Wildlife in the Towns and Cities

“As cities grow, the danger is not only ecological but emotional… If we want a future that is not only liveable but meaningful, we must learn to care differently. That begins by paying attention – to the cracks in the pavements, the stories in trees, the silence that follows loss.” JC Niala

Did you know there are seahorses living wild in the Thames? Nature isn’t just about the countryside and cities aren’t just for people.

In their thoughtful, heartfelt and often very funny books, anthropologist JC Niala and ‘Urban Naturalist’ Amanda Tuke show how the non-human world co-exists with us – from the tiniest plants and lichen we tread underfoot to the lions and rhinos in JC’s hometown Nairobi.

JC (author of The New Eden) tells the charged history of urban nature from the Diggers to community gardening in the wake of Grenfell, from the canalization of rivers to the cows that shaped London. Amanda (author of Wild Pavements) brings her infectious delight to toad-patrolling, ‘vismigging’, and fish making their homes in shopping-trolleys.

Urban light, noise, and sewage pollution remain a threat to most species, but both authors meet people making real changes at a local level and tell their stories with interest and sparkle. The authors will be in conversation with celebrated nature writer and President of Somerset Wildlife Trust, Stephen Moss.

Please note: there is no parking at the venue itself, but there is plenty of long-stay public parking within close walking distance to the venue at Cattle Market Car Park or Merchants Barton Car Park.  The venue is fully accessible for wheelchair users.

This event is part of the Consider the Wondrous | nature, wonder, books & us festival.