Nature is the answer: a toolkit for eco-positivity

This is a comprehensible and accessible book that provides a good grounding for young people in how to combat eco-anxiety and finding ways to make a difference yourself or helping others to join the cause too. It’s less about explaining what climate change and related environmental issues are, and more about finding ways to help ourselves, the habitats and people around us and even how we can have an impact on the world.

Written by the conservationist and all-round wildlife hero Chris Packham, its tone is engaging without being patronising and informative without being overwhelming. It’s written as though he is talking directly to young people rather than it being a text that has been written to suit a younger audience. Terminology is explained clearly and thoroughly, and it’s framed as a toolkit for eco-positivity so chapters are accompanied by useful tips and practical advice on how readers too can make an impact. These include not only tasks involving life outdoors but also mindfulness exercises, craft activities, resilience training, communication tips and activism guidance. Together these build a handbook for those who want to turn themselves from an ‘eco-worrier to an eco-warrior’!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it for all young readers who have an interest in the environment or nature in general and are showing signs of curiosity or anxiety related to climate change. It would work well as a more positive book to use in school and library settings to contrast the often doom-filled non-fiction texts on this subject too.