Cradley Wild Book List
*LL available from Ledbury Library
Edith Holden, The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. Written in 1906 and a facsimile reproduction of naturalist Edith's diary. It covers a year month by month and contains daily sightings on her walks and bike rides into the countryside (which is now suburban West Midlands). It's beautifully illustrated, which helps with identifying flora and fauna and also highlights what to see each month. It is interesting to compare what she saw with what we see now. She intersperses her sightings with poetry relevant for the season. This book can be enjoyed by all ages - it was popular in the late 1970s/early 1980s and although it has been superseded by many other nature writings, it is worth revisiting for its beauty and simplicity.
Kate Bradbury, Wildlife gardening
Chris Baines, RHS companion to Wildlife Gardening.
Chris Baines, How to make a Wildlife Garden.(1985 - perhaps one the first books on the subject and still an excellent illustrated guide)
John Lewis Stempel Meadowland
Roger Deakin Notes from Walnut Tree Farm.
Katherine Swift The Morville Hours.
James Rebanks, "English Pastoral - An Inheritance" (2020 - a quite moving account of changes in farming practices on his family farm in the Lake District). It gives a very human and enjoyable description of how farming has been changing and how nature is now being considered more in farm decisions.
Dave Goulson, The Garden Jungle, or Gardening to Save the Planet (Vintage). The importance of our gardens as habitats for wildlife is explained in this easy-to-read, humorous and informed book. It is fast becoming the go-to guide for all those looking to encourage increasing biodiversity in their patch of land and is packed with helpful information, with a few recipes thrown in for good measure.
John Lewis-Stempel, 'The Running Hare' (2016). One farmer's account of looking after an ordinary arable field the old-fashioned way, without chemicals, to attract wildlife. His hope is to bring back hares who have been driven away by loss of habitat. Written in a vivid, lyrical style it nevertheless has its feet firmly in the soil the author is trying so hard to enrich.
Ronald Blythe Next to Nature, a lifetime in the English countryside. *LL
Jake Fiennes. Land Healer How farming can save Britain's countryside *LL
Benedict Macdonald and Nicolas Gates, Orchard, A year in England’s Eden (WilliamCollinsBooks.co.uk 2020). A year in the life of a traditional Herefordshire (its location is secret but it's very close to Cradley) is chronicled by two field naturalists and veterans of the Springwatch series. Focusing on the wildlife this precious habitat supports and is fast disappearing elsewhere, it demonstrates how humans and animals can work together to create a rich and healthy ecosystem.
Benedict Macdonald, Rebirding Restoring Britain’s Wildlife (pelagicpublishing.com in 2019). This book is for anyone who cares about Britain’s vanishing wildlife and birds, and is interested in ambitious, but achievable, solutions to wildlife decline.
Web sites:
Animals in Danger - Hedgehogs
Severn Rivers Trust are sponsoring training and equipment for monitoring Cradley Brook
People's Trust for Endangered Species
CPRE Herefordshire share many of our aims.
BTO, British Trust for Ornithology
Merlin App, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, BTO, bird song etc. recognition on smartphone.