I received this book at work unexpectedly, addressed to me, which was fine as it felt as though Orion knew me and my love of nature, especially of the ways that humans intersect with nature.

This bumped it’s way right to the top of the TBR pile and I started reading it right after the book I was reading was finished (well abandoned a third of. the way through, it wasn’t all that) and I tore through it in a couple of days.

In this book Florence Wilkinson explores some basic habitats and explains what animals we can ind in those habitats, from foxes in the streets of our towns and cities to line-specific mosquito in the London Underground.

Each section looks at the different wildlife that inhabits those biomes and explains how this is being helped or hindered by human proximity and what we can do to help animals in these areas of our towns.

Florence brings to life with great enthusiasm not only these animals but the people she meets along the way who are involved in some way with these urban enclaves, recording, protecting, maintaining, educating, all the people she talks to come across as highly dedicated and single-minded in their pursuit of promoting and protecting their chosen species.

A wonderful paean to urban wildlife and how it enriches our lives, beautifully written and observed.