Books / nature writing
Gloucester Road Books announces nature writing event with Nick Acheson
In their first nature writing event of 2023, Gloucester Road Books will be welcoming the naturalist and presenter Nick Acheson to discuss his first book, The Meaning of Geese.
The evening, which takes place at nearby Sidney & Eden on April 18, will feature Acheson in conversation with multi-award-winning author, producer and nature campaigner, Mary Colwell.
Growing up in North Norfolk, Acheson developed a fascination with nature in childhood that developed into a lifelong commitment to wildlife conservation and advocacy for a sustainable future.
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Photo: courtesy of Chelsea Green Publishing
He has since worked for numerous NGOS in the UK, most notably Norfolk Wildlife Trust, for which he remains an ambassador, written on multiple nature anthologies, and guested on media outlets including BBC Radio 4, Channel 4, and ITV.
The Meaning of Geese charts Acheson’s 1,200 mile, two-wheel odyssey over a seven month period, following flocks of wild geese on their seasonal visits to Norfolk from Iceland and Siberia.
As well as providing remarkable detail in the accounts of his sightings, the book is his beautiful tribute to the wonder of these annual migrations, and the way in which they impact our winter landscape.
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He encounters rare breeds, including Russian white-fronts, barnacle geese and an extremely ununsual grey-bellied brant – a bird he has been desperate to spot in the wild since noticing it, as a child, in his mother’s well-thumbed copy of Peter Scott’s field guide.
The experience informing the book occurred over the course of the pandemic, and afforded Acheson a sense of peace and purpose during a challenging time that was so necessarily devoid of human contact.
His writing brings to life not only his own encounters, but those of an entire community of people, past and present, sharing in his love for the wild geese swarming in the wintery Norfolk skies.
But as the effects of climate change are brought to bear, the future migration of geese may no longer be taken for granted. With the arrival of spring, when Acheson says goodbye to the last geese of the season, he is left wondering whether they will return the following winter.
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Nick Acheson: The Meaning of Geese – a reading, Q&A and signing event is at Sidney & Eden on April 18 at 7pm. For event tickets and to pre-order a copy of the book, visit www.gloucesterroadbooks.com.
Main photo: Adam Livingstone/Chelsea Green Publishing
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