This spring marks the release of Wild Reads 2022, a new book collection and a six-month programme of themed events and activities created by Suffolk Libraries and Suffolk Wildlife Trust working in partnership. Its aim is to encourage readers and wildlife-lovers to explore and celebrate the connection between the natural world and the written word.
The programme was officially launched on the 6th of April at an online event with one of this year’s featured authors, Jessie Greengrass.
Each month we will be highlighting a different title and theme, beginning with Dara McAnulty’s prize-winning memoir Diary of a Young Naturalist (Ebury: 2021) and focusing on the ways in which we all connect personally and differently with the natural world.
Eight libraries hold collections of the Wild Read titles: Ipswich County, Gainsborough, Beccles, Chantry, Lavenham, Stowmarket, Sudbury and Haverhill, but readers can reserve any of the titles to be collected at their local branch for free and can participate online and there are also ebook and audiobook editions available. Wild-themed activities and events will be held across the county with local wildlife groups, including promoting diverse and eco-friendly gardens and community spaces.
Alongside the launch of their online book group, Suffolk Wildlife Trust will also be hosting a Walking Book Club and each month, alongside the featured title, our webpages will provide supporting booklists, reviews, linked activities, spotters’ guides and recommended reserves to visit.
The project has been endorsed by Isabella Tree, author of Wilding (Pan Macmillan: 2019), one of the 2020 Wild Reads. She said:
‘Never has there been a greater need for nature writers who can communicate issues about the environment in a clear, immediate and powerful way. And never, thankfully, has there been greater public interest in learning about nature, what we can do to restore it and how we can forge a closer, more respectful relationship with it. I’m thrilled to be one of the authors selected by the Wild Reads projects and to find myself in such awe-inspiring company. I hope these wild reads provide pleasure and, above all, encouragement to get out there into the natural world, to see things in different ways, and perhaps even to welcome wilder nature back into our lives.’
For more information on please visit
Sophie Green, Suffolk Libraries