Arts Literature

Book Feature: A Guide to the Wonderful World Around Us: Notes on Nature

A Guide to the Wonderful World Around Us: Notes on Nature

Brannen Basham, Author

Brannen Basham became a naturalist at a young age, enjoying the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and J. H. Fabre, and later working at Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia. “I slowly fell in love with the carnival of tiny creatures that made its way through the plants I worked with,” he says, “and eventually I decided to devote my life to fostering and protecting populations of native plants and animals.” He and his wife Jill Jacobs own Spriggly’s Beescaping in Waynesville, offering workshops, products and services to create environments beneficial to pollinator populations.

“I’ve always had a fascination with nature’s ability to become more complex the closer you look at it,” he says. He began a weekly practice of writing for regional publications and for his own edification about aspects of nature he was curious about, including pollinators, plants, and human impact and innovation. “Each topic generally features a collection of established scientific wisdom and groundbreaking new developments, along with a few personal musings,” Basham says.

He focuses on parts of the natural world easily seen but often overlooked. “This book is an excellent way to stay informed of current scientific trends while also picking up some interesting facts you might not have known,” he says. “One of the underlying goals of my writing is to inspire conservation through an appreciation of the powerful and ancient natural systems at work all around us.”

A Guide to the Wonderful World Around Us: Notes on Nature, June, 2019, nonfiction, paperback or audiobook, $14.99; digital download, $5; by Brannen Basham. A Facebook live presentation, Native Plants and the Pollinators They Support, with a Q&A session, will be held Saturday, April 18, at 3 p.m. Visit Facebook.com/sprigglys.

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