Nature artist Jane Smith has been fascinated by wildlife communities and ecosystems her whole adult life.

Starting from her own garden in Argyll, she travels to ten locations in the west of Scotland - from the towering cliffs of St Kilda and the peatlands of Lewis to the Solway estuary and the urban sprawl of Glasgow - to explore the interaction of people and wildlife in a variety of diverse settings. On her journey she discovers a number of communities who are taking on the job of regenerating their own landscapes and meets a host of fascinating people whose lives are inextricably bound up with questions of sustainability, conservation and landownership.

Contents Includes: Western Isles (peatlands) * North Uist (machair) * Islay (farmland) * Loch Arkaig (woodland) * Knapdale (wetland) * Dumfries and Galloway (river and estuary) * Jura (coast) * St Kilda archipelago (sea) * Glasgow (urban landscapes) *Eigg (community ownership)



After gaining a degree in Zoology, Jane Smith became a wildlife film maker for the BBC Natural History Unit and National Geographic. She won an Emmy for her work and has also appeared on BBC Radio 4's Tweet of the Day. She now creates wildlife art from her home on the west coast of Scotland to communicate her passion for the natural world.



'it is such a stunning book filled with illustrations, testimony, research.. one of the things I absolutely love about the book is how solution-focused [it is]... resplendent with illustrations'



'Hard to know what to love more about this book: the crisp, precise writing or the very stylish illustrations'



'A marvellous book that leaps out as something very special from the moment you pick it up. The production values are simply outstanding. Something approaching half the book is made up of full page prints of the author's beautiful artworks of Scottish wildlife in the places she visits and discusses in the accompanying text. It's a joy to look at, even before you begin to read'



'[This] new book is a natural world remedy'



'Jane is a lover of wild places... her artwork is a great addition to the book, adding plenty of colour and she meets many folk working out in these areas, giving us the stories of their lives and work out in the communities'