ABOUT LIVING MINDFULLY WILD
Mike Pratt, ‘where I’m coming from!’
I’m a self-taught naturalist and career conservationist, now born-again activist, interested in UK wildlife since early childhood and grown up immersed in nature, in the north east of England.
I have worked with many environmental organisations over a 37-year career so far and have been the CEO of Northumberland Wildlife Trust for the last 15 years. In this time, I have worked throughout the north of England and Scotland on all aspects of wildlife and nature conservation, from wilding to red squirrels and water voles, forestry and landscape scale projects. My particular focus is engaging people with nature.
I give talks and write and draw as a way to inspire and express the magic and wonder I feel in landscapes and seeing wildlife and to ignite interest and passion in others to protects and value our natural world.
My Writings
I have written or years about my experiences in nature and have been lucky to be published and am working on two larger works for publication now. I am a regular contributor to The Northumbrian magazine, some articles of which are included in my Blog section and to other wildlife publications.
I have 6 books or pamphlets available and published over the last ten years or so. Most contain a few of my drawings and sketches mostly made in the field of the things I see.
WILD, published by Mudfog, a collection of essays and prose poems centred on wildlife in east Cleveland and the North Yorkshire coast. The book has been widely acclaimed for its observations of local wildlife
There’s Moon Enough, self-published booklet of poetry relating to night creatures and mindful insights in nature
My Wild Northumbria, published by Red Squirrel Press, is an exploration of the nature and landscape and history of the ancient region of Northumbria, a journey through the habitats and wild places and creatures from the Scottish Borders to the Humber and even Lancashire
A Recipe for a Snow Bunting’s Nest, published by Mudfog, a collection of prose and poems inspired by the esoteric nesting habits of the snow bunting and the smaller details of nature
North Facing, published by Mudfog, a collection of poems and prose detailing experiences in the wildernesses of the north from Yorkshire and Northumberland to Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland and Scandinavia
Lockdown Life, just released! A self-published booklet of drawings and prose poems written as a reaction to and therapy for dealing with the recent Covid lockdown
All of these and more details and how to purchase can be found on the ‘Books’ part of the site
NATURALIST WRITER
There’s loads of ‘nature writers’ about and it is an expanding genre and there is often criticism of some of it being self-indulgent or too emotionally expressive, rather than focussing on the subject it being all about the author. The best I’ve read are brilliant combos of memoir and wild, sometimes lyrical and innovative description or reveal new meanings in the ordinary, take a brave stance.
We all have those who inspire and sustain us, from Amy Liptrott, Robert Macfarlane and Nan Shepherd to Patrick Barkham and Dara Macnulty. Many, including myself, would not categorise themselves as simply nature writers, in that they are writers who happen to love nature and wild places and things and this comes through in their work. Many are just brilliant writers of anything, many travel writers write brilliantly about nature as do novelists.
I look at myself as a naturalist writer, one primally inspired by the northern landscapes and cultures I am part of, where all my life (apart from a spell in the magical Forest of Dean and few extended trips abroad) I have responded to the excitement I feel in being in nature and observing wild things by writing it up in diaries and memoirs, logs and notebooks, some of which eventually forms my poetry, prose and bigger writings.
I am nature-centric, I look at everything thigh the lens of landscape and even at times feel such a deep synergy with nature, perceiving no separation between it and myself, that it is perhaps akin to how indigenous people describe. It is from this ‘spirit or soul connection’ I think my writing comes, a need to express this deep connection I believe we all are born with. I do it to try and open others eyes to the sense of self and wonder it brings. If that makes me another ‘nature writer’ then that’s alright with me!