If You'll Have Me

Introduction: Wildlife We are all in this together 9 1 The Great Outdoors. How the world works 12 2 Pollination. Another name for the birds and the bees actually 18 3 Migration. Why do they go and, more importantly, why do they come back? 28 4 Hibernation. The ultimate cop-out 38 5 Omnivores. The ones that have it all 46 6 Farming. The best idea the human race ever came up with 53 7 Why do Birds Fly? Because they can or because they have to? 63 8 Things that Go Bump in the Night. Wildlife in the dark 70 9 It's a Wonderful World. You just need to know where to look 77 10 Bacteria. We couldn't live without them 91 11 Pandemics. Or why you cannot get Covid-19 or any other disease from telephone masts 98 12 Modern Terms. That we are all supposed to know, but weren't paying attention at the time 105 13 Global Warming/Climate Change. Is it getting hotter or colder or wetter or drier or what? 113 14 More Buzz Words Explained. Carbon sequestration - just a big word for trees? And what on earth are carbon sinks? 120 15 Biodiversity. What did it ever do for us? 126 16 Genetic Modification. The spawn of Satan or the best idea ever 133 17 Where Did We Come From? Evolution v Creationism 144 18 Recycling. Or just an excuse for woeful waste? 153 19 And They All Lived Happily Ever After. The End? 159 Postscript: SAVED IN THE NICK OF TIME 165

Spiders Are Cannibals; Eating Their Own Poo (rabbits) Eating Until They Burst (Caterpillars) Forever Flying (Swifts) The Importance of Colour (ladybirds, Cinnabar moth) Pretending To Be Something Else (caterpillars looking like poo, twigs, snakes) Bees as the Goody Goodies; Wasps Are Not Baddies Why Frogs Don't Drown Rising from The Dead (dog's vomit slime mould and other weird things you might find) Slimy and Slithery (slug surprises) War Cries and Love Songs (why birds sing) The Bird with No Nest (cuckoo imposter) A Very Short Childhood (chicks literally leaping into the unknown) Squirrels Don't Hibernate Bats and Their Superpowers; A Dirty Job (bluebottles in action) The Flower Prison (trapping flies) Dinner with Difficulty (birds that fish for good but can't swim) Animals We Love to Hate (badgers, gulls, magpies, foxes) They Feed on Human Blood (from lice to fleas) Glowing Underwater (amazing underwater world) Mancatchers - Amphibians or Reptiles? (lizards and newts) Going Sideways (crabs, lobsters going backwards) Defended by Prickles (hedgehogs) Plants that Eat Animals Do Cuckoos Spit? (the froghopper) Washed Up from the Depths (what you might find on the beach and what is it?) Slowcoaches (animals that did not make it to Ireland).