Nature's Conscience

The Life and Legacy of Derek Ratcliffe

Edited by Des Thompson, Hilary Birks, John Birks

Publication date:

28 February 2015

Length of book:

598 pages

Publisher

Pelagic Publishing

Dimensions:

240x170mm
7x9"

ISBN-13: 9781904078609

Derek Ratcliffe was arguably the most outstanding field biologist and conservationist of the 20th century. This book explores the breadth, quality and legacy of Derek’s work and has many personal reminiscences. The 30 contributors provide fascinating insights to a remarkable person, and events and issues which have shaped wild nature as we see it today. Each part ends with an article written by Derek.

Derek was passionate about nature and used his huge knowledge of nature to good effect. He possessed an intense curiosity which drove him to understand and protect nature. His interests ranged from birds, butterflies and dragonflies, and mountain flora and vegetation to the ecology and biogeography of peatlands and of mosses, liverworts, and ferns. He documented birds, plants, and insects in their habitats and maintained long-term population studies on several birds of prey as well as Raven, Golden Plover, Greenshank, and Dotterel. He documented the decline of the Peregrine Falcon and famously established the role of pesticides as its cause. He led the fight that saved the wild and remote Flow Country of northern Scotland from extensive afforestation. As the Nature Conservancy's Chief Scientist, he masterminded A Nature Conservation Review, which still underpins so much conservation policy and practice in Britain. His books have become classics of natural history writing. Through his employment as a conservationist and his books and articles, he massively influenced our awareness of nature – and its vulnerability.

Beautifully illustrated, this is a deeply inspiring book. It will appeal to a wide readership, curious about what makes such a towering figure so special, and united by an eagerness to see wildlife flourish.

With a foreword by Professor Sir John Lawton.

Contributors
Preface, acknowledgements, and nomenclature
Foreword by Sir John Lawton

The young naturalist – early days and influences
1. Derek Ratcliffe - early days in pursuit of nature / John Birks, Des Thompson, and Hilary Birks
2. National Service and beyond / John Mitchell
3. Personal observations on some local birds / Derek A. Ratcliffe

The botanist – a quest for rarities and understanding plants in the landscape
4. Derek Ratcliffe - botanist and plant ecologist / John Birks and Hilary Birks
5. Derek Ratcliffe and plant-hunting in southern Scotland and northern England / Rod Corner
6. Bryology in the Highlands and Island of Scotland / David Long and Gordon Rothero
7. Derek Ratcliffe and the Atlantic bryophytes of Britain and Ireland / Chris Preston
8. In the field with Derek Ratcliffe: long days and driving at speed / Lynne Farrell
9. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) and caring for Scotland’s flora / David Rae
10. The mountain flora of Britain and Ireland / Derek A. Ratcliffe

The ornithologist – searching for and saving birds in wild places
11. Contributions to field ornithology – in search of nesting birds / Des Thompson
12. North-West Highland reminiscences / Dick Balharry
13. In Galloway and the Borders – in search of an enduring youth / Chris Rollie
14. “lt seemed like a dream come true” – Derek Ratcliffe and the Peregrine surveys / Jeremy Greenwood and Humphrey Crick
15. Pesticides and birds of prey – the breakthrough / Ian Newton
16. Fouling our nest / Elspeth Huxley
17. A thousand nest cards – from Derek Ratcliffe to the University Museum of Bergen / lngvar Byrkjedal
18. Upland birds and their conservation / Derek A. Ratcliffe

The conservationist – protecting nature
19. Nature conservation and the Nature Conservation Review – a novel philosophical framework / Des Thompson, William J. Sutherland, and John Birks
20. Fighting for wildlife - from the inside / Stuart Housden
21. Battling forestry and building consensus: woodland conservation post-1949 / Keith Kirby
22. Forestry, ‘acid rain’, and the acidification of lakes / Rick Battarbee
23. The Flow Country: battles fought, war won, organisation lost / David Stroud, Tim Reed, Mike Pienkowski, and Richard Lindsay
24. A letter to Derek Ratcliffe / Richard Lindsay
25. National and global biodiversity politics and legalities – some reflections / Peter Bridgewater
26. Thoughts towards a philosophy of nature conservation / Derek A. Ratcliffe

The communicator – landscape art and correspondence
27. Derek and l: a correspondence / Peter Marren
28. Landscape art and nature / Will Williams and David Bellamy
29. Lapland images / Derek Ratcliffe
30. A reminiscence – from the introduction to The Peregrine Falcon / Derek A. Ratcliffe

Bibliography of Derek Ratcliffe / Cathy Jenks
Index

Writer, scientist, explorer, mountaineer, photographer and unremitting champion of the wild, Ratcliffe had a breadth and talent that is richly celebrated in Nature’s Conscience: The Life and Legacy of Derek Ratcliffe…