Patrick Barkham is Natural History Writer for the Guardian and the author of The Butterfly Isles.
An enthusiastic amateur naturalist, Patrick was born in Norfolk and was educated at Cambridge University. He developed a passion for butterflies as an eight-year-old searching for the Brown Argus but only completed his boyhood mission in 2009, when he saw all 59 species of British butterfly in one summer and wrote a book about it.
His second book, Badgerlands, was hailed by Chris Packham as “a must read for all Britain’s naturalists”. His latest book, Coastlines, a history of coastal conservation, was praised by Blake Morrison as “an informative, enthusiastic and at times rapturous celebration of our shores”. His third book, Islander, is about the human and non-human residents of Britain’s small isles. His latest book, Wild Green Wonders, is a selection of twenty years’ worth of Patrick Barkham’s writings for the Guardian, bearing witness to the many changes we have imposed upon the planet and the challenges lying ahead for the future of nature.
He lives in the land of the Swallowtail with his three young children and is very proud of his four-year-old twins for being able to distinguish a Peacock from a Painted Lady at 100 yards.
In 2012 he received The Marsh Christian Trust Award for the Promotion of Lepidoptera Conservation from Butterfly Conservation.
In 2021 Patrick became President of Norfolk Wildlife Trust, testament to his love and dedication for Norfolk and its wild treasures.
He hasn’t yet persuaded his publisher to accept The European Butterfly Isles but one day he will!
@Twitter: Patrick_Barkham
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