When did you realise you loved nature? Did you have a Damascene moment? Or was it always there, deep inside? 

I have always loved animals - mammals in particular have been my passion and it has always been there ... for those of you who read the recent update about me meeting my biological mother, there is an answer! But for others, I know it is different.

The reason I ask is because for our campaign to win, and for the wider campaigns on behalf of nature to win, we need people to step away from the half-hearted 'liking' of nature - and embrace the risky nature of love. The late American writer, Stephen Jay Gould said, 'We will not fight to save what we do not love.' 

And it is risky - love carries the risk of loss and grief. You know the cold-hearted person who says they would never get a dog because it will just die and leave them sad? Today's picture is of me and Ogli - he is a rescue dog from Romania, and we got him two and a half years ago. He is now around 10 and has come out of his fur from being a timid beastie to a loving friend to the family. He is not immortal. But - better to have loved and lost than never loved at all ... because if we don't love, we will lose - everything.

I should add, that as lovely as Ogli is, he COMPLETELY prefers my wife ... I can have been away for 5 days and will return to him lifting the tip of his tail an inch by way of recognition. My wife goes to the shops ... her return is greeted as if the world ended and has now been reborn - every time ... not that I am bitter, of course.

Ogli came to us via Active Animals Rescue and Rehabilitation. 

So - love - it can feel a bit odd bringing love up in polite conversation. But I think it is important. COP15 is ongoing - a chance to try and save 30% of the planet for nature by the year 2030 is on the table - though this is not without some massive obstacles. I wonder how many of the people involved in negotiating would admit that they are driven by love?

If we are to get our neighbours to agree to a hedgehog hole being put in place between gardens, the conversation will be easier, I believe, if they see we really do care. Are we driven by love to start that conversation? Or would 'liking' be enough?

It is very hard to keep up with the comments beneath some of these updates - and I don't know whether you get notified if I have answered your questions. If you want to talk about how this update makes you feel - please reach out to the Facebook Group - I will warn the wonderful moderators that there may be some interesting comments coming! 

I should add a MASSIVE thank you to the stream of kindness that followed the update about my mother - I have simply been overwhelmed by the numbers.

Times are hard for many of us - so no direct begging this update - but - if you are looking for a Christmas gift ... please consider one of my books (or more) and if you would like a signed bookplate, please send me an SAE (with note of what you would like included) to 176 Campbell Road, Oxford OX4 3NR.

Please use a bookshop if possible - these links are for illustration.

Hedgehog
Prickly Affair
Beavers
Linescapes
The Beauty in the Beast

To think - I never planned on becoming an author (and if I had a proper plan for earning a proper income, I would never have started!) but it is something I have grown to love ... and just looking at that list ... well, I feel quite proud. Sharing my love of nature is at the heart of what I do!