It may be a cliche, but cliche or not, I fear the day when the only marsh harriers or peregrines I can look at are in paintings by Joseph Wolf or Bruno Liljefors - and no matter how beautiful those works may be, life is the great thing: life, life, life. John Burnside beautifulbrunocliche share on social
Our ancestors went to the woods to find fuel; they set snares there for birds and gathered nuts and fungi. John Burnside ancestorbirdfind Change image and share on social
Every time I write a book, I think how I could be doing it better to please people - a nicer book with nicer characters - but I just can't. John Burnside bookcharacternice Change image and share on social
It is common knowledge now that we depend on insects for our continued existence; that, without key pollinators, the human population would collapse in less than a decade. John Burnside collapsecommoncontinue Change image and share on social
As attractive as it is, the idea that nature can exist beyond our dangerous 'instinct for happiness' is never the whole story. John Burnside attractivedangerousexist Change image and share on social
The only pleasure in redecorating or moving house comes from stumbling across books that I'd almost forgotten I owned. John Burnside bookforgethouse Change image and share on social
'The Gardener' is more than a marvellous collection of images by a master photographer. John Burnside collectiongardenerimage Change image and share on social
The Botanischer Garten in Berlin has one of Europe's finer winter trails, leading in careful order from glasshouses devoted to African-American and Australian desert species, through a fine collection of tropical plants, and on to the orchid house. John Burnside africanamericanaustralian share on social
For a boy of ten, used to the coal bings and rust-coloured burns of Cowdenbeath, the fields and woodland of Kingswood, with its overgrown but stately avenue of copper-barked sequoias, felt like a local version of paradise. John Burnside avenuebarkbing share on social
What we should be doing is saving habitats, not single species, no matter what their cuteness factor. John Burnside cutenessfactorhabitat Change image and share on social
