Steve Andrews told me, not long ago, that he feels it is part of his calling in this life to connect people to nature. Certainly, he’s done this for me in Earth Spirit: Saving Mother Ocean: introducing me to Cardiff wetlands and the famous dragon tree of Tenerife; plus, both practical and more profound uses of herbs via his previous Moon Books titles.
Earth Spirit does the same, but with a slightly different approach, being less a how-to than a plea: the author stands up for ‘Mother Ocean’, details articulately and engagingly how we are harming her and, importantly, explores what we can do to help. Mixing the factual and philosophical with personal insight and experience, Andrews demonstrates how plastic is proving a disaster for all ocean creatures and all dependent upon it – which, of course, includes ourselves.
Andrews urges us to defend the seas, rather than continue to degrade them; and, whether you are personally inspired by the heroic symbolism of Neptune, the shocking reality of a ‘gyre’ (“a mind-bogglingly massive area of mainly floating plastic pieces”) or the enthusiastic activism of young people like Greta Thunberg, there is something to galvanise you here.
Earth Spirit is finely written, too – beautifully paced, well researched, and brimming with ideas and enthusiasm. A small book, but it contains oceans. Or, to summarise it in a single word – swell!
Earth Spirit: Saving Mother Ocean, Steve Andrews (Moon Books)
Price: £6.99/£3.99 Ebook. Info: here
words MAB JONES