This week’s guest is writer Julian Hoffman and we’re talking about his book Irreplaceable. I read the book a few months back and as you might expect from reading the blurb, it’s about those irreplaceable wild environments and the species we’re in danger of losing. But it’s also about the people who are so deeply connected to the landscapes and the animals they’re battling to save. Julian speaks about why it’s imperative that we stop the destruction of precious landscapes, how we can help at the individual level and why it’s vital to maintain the connection between people and place. 

About Julian Hoffman:

Julian is a writer living in the northwest of Greece, next to the Prespa Lakes. This area is home to a particularly diverse range of people, wildflowers, animals and habitats, making it a rich environment in which to learn about the connections between people the natural world. Julian’s previous book, ‘The Small Heart of Things: Being at Home in a Beckoning World’; won the 2012 AWP Series for Creative Nonfiction. His fiction and nonfiction work has been widely published; you can find some links below and more on his website. 

What We Discuss:

• What are we really losing when we lose wild places? 
• If future generations don’t experience as much biodiversity or wild spaces as we do, does that matter? Will they know what they’re missing if they never have it? 
• Does it matter if we lose established habitats, such as ancient woodland?  
• What’s the problem with biodiversity off-setting?
• How can we reconcile a desire to protect wild spaces with our need to expand, be better/faster/richer?
• Who’s to say the changes we make to the landscape today won’t contribute to positive developments in the future?
• Restoration of landscapes versus preservation
• How can people learn to love landscapes that may not be so easily read or their beauty not quite as apparent?
• What can we do to help protect threatened landscapes, as individuals?

Links:

hoffman.com">www.julian-hoffman.com

Julian’s Blog - hoffman.com/about-near-and-far/">Notes from Near and Far

Julian on Twitter 

Irreplaceable : The fight to save our wild places by Julian Hoffman - Penguin Books, 2019

The Small Heart of Things: Being at Home in a Beckoning World by Julian Hoffman - Georgia Press, 2014

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