Some changes, some celebrations.

And some opportunities.

Urban Nature Diary is free to read.

It always has been and it always will be, because nature should be accessible to all. Its voice should be heard everywhere, as loudly as possible. It needs it. We need it.

To all of you who are regular subscribers and have been reading my work for a long time, thank you very much. I would write this stuff even if nobody was reading it, but today there are over one thousand of you who grant me the privilege of your time and attention and inbox space every week with an essay about reconnecting with nature. And I’m very grateful.

In addition to my writing, I make films.

With a background in commercial filmmaking, I have been producing and directing documentaries and corporate videos for over a decade. Now I’m focusing on environmental filmmaking, telling stories about the world in which we live today and the sustainable transformation that needs to happen. If you’re new here, check out my recent documentary The Birdwatchers as an example.

The request for more work like it has been overwhelming. I’m thrilled it has spoken to people. But the project was self-funded - all £1,000 of it. I would love to create more like this and release it for free on my channels, but the amount of time and expense required simply doesn’t make it possible.

So with that in mind I want to also say a massive thank you to everyone who has taken out a paid subscription to Urban Nature Diary, and those who have made contributions to the Buy Me A Coffee link at the bottom of the posts.

Your regular contributions are not only supporting my writing and filmmaking with the confidence that my work is resonating with people, but are also contributing to the budget of my next film.

As a continued thanks, paid subscribers might start to see some content in their inboxes earlier than free subscribers. Some exclusive premieres maybe, or an opportunity to see behind the scenes of my process.

If you’d like to upgrade your membership and support my upcoming projects, you can do so here:

If not, then no problem at all. You’ll still get access to every essay and video I post. Make sure you are receiving emails so you can read them even after they have been paywalled.

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Art

One thing I’ve been toying with recently is branching out into other art forms. I know many of you who read Urban Nature Diary regularly are accomplished artists yourselves, so I would never pretend to stand shoulder to shoulder on the professional stage with the hard-working painters, sketchers, photographers and collagists who are telling the story of the natural world through their visuals.

But seeing as this winter has borne witness to some incredible starling murmurations, I couldn’t help but depict them in my own personal way with watercolour and pen.

And as a thank you to all 1,000+ of you who have accompanied me on this journey, I want to give them away.

So if you’ve made it reading this far, congratulations - now’s your chance to get your hands on them.

Simply like and comment on this post - or respond to this email - saying hello and I’ll pick someone at random to send the paintings to. Don’t worry about postage - it’s on me.

In the meantime, I’m working on a few things, as well as juggling work and childcare and all the rest, so as ever, thank you for your ongoing patience, readership, and support.

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