Who inspired your interest in wildlife?

[paulchandler6]

Here’s mine.
I moved out of London when I was a kid and went to a small primary school in South Oxfordshire (Berks as it was then). The headmaster there was W.D. Campbell “Bill Campbell” a renowned ornithologist and naturalist. Every Friday afternoon the senior class was take on a nature walk and I became fascinated by the different coloured Sparrows and Pigeons that were out in the countryside. (Later to find out they were Chaffinch, Greenfinch, and Thrushes etc). I became absorbed by the wildlife that was around compared to where I lived in London. The stream by the school had Bullheads and Sticklebacks. There were Dragonflies, Butterflies and all sorts of other crawly things and plants, lots of them. Also I used to help Bill after school with his ringing activities and learned a lot from him. Fond memories and still gaining them, now with a notebook and camera. Thanks a lot Bill for showing me what was out there.

p.s. if anyone knows where I can get a copy of Birdwatching as a hobby by W.D. Campbell? Cheers

[kshotton45]

Originally Posted by paulchandler6

Here’s mine.
I moved out of London when I was a kid and went to a small primary school in South Oxfordshire (Berks as it was then). The headmaster there was W.D. Campbell “Bill Campbell” a renowned ornithologist and naturalist. Every Friday afternoon the senior class was take on a nature walk and I became fascinated by the different coloured Sparrows and Pigeons that were out in the countryside. (Later to find out they were Chaffinch, Greenfinch, and Thrushes etc). I became absorbed by the wildlife that was around compared to where I lived in London. The stream by the school had Bullheads and Sticklebacks. There were Dragonflies, Butterflies and all sorts of other crawly things and plants, lots of them. Also I used to help Bill after school with his ringing activities and learned a lot from him. Fond memories and still gaining them, now with a notebook and camera. Thanks a lot Bill for showing me what was out there.


p.s. if anyone knows where I can get a copy of Birdwatching as a hobby by W.D. Campbell? Cheers

There's one here ............ but I think it's an aussie site ........

Books & Collectibles online bookstore and search engine for rare, out of print, antique and used books, maps and prints - Australia

[epops]

My dad and grandad they loved all things wildlife and countryside and being bought up on a small farm for the first few years of my life helped.

[G0NYM]

I don,t think anybody actually introduced me wildlife/countryside, its just how I am.
I have always been an outside person played outside as a kid roaming round fields and poking about in ponds climbing trees etc."without a risk assessment HA HA "
That was all over 50 years ago and not a lot has changed perhaps not so much climbing.
I am not an expert on any thing, I don't know the names of every bird I see nor any Latin names except for a few coarse fish ,
I am still amazed at some of the things I see .....
Martin

[JennyS]

My class teacher when I was 8 - she was batty about wildflowers and had the class bring them in and then they were labelled and put in jam-jars on the window sills....first term I refused to have anything to do with it, but by the third term I was totally hooked!

That awareness of them has stayed with me ever since and enriched my awareness of whats around me immeasurably........Miss Nightingale, thank you!

(Sudden daft thought - is there anyone posting here who also went to Talbot Heath (Hampshire) and remembers Miss Nightingale?)

[naturelover]

hi you can read mine on (when i was a child many moons ago )

[Thizle]

Probably Adolph Hitler had a hand in it, I was a real little townie in London, then the war started and I was evacuated to Dorset, a lovely little village called Gaunts Common, in those austere years everyone in the village grew there own vegetables, the school as well, we had most of the school playing fields turned into an allotment and the children grew vegetables and flowers, we learnt about nature hands on, we had a wonderful teacher Miss Minchington who encouraged our young curious minds, we learnt all about flora and fauna. we collected the berries in season and there was Rose hips and Rowan berries for syrup and jelly, we learned to use nature but not abuse her. The great enemy to us then wasnt Hitler it was the Colorado Beetle, and a fortune waiting for anyone that found one, a whole half a crown, never did find one though, so never got to take my girlfriend to Poole, for a 7 year old in those far off days life was exciting even with the world war in the background, I loved nature studies then, and nothing has altered since. If only I had put as much effort into maths and English... regards Jon

[pressld2]

Don't recall anyone inspiring my interest in wildlife but a lot of people tried to put me off! Most of my peers at school were into sport and vandalism (not necessarily in that order) and treated anyone who could name most of the birds, mammals and insects you were likely to find in darkest Surrey with the utmost suspicion. Adults weren't much better, the best I could hope for from that quarter was "it's just a phase - he'll grow out of it". Well I'm 47 now and I haven't grown out of it yet!

Dave P.

P.s. I use the Advanced Book Exchange (AbeBooks: New & Used Books, Textbooks, Rare & Out of Print Books) to search for secondhand copies of out-of-print books. The site has 6 copies of Bird Watching as a Hobby by W. D. Campbell listed, all but one of them in the UK. Have a look at this link.

[CamDiver]

My Wild Journey,
I grew up in Bournemouth so just on the outskirts really of the New Forrest. Due to reasons beyond my control I ended up in child care units from the age of 6. I was never introvert but was always more than happy to spend my own time alone walking through common ground, forrest and wilderness areas close to my home. I started investigating the animal world from days beyond the limitations of my memories. Its always been with me. At aged 16 I was told I needed to get a job so joined the army and served 6 years with the British Infantry. An outdoors life and I loved it. After that I joined what is thought to be a dubious department of the French military which is basically just a modern extension of their Infantry capabilities and got shipped to Djibouti in the horn of Africa. I could handle the forrays into Somalia, Rwanda and border incursions from Eritrea in the north because I had found my calling whilst serving there.....SCUBA diving.

I left the Military determined to take on the adventures I had sat watching transfixed as a kid, the adventures of the inimitable Jacques Cousteau. I couldn't believe such a world existed, it was fascinating. From the first time I put my head underwater in the Red Sea I knew I had found what I would do as a career after leaving the military. I had always been a swimmer, I had swam for my school, my training infantry regiment, but always on top of the water. Now I was having adventures below the surface. It was fantastic.

Those early days are now distant but strong memories. I have developed my career in a genre of filming that is very unforgiving in its very undertaking. I have worked for many International production and broadcast concerns and am just on the verge of working on a full time contract with the big daddy of them all; National Geographic. Its been a blast, but it isn't finished yet.

Cheers,
Mark.

[ron1863]

My father fostered my love of nature and wildlife when we moved from Glasgow to the countryside when I was 5 years old. He used to take me out for long walks, pointing out the different varieties of trees, birds, insects etc. This love of nature grew as I got older through television and my love of photography where nature and wildlife is a superb outlet for photography. I take my dog and camera whenever I go into the woods and always find something to photograph.

[Jez]

The wildlife itself got me fascinated! A siver back gorrlia throw back

[aestarte]

Hi I have always had a love of nature my first encounter of WILDLIFE was in primary school when on a really hot day i had a giant green grasshopper sit on my desk which at the time totally freaked me out. the teacher scooped it up and put it on the playing field; i then spent my entire lunch on the field looking for it; ended up finding loads of weird bugs instead. have been fasinated since with everything especially birds which always cheer me up because they are so naturally funny. I have also made sure my kids have a love and knowledge of what is going on in the wild world and we all as a family are every weekend walking and looking and loving natures t.v. Fi. X X X X

[widgeon0]

Helping out on a local farm when i was a younger kid,seeing all the different seasons and wanting to know more about everthing i saw in nature.

[GriGGerS]

When I was a kid my Mum did a lot of volunteer work and fostering for the RSPCA. We used to get a mix of domestic and wildlife come through the house.
My mum was know as the RSPCA lady... People would turn up with all sorts.
Back then she ran an RSPCA youth club.. Do they still do that?

I remember my dad hatching some sparrow eggs that were handed in, they adopted his then bushy hair as nest when he was in the house.

We also had an injured jackdaw handed in to us, he never did leave... He was free to come and go as he wished, in-fact he spent a lot of time on the back of the sofa watching TV..

So I guess I was inspired by my Mum..

Nige

[nightshade]

Just always been around it and it around me

[cavscott]

I don't think one particular person inspired it but I did used to love watching David Bellamy when I was a kid. I think people are often a little snobby about the TV but sometimes for a lot of people, the telly is the first chance they get to see nature beyond their own doorstop (and there's enough there).

I know I'm trying to encourage my own daughter - who's 17 months old - to explore the outdoors as much as possible. At the moment, she's obsessed about cows, pigs and sheep.

Cav

[Meles meles]

I had been hiking and camping for a quite a few years before i really started on wildlife. At the time taking note of Fox's, Hedgehogs etc. Used to love watching bats in the evenings. school outings catching tadpoles etc, all the norm. But i never dreamed i would be searching woods for fungus, meadows for crickets or hoppers. Certainly never thought i would be spending many of my evenings and weekends studying Badgers or even walking around one meadow trying to get a photo of a Kestrel. the list goes on......
All this and more I have to thank my mum, ahhhhh, ((what do they say on the grammies, sobbing tears, I could never have done it without her, she has been my inspiration, she pushed me out the door.)ok we wont go that far he he) It was she who started to really show me the wonders of wildlife (and still does). If i was to be honest my interest has doubled over the last year as well since joining WAB. Thanx guys

[coasty]

Well for me its been a life long thing, Spent my very early years poking about in rockpools near home and I was a member of the young naturalists club at the local museum, and started fishing at 9 or 10 , At boarding school aged 11 made friends with local gamekeeper and for two years shadowed him learning all the time about the ways of the countryside, some legal some not. By the way at this time had a pet rat looked at by the local Vet one Alf Wight AKA James Herriot.

Moved school after two years and was trying to fly fish on the local river. The leven at great ayton an old Guy who turned out to be the local undertaker asked me what I doing . I told him I was fly fishing . He looked at and me and said Nay lad thous not fly fishing thars flogging twater.... Well I ended up with free lessons for a few months. He was incredibly knowledgable on the natural world.

Have also been a keen birder for years and enjoy gardening still.

[juliejam]

As a child i grew up in a small village with many animals ..and also lived next to a farm. there i would help out collecting eggs and feeding pigs etc..There was always plenty to see in the way of mice and Rabbits which would come into the store barns..

The village school was always taking us on on nature walks pointing out different things...plus we went to local ponds to study the wildlife there. One year we collected some Frogspawn and kept it in a large tank and a prodject was to draw the changes that took place then adding them to our own school pond that we had all helped to design..so i would say it was in my early childhood and the people around me in my daily life that influenced my interest in wildlife..

Julie

[Cazzie]

My mum!

From an early age she'd introduced me and my bro to the wonders of wildlife in our garden, everything from a grasshopper to the foxes that came each night for the offal that she'd put out for them. There were Slow Worms, toads, masses of birds, bats and the mouse that lived in the larder munching through the cereal boxes lol - oh happy days! We also used to watch that programme with Jack Hargreaves (can't remember the name of it now - does anyone else?)

I'd like to hope that I too am instilling the same affection for wildlife into my son. He certainly loves the hedgies and froggies and takes some interest when I take him out with me!

[demicav]

Originally Posted by GriGGerS

When I was a kid my Mum did a lot of volunteer work and fostering for the RSPCA. We used to get a mix of domestic and wildlife come through the house.
My mum was know as the RSPCA lady... People would turn up with all sorts.
Back then she ran an RSPCA youth club.. Do they still do that?

I remember my dad hatching some sparrow eggs that were handed in, they adopted his then bushy hair as nest when he was in the house.

We also had an injured jackdaw handed in to us, he never did leave... He was free to come and go as he wished, in-fact he spent a lot of time on the back of the sofa watching TV..

So I guess I was inspired by my Mum..

Nige

I find Corvids totally gorgeous and can just imagine the Jackdaw sitting on the chair, makes me smile that one.

[clicka15]

Hi All.

3 people inspired me as a child:

1st, my Auntie, who bought me the David Attenborough books, starting with Life On Earth, in the 1970s. She also bought me a bird hide, which I set up in the back garden and watched birds from. In those days I could see the end of the garden without my specs!

2nd, my Dad, who used to take me and my brother out for wildlife walks to look for foxes in the wee summer hours before anyone was about.

3rd, David Attenborough himself! He has probably inspired many 30-somethings into an interest in nature and the environment.

Cheers,
Steven.

[clicka15]

Originally Posted by Cazzie

We also used to watch that programme with Jack Hargreaves (can't remember the name of it now - does anyone else?)

Hi Cazzie,

I think it was called Out of Town, or something similar. I loved that programme! I used to watch it with my Dad, and I can still remember the music. I actually feel quite emotional remembering it now. Thanks for reminding me!

Steve.

[Rookie 300d]

For me it was only a few year's ago. I was shopping in Las Vegas when I stumbled into a gallery of very interesting Wildlife Photo's. I was drawn to a large picture of a pride of lions in Africa. From that moment I wanted to see and photograph everything wild out there. The gallery was Thomas D Mangelsen a true Wildlife inspiration.THOMAS D. MANGELSEN'S | Images of Nature