Guest blog – New Nature magazine by Alice Johnson

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Having always loved wildlife, Alice studied a degree in conservation and has been involved with various projects, including helping barn owls with The Wildlife Trust and little terns with the RSPB. She keeps a wildlife blog (Nature Nattering) and writes content for The Woodland Trust.

 

 

 

 

New Nature Magazine – Nature through the eyes of the next generation

Several years ago, when exam season at school had finished, my parents suggested we went for a short trip away somewhere. Everyone at school was jetting off to sunny resorts, boasting about the beaches and places they were going to. A stark contrast with my choice, where the chilly weather kept me wrapped in a thick coat, and I had to wear a hat for safety purposes due to aerial attacks by a certain species.

I sat huddled on a boat and looked across the choppy water as the harsh sea breeze numbed my face, but breathed life into my soul. Then I saw a small black shape flying over the sea, every wingbeat injecting excitement into me – a puffin! Once on the Farne Islands, being in amongst a seabird colony fuels you with an incredible engagement and love for the natural world. There is something especially memorable about having Arctic terns poking your head and being hit in the face by something other than a raindrop. When I came home however I didn’t tell anyone at school about how wonderful it was. I knew they would laugh and think I was ‘weird’ for going on holiday to watch birds. Many young nature lovers know this feeling.

This is where New Nature magazine comes in. New Nature is an e-magazine written and produced by the younger generation. It allows contributors and readers to feel connected to other nature lovers as well as express and share their love and experiences of the natural world. We want to continue to fuel the interest and passion the next generation has for nature as well as to hopefully encourage more people to appreciate what amazing wildlife we have here in the UK. The more interest there is in nature, the more likely it is that its importance will be recognised and that it will be protected.

New Nature magazine is produced monthly, with beautiful articles written by people aged 30 or under. Subjects covered in the magazine include specific species articles, places to visit, upcoming events, patch-chats, conservation discussions, celebrity interviews, careers advice, science research summaries and book reviews as well as lots of incredible photos. The magazine is a place where any young individual can express their love and interest for nature, whether it revolves around birds, fungi, trees or anything else. We want to hear about their experiences with nature and why they love it. As a magazine that includes careers pieces and summaries of student research, it not only aids connectivity of young naturalists but can help readers gain future employment by giving them advice from professionals. New Nature is already creating opportunities for its contributors as a few have been commissioned to write an article for another magazine, after the editor spotted their original piece in New Nature.

Support for the New Nature magazine has been unbelievable, so thank you to everyone who has already taken a look, and although the content is written by ‘young’ nature lovers, it really is a magazine anyone can read and enjoy. So if you haven’t seen it you can download the magazine free of charge on our website: www.newnature.co.uk and if you or anyone you know is aged 30 or under and would like to contribute (unless it is for a careers piece in which case we have no age limit) please contact [email protected] – we would love to hear from you.

 

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14 Replies to “Guest blog – New Nature magazine by Alice Johnson”

  1. Great to see youngsters doing it alone as this world often gives little chance for them making it through paid jobs. In the 1970s it was easy to go from job to job but now the openings are not just there. My youngest was lucky to fall on his feet and now has his own business in Scotland – http://www.naturescotland.com/

    Wildlife tourism is worth £156 million per year in Scotland and seems to be the best place for youngsters to start up.

  3. Hope it goes from strength to strength. Let the youngsters have a bash; they can’t do any worse than our generations have.

  4. Thanks, Alice for writing about the New Nature magazine. I’ve just downloaded and read the article about birds telling the time. It’s interesting and useful. The other articles look good too. Let’s hope it really takes off with the younger generation.
    I don’t quite get the 30 years age cut off for contributors; there’re some very young 39 and 93 year olds out there. That said it is critical that the magazine keeps its youthful editors.

    1. Yes, it looks good but couldn’t help thinking the same about the age cut off. I’m 36 so not exactly retirement age. I think it vital we encourage the next generation but lets not forget that there is “this” generation still trying to make there way in conservation; too old for “the next generation” but not old enough to becoming toward the ends of their careers.

      Bloody good read though!

          2. I am 94. Always have been, always will be. That’s 64 years too old to be a contributor to New Nature

  5. Looks an excellent mag. 5100 downloads so far and at this standard, I can only see this increasing.
    I do hope the NGOs use it to advertise jobs.
    My generation have totally screwed up and have made the job much harder for anyone in the future. Good to see younger people willing to try to correct our mistakes.
    Maybe one or two of you will even get into politics and gives us all a better future and a bit of hope.

    Well done all.

  7. I’ts a shame that an interest in nature is still seen as nerdy by other young people – growing up in the era when conservation first became a household word, I’d have hoped it might have got better. I suppose we must both be ‘weird’ – I’ve never quite worked out what to do on a beach other than swim, whilst being attacked by an Arctic Tern on the Farnes comes pretty close to perfection !

    I think its really great t6hat you’ve got New Nature going – I’ve got it on my favourites bar ! (the bit along the top on traditional computers !) A couple of thoughts – don’t underrate yourselves – your generation are far better informed about the environment, and recognising there are real challenges, than mine – its easier to have an intelligent conversation about it with 20 somethings than 60 somethings – and if you think conservation has got a bit stuck you could well be wright.

    The other thing is, when I was doing it at least, I gave a lot of value when recruiting staff to the sort of deep understanding and Knowledge you can only get from time in the field, doing it. On that, twitching is fun – enjoy it if its your thing – but for work prospects the science route – with great opportunities with BTO – is the one to go for.

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