‘Nature Needs You!’
About the event
Described by the RSPB as ‘a voice for nature’, Hannah Bourne-Taylor, author and bird conservationist, has written the extraordinary story of how she became a solo campaigner who created a national campaign to save swifts from extinction.
Hannah’s aim was to try and change the law to make ‘swift bricks’ (that sit flush to the wall and provide a cavity nesting habitat for 8 species of urban birds) compulsory in new builds across the UK. This meant she had to raise the requisite 100,000 signatures within six months of launching her campaign petition to trigger a parliamentary debate, an almost impossible target but one Hannah was determined to somehow meet.
Hear Hannah recount how she launched her ‘swift brick’ campaign from scratch in November 2022, without any financial backing, contacts or experience, armed only with her own tenacity, passion, integrity and humour. Launching her campaign by walking naked, painted in swift feathers hear how she navigated the politics of conservation and the reactions of those at Westminster and the inspiration she drew from others along the way in this lively talk. Includes a chance to buy a signed copy of Hannah’s new book ‘Nature Needs You!’
About the speaker
Hannah Bourne-Taylor is a nature author and bird conservationist. She has spent most of the last decade living in rural Ghana raising and rehabilitating birds and working within pangolin conservation. Hannah raised a mannikin finch for 84 days in her hair, and a swift, as recounted in her debut nature memoir, Fledgling (2022), described by The Observer as ‘intelligent, poetic and moving’, and on return to England in 2021, rescued and rehabilitated five crows. Hannah launched her national campaign to save swifts in 2022. She was named in the top 10 UK campaigners on the coveted ENDS Report Power List in 2024. She trained as a photographer at the London College of Fashion and worked as a model. She is now an editor and ghostwriter, including writing Lady Glenconner’s 2019 award winning memoir Lady in Waiting, and working with public figures such as the Duke of Beaufort and Jo Wood. She is a Trustee of the Farmland Bird Aid Network and founded The Feather Speech Consultancy CIC to engage housebuilders in conservation measures such as swift bricks. Hannah lives in Oxfordshire with her husband, a former Olympic rower, and the two dogs they rescued when living in Ghana.
Accessibility information
| Wheelchair accessible? | Yes |
| Hearing loops? | Yes |
| Seating? | Yes |
| Refreshments? | No |
| Flashing lights? | No |
| Loud noises? | No |
For more information, please visit our accessibility webpage.
