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Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts
The inspirational story of a bird lover who became a nature-warrior in a David v Goliath battle to save swifts from extinction.
Nature Needs You tells the compelling story of how Hannah, without campaigning experience, funding or contacts, set out to save swifts from extinction in the UK. Her mission is to change the law and make 'swift bricks' mandatory so that the birds who nest in our walls will have a future in Britain. Nature Needs You delves into the highs and lows of trying to win hearts and minds, grab the news agenda with her naked Feather Speech, win Caroline Lucas and Lord Zac Goldsmith's support, navigate meetings with Secretaries of State and debates in the Houses of Parliament, survive the trolling and midnight self-doubt and raise a petition with the requisite 100,000 signatures for a Parliamentary debate. At stake, with a decline in numbers of over 60% since 1995, are the birds who have become our symbol of summer, the swifts screaming in the skies above us.
Steeped in love for the wild, by a talented writer, Nature Needs You is a clarion call to save the nature on our doorsteps and to prove that passion can be a superpower in bringing change to nature-depleted Britain. Raw, funny, self-deprecating and unstoppable in turn, this is nature writing with the pace of a thriller. Hannah is now knocking at the door of the new Labour Secretary of State for Housing, in the hope that, where Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove failed, Angela Rayner and Matthew Pennycook will save our swifts.
'I applaud Hannah's book; her inner steel and her sassy take on conservation are inspiring. I am so heartened that there are courage-driven young women holding nature in the light so that it WILL be seen by the powerful.' Mary Colwell, author of Curlew Moon
Nature Needs You tells the compelling story of how Hannah, without campaigning experience, funding or contacts, set out to save swifts from extinction in the UK. Her mission is to change the law and make 'swift bricks' mandatory so that the birds who nest in our walls will have a future in Britain. Nature Needs You delves into the highs and lows of trying to win hearts and minds, grab the news agenda with her naked Feather Speech, win Caroline Lucas and Lord Zac Goldsmith's support, navigate meetings with Secretaries of State and debates in the Houses of Parliament, survive the trolling and midnight self-doubt and raise a petition with the requisite 100,000 signatures for a Parliamentary debate. At stake, with a decline in numbers of over 60% since 1995, are the birds who have become our symbol of summer, the swifts screaming in the skies above us.
Steeped in love for the wild, by a talented writer, Nature Needs You is a clarion call to save the nature on our doorsteps and to prove that passion can be a superpower in bringing change to nature-depleted Britain. Raw, funny, self-deprecating and unstoppable in turn, this is nature writing with the pace of a thriller. Hannah is now knocking at the door of the new Labour Secretary of State for Housing, in the hope that, where Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove failed, Angela Rayner and Matthew Pennycook will save our swifts.
'I applaud Hannah's book; her inner steel and her sassy take on conservation are inspiring. I am so heartened that there are courage-driven young women holding nature in the light so that it WILL be seen by the powerful.' Mary Colwell, author of Curlew Moon
- GenresNonfictionNatureAnimals
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 26, 2026
Passion really is Hannah Bourne-Taylor's superpower.
An inspiring account of one woman's fight for swift bricks for every new build in Britain. Hannah Bourne-Taylor loves birds, and particularly swifts. Knowing that they are in serious trouble with massive population declines, largely because they are cavity nesting birds, and the cavities they need are getting blocked up on older houses, and just don't exist for them on new builds, she makes a promise to try to get this fixed. Swift bricks, (a brick with a built in cavity), are an easy and affordable solution so she decided to try to get legislation passed to have at least one swift brick added to every new home. What follows is her long fight with two successive governments to get legislation passed.
The book is interesting not only for the facts about swifts, but the realities of trying to get governments to do anything proactive for nature; at one point, she is told it will never pass because it could open the floodgates for all sorts of things like hedgehog holes etc. It was infuriating reading, but Hannah just kept going, despite all the obstacles out in front of her, and she still is. So far, Scotland has passed the legislation but the rest of Britain has yet to follow suit, and this despite widespread, cross party support.
As I finished this, I watched a group of shifts screaming around the valley not far from my house. I have watched year after year the amount of shifts coming to town dwindle, this year the most I have seen together so far is 9, an improvement on last May with just 4. I know one small housing development had swift bricks added so there is hope. I am planning on getting a swift nesting box.
*Many thanks to Netgally and the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
An inspiring account of one woman's fight for swift bricks for every new build in Britain. Hannah Bourne-Taylor loves birds, and particularly swifts. Knowing that they are in serious trouble with massive population declines, largely because they are cavity nesting birds, and the cavities they need are getting blocked up on older houses, and just don't exist for them on new builds, she makes a promise to try to get this fixed. Swift bricks, (a brick with a built in cavity), are an easy and affordable solution so she decided to try to get legislation passed to have at least one swift brick added to every new home. What follows is her long fight with two successive governments to get legislation passed.
The book is interesting not only for the facts about swifts, but the realities of trying to get governments to do anything proactive for nature; at one point, she is told it will never pass because it could open the floodgates for all sorts of things like hedgehog holes etc. It was infuriating reading, but Hannah just kept going, despite all the obstacles out in front of her, and she still is. So far, Scotland has passed the legislation but the rest of Britain has yet to follow suit, and this despite widespread, cross party support.
As I finished this, I watched a group of shifts screaming around the valley not far from my house. I have watched year after year the amount of shifts coming to town dwindle, this year the most I have seen together so far is 9, an improvement on last May with just 4. I know one small housing development had swift bricks added so there is hope. I am planning on getting a swift nesting box.
*Many thanks to Netgally and the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
July 12, 2025
Thanks for the arc NetGalley
As an ecologist I’m always on the look out for books involving nature. I knew a lot about swifts already but since I’m from The Netherlands and I’m more working in roadbuilding instead of the housing industry I didn’t know how dire the circumstances were. This book goes mostly into why swifts need us but I really liked how we could read along with Hannah Bourne-Taylors road to activism. Working on getting legislation is a long road and that truly needs passion. Hannah also gives some attention to other species that can be saved if the right measures are taken which shows that saving biodiversity isn’t a one-species solution. Conservation efforts are needed all around the tree of life. I felt that the book perfectly balances love for nature, frustration with politicians, personal stories and hope for the future.
Recently the legislation for swift bricks in the Netherlands was canceled by our last right-wing cabinet that found it “too difficult to implement”. I truly hope that the new election and government will implement the legislation. Never forget that your right to vote also impacts the ones that can’t vote.
As an ecologist I’m always on the look out for books involving nature. I knew a lot about swifts already but since I’m from The Netherlands and I’m more working in roadbuilding instead of the housing industry I didn’t know how dire the circumstances were. This book goes mostly into why swifts need us but I really liked how we could read along with Hannah Bourne-Taylors road to activism. Working on getting legislation is a long road and that truly needs passion. Hannah also gives some attention to other species that can be saved if the right measures are taken which shows that saving biodiversity isn’t a one-species solution. Conservation efforts are needed all around the tree of life. I felt that the book perfectly balances love for nature, frustration with politicians, personal stories and hope for the future.
Recently the legislation for swift bricks in the Netherlands was canceled by our last right-wing cabinet that found it “too difficult to implement”. I truly hope that the new election and government will implement the legislation. Never forget that your right to vote also impacts the ones that can’t vote.
May 18, 2025
It’s been a while since I have read a book that has made me so angry, in my eyes Hannah Bourne-Taylor is a hero and as I read about her story campaigning for something as simple as a nest box for birds I got more and more protective as she faced trolls and soulless politicians who tried to put her off her mission. I had watched her on social media and cheered her on from the comfort of my garden but until this book I had no idea just what she was going through.
What she wants to do is simple, all new house builds to have a nest box/brick added, she just needs the government to pass a bill to add this cheap as chips item as a requirement, no brainer, right? Other countries have successfully done this and she has the backing of everybody she needs and yet this simplest of changes was ignored by the tory government. It was frustrating to see Hannah hit so many walls whilst doing everything that was asked of her and in those moments where she was overwhelmed and wanted to scream I felt what she was going through…I didn’t scream with her, I’m more like her friend Margaret and went the route of a good old swearing session.
The writing is fantastic, it would be so easy for Hannah to get overwhelmed by the emotions she went through but she manages to keep it together and explain what and why she was doing this, she explains well the political hoops she had to go through and she shares with us her love for those she was fighting for….and as a middle finger to the face of Michael Gove she even finds time to rescue and raise a Dunnock. Total legend.
I have watched the number of swifts screaming over my head decline over the years, this year I have seen just the two birds so far, really hoping I’ve missed the others. These two birds and this book have given me the wake up call I needed, a location for a nest box has been picked, now I just gotta find the right size box and fit it.
Thank you to Hannah Bourne-Taylor and everything you have done for birds.
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2025...
What she wants to do is simple, all new house builds to have a nest box/brick added, she just needs the government to pass a bill to add this cheap as chips item as a requirement, no brainer, right? Other countries have successfully done this and she has the backing of everybody she needs and yet this simplest of changes was ignored by the tory government. It was frustrating to see Hannah hit so many walls whilst doing everything that was asked of her and in those moments where she was overwhelmed and wanted to scream I felt what she was going through…I didn’t scream with her, I’m more like her friend Margaret and went the route of a good old swearing session.
The writing is fantastic, it would be so easy for Hannah to get overwhelmed by the emotions she went through but she manages to keep it together and explain what and why she was doing this, she explains well the political hoops she had to go through and she shares with us her love for those she was fighting for….and as a middle finger to the face of Michael Gove she even finds time to rescue and raise a Dunnock. Total legend.
I have watched the number of swifts screaming over my head decline over the years, this year I have seen just the two birds so far, really hoping I’ve missed the others. These two birds and this book have given me the wake up call I needed, a location for a nest box has been picked, now I just gotta find the right size box and fit it.
Thank you to Hannah Bourne-Taylor and everything you have done for birds.
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2025...
June 18, 2025
Required reading to understand just how obdurate government is in the defence of nature, and just how bloody hard you have to fight it just to stand still, let alone make progress.
August 7, 2025
a rather motivating read, i’m so shocked her years of campaigning haven’t resulted in legislation yet when the cause is so beneficial for everyone. admittedly, when i was reaching the end of the book i was preparing to read that all had gone well as rather naively i assumed this was already successful as i live on a housing estate aptly called “the swifts” because every house has a swift box - but i suppose that goes to show that there has been progress in the last 10 years!
April 19, 2025
I picked this up as an ARC on NetGalley because of its focus on swifts—something close to my heart after a recent project at work, where we created swift boxes for homes alongside an art trail with the local community.
Nature Needs You tells the story of The Feather Speech, Bourne-Taylor’s campaign to make swift bricks mandatory in new builds and renovations. These bricks provide vital nesting spaces for swifts—now on the UK Red List—who’ve adapted to buildings after the loss of their forest homes. But today, the sealing of wall cavities is rapidly removing their last refuge.
Working in the housing sector, this really hit home. It’s such a simple, effective intervention—yet Bourne-Taylor shows just how hard it is to get political support, even for common-sense solutions. Her story offers a rare and accessible insight into how UK politics really works: the role of lobbyists, political indifference, and the persistence required to make meaningful change.
I found it deeply emotional. I teared up more than once following the highs and lows of her journey. And to learn she’s based just outside Oxford—campaigning for the very birds we’ve been trying to support- it hits very close to home.
If you care about nature, want to understand our political system better, or simply hope to be a more informed citizen, Nature Needs You is essential reading. It answers the question so many of us ask: What can I do to help?
I’ve pre-ordered a physical copy to share with family—and another for one of the Little Free Libraries at work.
Nature Needs You tells the story of The Feather Speech, Bourne-Taylor’s campaign to make swift bricks mandatory in new builds and renovations. These bricks provide vital nesting spaces for swifts—now on the UK Red List—who’ve adapted to buildings after the loss of their forest homes. But today, the sealing of wall cavities is rapidly removing their last refuge.
Working in the housing sector, this really hit home. It’s such a simple, effective intervention—yet Bourne-Taylor shows just how hard it is to get political support, even for common-sense solutions. Her story offers a rare and accessible insight into how UK politics really works: the role of lobbyists, political indifference, and the persistence required to make meaningful change.
I found it deeply emotional. I teared up more than once following the highs and lows of her journey. And to learn she’s based just outside Oxford—campaigning for the very birds we’ve been trying to support- it hits very close to home.
If you care about nature, want to understand our political system better, or simply hope to be a more informed citizen, Nature Needs You is essential reading. It answers the question so many of us ask: What can I do to help?
I’ve pre-ordered a physical copy to share with family—and another for one of the Little Free Libraries at work.
June 14, 2025
Passion truly is a superpower and Hannah throughly embodies this sentiment! Moreover, she shows us through her stories that community is also a superpower, as she finds strength in all those who uplift her and walk alongside her on the journey to save swifts from extinction.
Hannah Bourne-Taylor is a fierce activist, a North Star of conviction, and a captivating storyteller. Not only does she guide us through some of the complex inner workings of the UK government as she tries to influence policy, she also sparks beautiful imagery of nature and wildlife when narrating her conservation efforts.
Despite how insignificant it may seem to some people, we do share this Earth with other creatures that deserve to be here. Animals (and plants) that on top of having their own inherent worth, are creatures that make life for us humans, possible. Creatures that quite literally we cannot live without.
Hannah Bourne-Taylor is a fierce activist, a North Star of conviction, and a captivating storyteller. Not only does she guide us through some of the complex inner workings of the UK government as she tries to influence policy, she also sparks beautiful imagery of nature and wildlife when narrating her conservation efforts.
Despite how insignificant it may seem to some people, we do share this Earth with other creatures that deserve to be here. Animals (and plants) that on top of having their own inherent worth, are creatures that make life for us humans, possible. Creatures that quite literally we cannot live without.
June 30, 2025
A compelling, yet heartbreaking book. Rishi Sunak, in particular, has a lot to answer for.
April 12, 2025
What a fascinating story. The story of one woman campaigner fighting to save the swift and have swift bricks installed in homes in the UK proving roosting nests for the birds. Thank you to the author for this book and her work. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.
May 1, 2025
I will admit that when I first saw Hannah Bourne-Taylor’s photos on social media, boldly walking through London naked to promote her campaign to save the UK’s swift population, I was initially confused, yet I soon learned that this was indeed a very effective campaign, one that gained the public’s attention and support, along with the incredibily difficult management of not diverting from the actual message the campaign was trying to convey.
In Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts, Hannah Bourne-Taylor takes us through what inspired her to take such drastic measures in order to help save a species of bird so many of us overlook, or completely ignore, creating a narrative that not only combines the fact that we are destroying our natural environments, but also her unmistakable passion not just for Swifts, but for nature in general, the reader is taken from the fields and roads of a local village and through the ‘corridors of power’ themselves at the Houses of Parliament.
It is here that Nature Needs You becomes its most revealing, as it helps expose the ‘behind the scenes’ operations of UK Government machinations, complete with all its machinations and corruptions, yet it is also here that I was left with more questions than answers, for example, why is there so little mention of opposition parties in relation to the campaign? Were they just not interested? I would have found it personally interesting to hear more of this rather than some of the other narrative that didn’t really push things along. I was also somewhat confused as to a number of comments made about brexit and single-sex toilets in relation to Housing Regulations, which were left with either no explanation or presented with a very one-sided viewpoint. However, these are just quibbles in relation to the larger narrative, and doesn’t take from the message being presented to the reader.
Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts is Hannah Bourne-Taylor’s call-to-arms for us to not just act to help nature, but to educate ourselves to live alongside nature. So often we build houses and roads with no concern for the natural environments which live in those areas, we shut it out and drown out the noise with Netflix, only to be concerned when someone, such as Hannah Bourne-Taylor, stands up for us to take notice. Yet it is successful campaigns, such as this that succeed in getting the right attention, there was no destruction, no shouting, no vandalism, just a walk (albeit naked) a petition and a lot of meetings, highlighting this is the way good campaigns work, aside from the numerous problems revealed in the pages.
I found Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts by Hannah Bourne-Taylor one of the most relevant books published at the moment not just to highlight the disastrous effects of humankind upon our natural world and the myriad species we share this planet with, but also a valuable insight into not just running a successful campaign, and all its frustrations, but how one person can make a world of difference.
In Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts, Hannah Bourne-Taylor takes us through what inspired her to take such drastic measures in order to help save a species of bird so many of us overlook, or completely ignore, creating a narrative that not only combines the fact that we are destroying our natural environments, but also her unmistakable passion not just for Swifts, but for nature in general, the reader is taken from the fields and roads of a local village and through the ‘corridors of power’ themselves at the Houses of Parliament.
It is here that Nature Needs You becomes its most revealing, as it helps expose the ‘behind the scenes’ operations of UK Government machinations, complete with all its machinations and corruptions, yet it is also here that I was left with more questions than answers, for example, why is there so little mention of opposition parties in relation to the campaign? Were they just not interested? I would have found it personally interesting to hear more of this rather than some of the other narrative that didn’t really push things along. I was also somewhat confused as to a number of comments made about brexit and single-sex toilets in relation to Housing Regulations, which were left with either no explanation or presented with a very one-sided viewpoint. However, these are just quibbles in relation to the larger narrative, and doesn’t take from the message being presented to the reader.
Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts is Hannah Bourne-Taylor’s call-to-arms for us to not just act to help nature, but to educate ourselves to live alongside nature. So often we build houses and roads with no concern for the natural environments which live in those areas, we shut it out and drown out the noise with Netflix, only to be concerned when someone, such as Hannah Bourne-Taylor, stands up for us to take notice. Yet it is successful campaigns, such as this that succeed in getting the right attention, there was no destruction, no shouting, no vandalism, just a walk (albeit naked) a petition and a lot of meetings, highlighting this is the way good campaigns work, aside from the numerous problems revealed in the pages.
I found Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts by Hannah Bourne-Taylor one of the most relevant books published at the moment not just to highlight the disastrous effects of humankind upon our natural world and the myriad species we share this planet with, but also a valuable insight into not just running a successful campaign, and all its frustrations, but how one person can make a world of difference.
May 27, 2026
In Nature Needs You, Hannah Bourne-Taylor transforms from a bird lover into a fierce activist, launching a relentless grassroots campaign to legally mandate "swift bricks" in new housing. Written with the momentum of a thriller, this book combines nature and politics to expose the frontline of conservation.
There are so many moments that resonated with me! I found this story highly inspiring and brave, but it also made me deeply angry. The most shocking thing in this book isn't that swifts, and all birds, are in decline, but just how much time and effort Hannah had to put in to get the government to even consider listening to her. She is still fighting today and needs all the support she can. Despite being an ecologist, a nature lover and an amateur birder, I know that in Hannah's shoes, I would have never found the courage nor the strength to fight as much as she did for over 3 years. I likely would have never started because successive governments have proven they would rather protect multi-billion-pound industries, like housing developers or big farming unions who will fight tooth and nail against anyone who threatens them. This book completely confirmed my fears. Even though some politicians will offer positive and encouraging words for an amendment, there are bigger lobbies behind the scenes—whether it is the meat industry, housing developers, intensive farmers, or hunters—that always seem to win. Sadly, protecting or restoring the environment is constantly pitted against or ranked after all other political subjects, when it absolutely should be considered alongside everything else, and never as an afterthought.
As I read this infuriating yet enlightening book, I heard and saw my first swifts of 2026, hoping they would come back under my tiles like in previous years where we previously had to protect our single roof cavity. The book immediately spurred me to "stick up for the little guy." By the final page, I drafted my email for the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, contacted my local MP, and began researching local swift groups and swift brick installers.
Ultimately, this book is an empowering reminder that everyone must take action without waiting for a useless government. As Hannah Bourne-Taylor reminds us, "We are the ones who hold the power. It's simple maths. There are 650 MPs and 67 million of us." With the UK swift population having declined by 60% between 1995 and 2020 according to the BTO, this is an urgent call to arms. We cannot wait around wondering, "Maybe the government will start caring?"—because British wildlife is condemned unless things change right now.
A must read for everyone, nature lover or not, to understand how our government works.
There are so many moments that resonated with me! I found this story highly inspiring and brave, but it also made me deeply angry. The most shocking thing in this book isn't that swifts, and all birds, are in decline, but just how much time and effort Hannah had to put in to get the government to even consider listening to her. She is still fighting today and needs all the support she can. Despite being an ecologist, a nature lover and an amateur birder, I know that in Hannah's shoes, I would have never found the courage nor the strength to fight as much as she did for over 3 years. I likely would have never started because successive governments have proven they would rather protect multi-billion-pound industries, like housing developers or big farming unions who will fight tooth and nail against anyone who threatens them. This book completely confirmed my fears. Even though some politicians will offer positive and encouraging words for an amendment, there are bigger lobbies behind the scenes—whether it is the meat industry, housing developers, intensive farmers, or hunters—that always seem to win. Sadly, protecting or restoring the environment is constantly pitted against or ranked after all other political subjects, when it absolutely should be considered alongside everything else, and never as an afterthought.
As I read this infuriating yet enlightening book, I heard and saw my first swifts of 2026, hoping they would come back under my tiles like in previous years where we previously had to protect our single roof cavity. The book immediately spurred me to "stick up for the little guy." By the final page, I drafted my email for the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, contacted my local MP, and began researching local swift groups and swift brick installers.
Ultimately, this book is an empowering reminder that everyone must take action without waiting for a useless government. As Hannah Bourne-Taylor reminds us, "We are the ones who hold the power. It's simple maths. There are 650 MPs and 67 million of us." With the UK swift population having declined by 60% between 1995 and 2020 according to the BTO, this is an urgent call to arms. We cannot wait around wondering, "Maybe the government will start caring?"—because British wildlife is condemned unless things change right now.
A must read for everyone, nature lover or not, to understand how our government works.
June 29, 2026
Coincidentally, I have just finished reading this book on Swift Awareness Week.
I am now also a self confessed 'Swiftie' (nothing to do with the pop star though!)
According to British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) swift populations have seen a 68% decline since 1995. This in large part due to the loss of nesting places where the eaves of roofs are sealed in new buildings.
In the book, Hannah details her eventful and frustrating journey to try and save the swifts by campaigning for installation of swift bricks to be mandated for all new build houses. The swift brick is, in theory, a no brainer, a simple, relatively cheap brick that replaces the nesting sites lost by swifts. But persuading the government to mandate it for new builds has turned out to be much trickier.
I have been truly inspired by Hannah's commitment to the swifts along with all those that have supported her along the way. Who knew, there are dedicated teams of volunteers that spend the spring on swift watch which, amongst other things, involves rescuing grounded birds and persuading home owners with any means available to them to let swifts back into their nesting spaces, where they have been blocked?
Hannah took it a step further than that though with her campaign and lobbying of the government. She really shows how one person, with grit and refusal to accept the preventable decline of a species, can make a difference. The book gave an insighful look into government decision making process revealing the complex and sometimes ludicrous nature of our political system. It really highlighted the importance of lobbying the government for what is important to us and ensuring the right stuff gets the focus it deserves.
Last week in my garden I watched these powerful but also vulnerable birds circling the sky above at super speed. On a recent visit to Nice in France, the skies above our apartment were alive with swifts, screeching past. I totally get the obsession with these birds. For Hannah, the connection runs really deep after she hand raised a swift that had fallen to the ground before releasing it back to the skies. Her emotional account of her close bond with this bird really helped me to understand her motivations and sense of responsibility.
Hannah's belief that passion is a super power also really resonated with me. I think we can all identify what is really important to us and take action to make it happen.
So in summary, I would definitely recommend reading this book especially if you would like to feel inspired to take action about something you care about or to learn more about swifts.
Swift bricks have now been put into law in Scotland but for the of the UK, the fight goes on.
I am now also a self confessed 'Swiftie' (nothing to do with the pop star though!)
According to British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) swift populations have seen a 68% decline since 1995. This in large part due to the loss of nesting places where the eaves of roofs are sealed in new buildings.
In the book, Hannah details her eventful and frustrating journey to try and save the swifts by campaigning for installation of swift bricks to be mandated for all new build houses. The swift brick is, in theory, a no brainer, a simple, relatively cheap brick that replaces the nesting sites lost by swifts. But persuading the government to mandate it for new builds has turned out to be much trickier.
I have been truly inspired by Hannah's commitment to the swifts along with all those that have supported her along the way. Who knew, there are dedicated teams of volunteers that spend the spring on swift watch which, amongst other things, involves rescuing grounded birds and persuading home owners with any means available to them to let swifts back into their nesting spaces, where they have been blocked?
Hannah took it a step further than that though with her campaign and lobbying of the government. She really shows how one person, with grit and refusal to accept the preventable decline of a species, can make a difference. The book gave an insighful look into government decision making process revealing the complex and sometimes ludicrous nature of our political system. It really highlighted the importance of lobbying the government for what is important to us and ensuring the right stuff gets the focus it deserves.
Last week in my garden I watched these powerful but also vulnerable birds circling the sky above at super speed. On a recent visit to Nice in France, the skies above our apartment were alive with swifts, screeching past. I totally get the obsession with these birds. For Hannah, the connection runs really deep after she hand raised a swift that had fallen to the ground before releasing it back to the skies. Her emotional account of her close bond with this bird really helped me to understand her motivations and sense of responsibility.
Hannah's belief that passion is a super power also really resonated with me. I think we can all identify what is really important to us and take action to make it happen.
So in summary, I would definitely recommend reading this book especially if you would like to feel inspired to take action about something you care about or to learn more about swifts.
Swift bricks have now been put into law in Scotland but for the of the UK, the fight goes on.
June 5, 2026
I picked up this book as I had briefly researched swift bricks for my university course, looking at how wildlife can be better supported in urban areas as part of my dissertation. I didn’t realise how little about the fight for swift bricks I knew before reading this book, as I have now learnt so much and realised what a long process this has been! I’m so glad that I read this, as I have learnt much more about birds (swifts in particular!), how important their protection is, and how politics plays such a big part in this.
I would recommend this book to anyone, especially if you have an interest in nature or politics - but everything is explained well, so that you don’t need knowledge of these before reading. I’ve now been inspired to do more research on what we can do to help swifts, and other birds facing decline in the UK🥹
I would recommend this book to anyone, especially if you have an interest in nature or politics - but everything is explained well, so that you don’t need knowledge of these before reading. I’ve now been inspired to do more research on what we can do to help swifts, and other birds facing decline in the UK🥹
August 19, 2025
This is inspiring and everyone should have a friend like Margaret.
Seriously though, this is very frustrating but I'm glad I'm better informed now.
Not sure why she doesn't mention Ellie Chowns' building regulations bill for swift boxes launched in December?
Seriously though, this is very frustrating but I'm glad I'm better informed now.
Not sure why she doesn't mention Ellie Chowns' building regulations bill for swift boxes launched in December?
December 30, 2025
A petition is only a small step towards change in this fascinating insight into the campaign to save our swift population. It’s a bit rushed at the end but a must read for anyone interested in UK wildlife conservation.
March 26, 2026
curious, tantalising, patchy in its writing and ultimately unsatisfactory because after all that campaigning and all those almost done it moments she didn't achieve her mandatory swift-brick. Could make you weep.
Currently Reading
June 24, 2026I came to this book knowing nothing about swifts. Half way through it, I'm heartbroken but strangely comforted.
Hannah Bourne-Taylor's Nature Needs You chronicles one-woman's campaign to make swift bricks mandatory in new British buildings. Sounds like a simple, cheap fix for birds whose numbers have plummeted over the years in the UK. And yet people resisted her. She started with no funding, no contacts, no campaigning experience. Just a stubborn, tender love for a bird most people walk past without looking up. As she says "I just love these birds".
What moved me as a reader sitting in India was the unexpected mirror this book held up. I often tell myself that our indifference to nature is particular to us, our politicians, our culture, our chaos. And because we are a developing country, we have "bigger" issues to deal with. But Hannah's story dismantles that comfort. Even in the UK, convenience wins. Bureaucracy shrugs. People are people everywhere, and those who care will always have to fight harder than they should.
This book is equal parts nature education and campaign memoir. The next time I feel alone fighting for something that should be obvious, I'll remember Hannah walking through London in swift feathers, refusing to be ignored. It's people like her that make it worth staying in the fight.
Hannah Bourne-Taylor's Nature Needs You chronicles one-woman's campaign to make swift bricks mandatory in new British buildings. Sounds like a simple, cheap fix for birds whose numbers have plummeted over the years in the UK. And yet people resisted her. She started with no funding, no contacts, no campaigning experience. Just a stubborn, tender love for a bird most people walk past without looking up. As she says "I just love these birds".
What moved me as a reader sitting in India was the unexpected mirror this book held up. I often tell myself that our indifference to nature is particular to us, our politicians, our culture, our chaos. And because we are a developing country, we have "bigger" issues to deal with. But Hannah's story dismantles that comfort. Even in the UK, convenience wins. Bureaucracy shrugs. People are people everywhere, and those who care will always have to fight harder than they should.
This book is equal parts nature education and campaign memoir. The next time I feel alone fighting for something that should be obvious, I'll remember Hannah walking through London in swift feathers, refusing to be ignored. It's people like her that make it worth staying in the fight.
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