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Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts
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LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CONSERVATION 2025
'Reading Hannah's story, compellingly told, you will fall in love with these increasingly endangered birds, true masters of the sky.' Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE
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
'This book might make you scream. It is the story of a fight that started with a promise to a small bird. It is about bird spirit and the spirit of a very singular human. Hannah Bourne-Taylor has a searing eye for both truth and charlatans.' Keggie Carew, author of Beastly
'A wonderful book that will make you furious, hopeful and inspired by turns. Buy it, read it and then become an activist yourself.' Roger Morgan-Grenville, author of Shearwaters
LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CONSERVATION 2025
'Reading Hannah's story, compellingly told, you will fall in love with these increasingly endangered birds, true masters of the sky.' Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE
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
'This book might make you scream. It is the story of a fight that started with a promise to a small bird. It is about bird spirit and the spirit of a very singular human. Hannah Bourne-Taylor has a searing eye for both truth and charlatans.' Keggie Carew, author of Beastly
'A wonderful book that will make you furious, hopeful and inspired by turns. Buy it, read it and then become an activist yourself.' Roger Morgan-Grenville, author of Shearwaters
295 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2025
3 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
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.
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?
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews