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Wild City: Encounters With Urban Wildlife
The badgers of Brighton's most exclusive postcode. The water voles of Glasgow. The Black Country bats who have found a haven in old industrial tunnels. The peregrine falcons nesting on the ledges of tower blocks. The mosquitoes found on the London Underground and nowhere else on earth.
In Wild City Florence Wilkinson takes us on a fascinating journey into why we should engage with our fellow urban species. What we might see - if we only take the time to look - and how nature is adapting to human-engineered environments in unexpected and ingenious ways.
As more and more of our planet is urbanised, we humans still feel that primal pull to connect with our wilder roots. This gorgeously lyrical book invites us to celebrate the natural world, while also offering a clear-eyed glimpse into the challenges faced by urban plants and animals as cities grow and sprawl.
Wild City proposes a compelling manifesto for city wildlife, suggesting how we might take action to protect the often-overlooked residents who live alongside us.
In Wild City Florence Wilkinson takes us on a fascinating journey into why we should engage with our fellow urban species. What we might see - if we only take the time to look - and how nature is adapting to human-engineered environments in unexpected and ingenious ways.
As more and more of our planet is urbanised, we humans still feel that primal pull to connect with our wilder roots. This gorgeously lyrical book invites us to celebrate the natural world, while also offering a clear-eyed glimpse into the challenges faced by urban plants and animals as cities grow and sprawl.
Wild City proposes a compelling manifesto for city wildlife, suggesting how we might take action to protect the often-overlooked residents who live alongside us.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published March 31, 2022
18 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
Florence Wilkinson
8 books2 followersFlorence is a writer, filmmaker and co-founder of birdsong recognition app and citizen science project Warblr. Her work has been featured on the BBC and in the Telegraph, the Pool, Vice and Grazia.
She lives in Camden, north London with her partner Ben, small Pomeranian dog Fox and an ill-tempered Persian cat called Bee
She lives in Camden, north London with her partner Ben, small Pomeranian dog Fox and an ill-tempered Persian cat called Bee
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 31, 2022
⭐️ 5 ⭐️
Beautifully written by Florence Wilkinson, featuring some superb illustrations by the extremely talented Andrew Davis; this enlightening, informative book is a joy to read.
In Wild City, Florence shares with us some of her own fascinating experiences - she describes her encounters with a variety of creatures who quite remarkably (but thankfully) are thriving in and around our towns and cities - she also introduces us to a delightful bunch of awe-inspiring, selfless people with whom she’s had the privilege of meeting and learning from on her travels.
I’ve discovered many new and interesting (sometimes eye-opening) facts about our urban flora and fauna from this thought-provoking read. Florence Wilkinson’s indisputable passion for wildlife is heartfelt and uplifting - her personality, warmth and humour shine throughout.
If you love wildlife, I’m sure you’ll love this book too!
Many thanks to Orion Spring for my proof copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Beautifully written by Florence Wilkinson, featuring some superb illustrations by the extremely talented Andrew Davis; this enlightening, informative book is a joy to read.
In Wild City, Florence shares with us some of her own fascinating experiences - she describes her encounters with a variety of creatures who quite remarkably (but thankfully) are thriving in and around our towns and cities - she also introduces us to a delightful bunch of awe-inspiring, selfless people with whom she’s had the privilege of meeting and learning from on her travels.
I’ve discovered many new and interesting (sometimes eye-opening) facts about our urban flora and fauna from this thought-provoking read. Florence Wilkinson’s indisputable passion for wildlife is heartfelt and uplifting - her personality, warmth and humour shine throughout.
If you love wildlife, I’m sure you’ll love this book too!
Many thanks to Orion Spring for my proof copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
January 23, 2025
It's a wonderful book very informative. The book explains the importance of providing and protecting wildlife in city environments, especially in building planning. Made me appreciate and look out for wildlife in my urban home environment.
November 15, 2022
It is an easy read and definitely entertaining, although I doubt I would have found it as interesting if I were living somewhere outside of London. Having said that, it had made me appreciate the urban wildlife in a completely different light, and wherever I might end up living next, I will try to inform myself and make any changes that can help make life easier for other species living around us.
July 6, 2022
The words on the back of the book: “City-dwellers, it’s time to meet your neighbours”, sum it up beautifully. Those of us who live in cities, but love nature and dream of one day moving to the country to be close to nature, can easily forget that a major move is, strictly speaking, not necessary. As the author of WILD CITY puts it, cities themselves are not just “functional spaces where we eat, work and sleep”, but “living, breathing ecosystems for both people and wildlife”. We do not have to wait till we retire or win the lottery to reconnect with nature. It is waiting for us exactly where we are.
WILD CITY is loosely structured as a series of meetings that Florence Wilkinson has with various wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists, people who combine vision and energy with incredibly detailed knowledge of their subject. These humans give the book the air of something akin to a novel. They are portrayed as real-life characters, not just “talking heads”, and quickly engage the reader with their passion and their humour, as they talk about fascinating plants that we pass every day without noticing them and about the animals who, for better or for worse, share our urban habitat with us.
So much of WILD CITY is an eye-opener. For a nature-lover, there are exciting discoveries to be made in the most unexpected places. For example, we find out that in some of the more deprived areas of Glasgow water voles, who are in long-term decline elsewhere, have taken advantage of reduced cutting of grass (a result of budget cuts) and are thriving, though far removed from any expanse of water. Perhaps “non-water voles” is the new name for them? Another example is peregrine falcons, whose numbers at one point dipped to a dangerously low level, but who in the last 20 or 30 years found their way into cities and are making a very comfortable life for themselves nesting on ledges in high-rise blocks, as if they were cliffs, and hunting city pigeons (not a pleasant thought, but, unlike human hunters, the falcons need to hunt).
The stories recounted in WILD CITY lead the reader to an interesting conclusion: in many instances all we seem to need to do for urban nature to flourish is give it space and leave it alone. Echoing the arguments of the award-winning environmental journalist and writer Fred Pearce, Florence Wilkinson asserts that “life can return, populate, colonise and recolonise our cities when given half a chance”. Helping nature turns out to be less about what we do and more about what we do not do. Not install too much decking and paving, not use weedkillers, not fight the spread of “spontaneous plants” - formerly known as weeds, not mow the grass in some parts of the garden. (Lazy gardeners, this is the book you have been waiting for!)
However, for the more energetic among us, WILD CITY offers plenty of ideas too, ranging from small-scales ones, such as creating log piles, insect hotels and tub ponds, to more ambitious ones, such as green roofs, vertical planting, swift bricks and bat boxes. These, and other ideas are summed up at the end of the book in “A Manifesto for Urban Wildlife”, a fittingly forward-looking and inspiring conclusion for an extremely readable guide to thinking outside the conservation box.
WILD CITY is loosely structured as a series of meetings that Florence Wilkinson has with various wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists, people who combine vision and energy with incredibly detailed knowledge of their subject. These humans give the book the air of something akin to a novel. They are portrayed as real-life characters, not just “talking heads”, and quickly engage the reader with their passion and their humour, as they talk about fascinating plants that we pass every day without noticing them and about the animals who, for better or for worse, share our urban habitat with us.
So much of WILD CITY is an eye-opener. For a nature-lover, there are exciting discoveries to be made in the most unexpected places. For example, we find out that in some of the more deprived areas of Glasgow water voles, who are in long-term decline elsewhere, have taken advantage of reduced cutting of grass (a result of budget cuts) and are thriving, though far removed from any expanse of water. Perhaps “non-water voles” is the new name for them? Another example is peregrine falcons, whose numbers at one point dipped to a dangerously low level, but who in the last 20 or 30 years found their way into cities and are making a very comfortable life for themselves nesting on ledges in high-rise blocks, as if they were cliffs, and hunting city pigeons (not a pleasant thought, but, unlike human hunters, the falcons need to hunt).
The stories recounted in WILD CITY lead the reader to an interesting conclusion: in many instances all we seem to need to do for urban nature to flourish is give it space and leave it alone. Echoing the arguments of the award-winning environmental journalist and writer Fred Pearce, Florence Wilkinson asserts that “life can return, populate, colonise and recolonise our cities when given half a chance”. Helping nature turns out to be less about what we do and more about what we do not do. Not install too much decking and paving, not use weedkillers, not fight the spread of “spontaneous plants” - formerly known as weeds, not mow the grass in some parts of the garden. (Lazy gardeners, this is the book you have been waiting for!)
However, for the more energetic among us, WILD CITY offers plenty of ideas too, ranging from small-scales ones, such as creating log piles, insect hotels and tub ponds, to more ambitious ones, such as green roofs, vertical planting, swift bricks and bat boxes. These, and other ideas are summed up at the end of the book in “A Manifesto for Urban Wildlife”, a fittingly forward-looking and inspiring conclusion for an extremely readable guide to thinking outside the conservation box.
October 16, 2025
I feel like I am the exact target audience for this book - my heart is and always will be in urban environments, as it is simultaneously given over to any animal who crosses my path. Living in London for the past year has given me an even greater appreciation for animals like foxes which I previously had had very few interactions with, and I appreciated that so much of this book focused on the capital city. All in all, this is a beautiful portrait of urban wildlife and those who explore and protect it, and a call to action to all of us to pay a little more attention to the wild cities all around us.
January 4, 2025
Delightful, stunning and uplifting exploration of nature within our towns and cities.
Florence’s writing is beautiful and vividly captures the stunning wildlife under our noses we so often are unaware of.
Also meeting so many of the extraordinary people throughout the country who are striving to protect it.
Such an inspiring read that raises awareness and gives hope for the future of Britain’s urban wildlife.
Florence’s writing is beautiful and vividly captures the stunning wildlife under our noses we so often are unaware of.
Also meeting so many of the extraordinary people throughout the country who are striving to protect it.
Such an inspiring read that raises awareness and gives hope for the future of Britain’s urban wildlife.
April 5, 2022
A beautifully written book full of curious encounters and surprising research and facts. Perfect for people who love living in cities and love nature too (as this book shows these two things are compatible!)
September 26, 2022
A beautifully illustrated book highlighting the wildlife in urban spaces.
December 23, 2022
A book full of stories and encounters. It certainly makes you appreciate the wildlife and want to help.
May 29, 2024
A fascinating and life-changing read. I see urban areas with a completely different eye now, and look out for the wildlife I've not paid enough attention to for too long. Lovely illustrations, too.
June 3, 2024
A truly wonderful book which introduced me to so much about urban wildlife. A real eye opener and a delight to read.
December 28, 2024
I'd give this 100 stars if I could
May 13, 2025
Beautiful, heartwarming, and a very important read.
July 17, 2024
I've been waiting to read this for a while - I was pining after the gorgeous hardback, and finally grabbed a copy when I spied the paperback for the first time in a store in London. This is an interesting and informative read, without being too heavy on the science, etc - a good blend of personal anecdote in there for good measure. I particularly enjoyed reading about Florence's trip to Hampton in Peterborough, the site of the world's (!) highest density of Great Crested Newts. I mean: who knew?! The book is full of glorious nuggets of info like that about the creatures we're sharing our cities with. A big recommend for any nature writing fans!
August 14, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyed!
October 8, 2023
It was a simple and enjoyable read. It could be read by anyone and is most suited to someone with no knowledge of urban wildlife. The format of each chapter documenting the authors visit to a knowledgeable person worked well but I found it a bit repetitive if I wanted to read more than two chapters in a row.
May 20, 2025
An engaging series of essays, each of which is a well-woven quilt of real life vignettes shared by experts or directly experienced by Wilkinson with experts. As I call London home most days, the examples resonated. In short: it made me excited to look around me with a new lens.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews