Alan Allport Publishing
The Trap Grounds Nature Reserve: Making space for nature in North Oxford
Key Metrics
- Alan Allport
- Alan Allport Publishing
- Paperback
- 9781399917476
- 8 X 5 X 0.28 inches
- 0.29 pounds
- Nature > Environmental Conservation & Protection - General
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
The Trap Grounds Nature Reserve: Making space for nature in North Oxford
This book tells the story of how a neglected, rubbish-covered fly-tip on the edge of North Oxford has been transformed by volunteers, over the course of 25 years, into a thriving haven for wildlife. Lying on the Thames flood plain, the site covers little more than ten acres, but contains a remarkable diversity of lowland and wetland habitats. These include six ponds, a reed bed, a slow-flowing stream, woodlands, bramble scrub, and flower meadows.
In early spring the meadows are lit up by snow drops, primroses, and wild daffodils, later by a succession of flowering trees and shrubs. The pond and stream-banks are brightened with marsh marigolds and yellow flag iris. There is birdsong everywhere.
Through summer and autumn there is a wealth of wildflowers, buzzing with insects; the woods have been planted with a dense understorey of hazel, holly, and yew, providing both cover and food for wildlife. In late autumn, guelder rose, dogwood, spindle, and other shrubs flare in changing reds and golds.
The author tells the story of how this transformation was slowly brought about, from rubbish tip to nature reserve, through the diary of just one year, 2021. He describes the changing seasons, and the many work parties, composed of volunteer groups and paid contractors, which have enabled nature to flourish here.
The book is illustrated with 30 original line drawings by the author.
Author Bio
Alan Allport specializes in the history of Britain in the period of the two world wars. His most recent book, Britain at Bay: The Epic Story of the Second World War 1938-1941 was published by Knopf (North America) and Profile (UK) in 2020.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Professor Paul Kennedy of Yale University said that "Britain at Bay ... might be the single best examination of British politics, society and strategy in these four years that has ever been written."
It was a Sunday Times (London) history book of the year and a finalist for the 2020 RUSI Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History. Professor Allport's previous two books are Browned Off and Bloody-Minded: The British Soldier Goes to War 1939-1945 which was published by Yale University Press in 2015 and Demobbed: Coming Home After the Second World War, published by Yale in 2009, which won the Longman-History Today Book of the Year Award.
He is currently writing a sequel to Britain at Bay provisionally titled Advance Britannia: The Epic Story of the Second World War 1942-1945. Professor Allport is interested in hearing from any potential graduate students interested in studying 20th century Britain and the history of the two world wars.
Source: Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs
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