When Saranarat Oy Kanjanavanit was a child, there was a pink lotus swamp next to her Bangkok home, winters were cold and strands of fog lingered over the paddy fields behind their house. During holidays by the sea, the pristine, long beach was full of treasures from the deep, while sharks and dolphins swam near the shore.
Homo Gaia is written by a lifelong environmentalist and citizen-scientist, who wishes to pass on a “thin strand of hope to the generation after me”. When a five-year project on nature connection at the Green World Foundation, Thailand, where she was Chairperson was halted by Covid, Oy decided to write a book instead. Showing how others can also experience the wondrous world that surrounds us, she weaves in her own experiences with information and insights from scientists.
At a time when our planet is threatened from many perils – whether global heating, plastics or biodiversity loss – Homo Gaia is a tribute to the non-human beauty that exists all around us. It provides a way of being in and learning from nature which will inspire us to love and protect our natural world.
Oy’s style is a brilliant balance of ordinary, everyday observations and experiences – all beautifully described – with the scientific data that explains them. Belinda Stewart-Cox, OBE
