DIARY OF A YOUNG NATURALIST

Dara McAnulty is the author Diary of a Young Naturalist and the recipient of the Wainwright Prize for nature writing. Dara lives with his mum, dad, brother Lorcan, sister Bláthnaid and rescue greyhound Rosie in County Down, Northern Ireland. Dara’s love for nature, his activism and his honesty about autism, has earned him a huge social media following from across the world and many accolades: in 2017 he was awarded BBC Springwatch ‘Unsprung Hero’ Award and Birdwatch magazine ‘Local Hero’; in 2018 he was awarded ‘Animal Hero’ of the year by the Daily Mirror and became ambassador for RSPCA and the iWill campaign; in 2019 he became a Young Ambassador for the Jane Goodall Institute and became the youngest ever recipient of the RSPB Medal for conservation.

“Dara’s is an extraordinary voice and vision: brave, poetic, ethical, lyrical, strong enough to have made him heard and admired from a young age.” —Robert Macfarlane

1. How does the separation of chapters by season draw parallels between Dara McAnulty’s experience and transformation as a person and naturalist?
2. McAnulty often compares nature and its transformation to magic. Give three examples of how he makes these connections.
3. In Diary of a Young Naturalist, McAnulty references the idea of isolation and separating oneself from the general public: “Over the years, a wall of stone and beautiful ivy has grown around me, and only family and wildlife are allowed in” (pg. 137). On page 208, McAnulty writes, “I’m so used to keeping my thoughts locked inside and being in a space where it’s only me and my family.” How do these comparisons relate to Dara’s identity as a naturalist? As a neurodivergent individual?
4. On page 15, in reference to the living and breathing flora and fauna in the natural world McAnulty writes, “They all make sense to me, people just don’t.” Where else has McAnulty reflected on these feelings, and how has it deepened his relationship with the natural world?
5. How does McAnulty discuss a human’s strong relationship with nature in relation to the idea of balance and symmetry?
6. On page 64, McAnulty writes, “Autism makes me feel everything more intensely: I don’t have a joy filter.” How might his identity and experience relate to his relationship with the natural world?
7. McAnulty mentions several fauna and flora in Diary of a Young Naturalist, but he returns to birds several times throughout the book. How does McAnulty describe the significance of birds in his world and the natural world?
8. How does McAnulty describe his relationship with his family and its importance to his foundation?
9. What dangers to the natural world and environment does McAnulty describe in the book? How do these unnatural predators—particularly the unnatural or human-made predators—impact wildlife and humans?
10. On page 158, McAnulty refers to his visit and speech at Dublin’s Dead Zoo, and how speaking out empowered him (“I might love punk music and hate conformity and being boxed in, but I never saw myself as a rebel. But maybe I am, and as I stand on a wooden box, the organiser, called Caroline, holds a microphone so I can read my speech. I feel emboldened, outspoken. I feel like it’s the first time I’ve actually said out loud all the many things I’m angry about”). How can readers of Diary of a Young Naturalist be more engaged environmental activists in their own communities?