Imbued with infectious personal passion as it shares expert information and plenty of practical guidance, Vicki Hird’s Rebugging the Planet is a brilliant book for bug-lovers of all ages and, given bugs’ vital importance to the upkeep and well-being of Planet Earth (let’s pause for a moment to acknowledge the fact that bees contribute more to the UK economy than the Queen), it deserves to be enjoyed and implemented far and wide - at home, and in classrooms too. In fact, this is perfect for reading and implementing during longer holidays from school, or over the course of a term, especially chapter four which presents an extensive range of how-to ideas for re-bugging your own patch of the world.
But back to the beginning. The book sets out its inspirational stall in the opening chapters by explaining all the vital things bugs do for us, among them pollinating plants, feeding birds, feeding humans, defending our food crops, cleaning our water, controlling pests, and healing us. Maggots, for example, can remove (munch) and disinfect rotting flesh, leeches can stop clots, and the honey made by bees has anti-inflammatory properties.
To play a role in the author’s re-bugging initiative, readers might find themselves inspired to build a bug palace, buy bug-friendly food from bug-buddy farmers, and much more. This is packed with plenty of ways to live a bug-better life, which in turn means living on a better planet.
The LoveReading LitFest invited Vicki Hird to the festival to talk about Rebugging the Planet.
The digitally native, all year round, online literature and books festival, with new content released every week is a free-for-all-users festival.
Meet the intelligent insects, marvellous minibeasts and inspirational invertebrates that help shape our planet - and discover how you can help them help us by rebugging your attitude today!
Remember when there were bugs on your windscreen? Ever wonder where they went? We need to act now if we are to help them survive. Chris Packham, Isabella Tree and George Monbiot are but a few voices championing the rewilding of our world. In Rebugging the Planet, Vicki Hird adds her voice to this chorus, explaining how our planet is headed towards 'insectageddon' with a rate of insect extinction eight times faster than that of mammals or birds. Rebugging the Planet gives us crucial information to help all those essential creepy-crawlies flourish once more.
Hird passionately demonstrates how insects and invertebrates are the cornerstone of our global ecosystem. They pollinate plants, feed birds, support and defend our food crops and clean our water systems. They are also beautiful, inventive and economically invaluable - bees, for example, contribute more to the UK economy than the Queen!
Rebugging the Planet shows us small changes we can make to have a big impact on our littlest allies:
Learn how to rebug parks, schools, pavements, verges and other green spaces.
Leave your garden to grow a little wild and plant weedkiller-free, wildlife-friendly plants.
Take your kids on a minibeast treasure hunt and learn how to build bug palaces.
Make bug-friendly choices with your food and support good farming practices
Begin to understand how reducing inequality and poverty will help nature and wildlife too - it's all connected.
So do your part and start rebugging today! The bees, ants, earthworms, butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, ladybirds, snails and slugs will thank you - and our planet will thank you too.
