I don’t know whether to applaud Mark Cocker or kick him in the shins. Maybe both. I’ve just finished reading his Our Place: Can We Save Britain’s Wildlife Before It Is Too late? It is a brutal, bruising read. I mean this literally: There were pages, quite a few of them, that made something in my chest physically ache. Though I’m Dutch and currently live in Peru, I’ve spent almost a quarter of my life in Britain ̶ one year in Fort Augustus, Scotland; four formative years nea

My mother and I both have husbands who do not much care for visiting museums and famous monuments, or gardens, ancient ruins, and historical houses. Our spouses are more the outdoorsy types, with a love of wild places untouched by the destructive hand of man. We share their passion for nature, but find ourselves equally drawn to the things of beauty and meaning created by that same hand. So, once in a while, my mother and I set off, just the two of us, to immerse ourselves in