New to the catalogue

Environmentally friendly buildings are a must for our future. Among the many new ideas for buildings are green roofs. But what is a green roof? How do they work? Why are individuals and businesses installing them? How do you install and maintain a green roof?

Wriiten by Angela Youngman, Green roofs is not a self-help manual, as most green roofs will need the involvement of a string of professionals, but it is a guide to the process of designing and installing a green roof.

Subjects covered include:

• the range of green roofs available, from the small garden shed to towering skyscrapers
• the role of the green roof as part of an overall greening of a building and landscape
• advice on the types of vegetation to be grown and maintenance required, and problems that can be encountered
• analysis of the green roof movement, reports on its success thus far and looks to the future
• residential and business case studies from across the world

With contributions from architects, builders and gardeners, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in or committed to energy-efficient buildings.

You can find further details of Green roofs on our catalogue.

(Photo credit: Nests / Sharon Beals. Chronicle Books, c2012)

As spring nears in the UK, we can look forward to watching the annual spectacle of birds pairing up and creating nests in which to raise their young. With so many nests built out of our sight, it is a rare treat to be able to see, close up, these intricate structures for ourselves. In ‘Nests : fifty nests and the birds that built them’, Sharon Beals allows us to do just this and gives us a fascinating insight into the lives of the birds who created them.

Beals has drawn on the collections of the California Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California and the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology. Her work allows us to look in detail at 50 nests from around the world. These vary from the silky plant fibres and spider-webs of the Cuban Emerald Hummingbird to the sticks and leaves of the Greater Roadrunner.  Information on the creator of the nest and a detailed illustration accompanies each photograph.

As well as allowing us an insight into the variety of nests and the skills involved in making them – the work comes with a serious warning. As a result of environmental change, the birds responsible for building these nests are, in many cases, in decline. Beals warns us, changes in the way we live are required urgently, if we are to continue to enjoy the beauty of nests and their builders.

You can find further details of Nests : fifty nests and the birds that built them on our catalogue.

(Photo credit: Icon Books)

In her latest work, Jane Goodall reports on how people around the world are working determinedly to save endangered species. Although the very real threat of extinction is not ignored, this book is a hopeful one.

Goodall focuses on the success stories she has witnessed on her travels. She tells us how many animal numbers are now growing, thanks to the hard work of conservationists.  A number of remarkable tales feature, such as that of the Bald Ibises. These birds are learning new migration routes in an ingenious way, led by people in Ultra Light Planes.  Other tales focus on new species which have only just been discovered and others rediscovered, thought to be extinct for years.

Thanks to the hard work of many, a number of species are coming back from the very brink of extinction. Goodall’s inspiring work demonstrates the difference people can make, seemingly in the face of the impossible.

You can find details of Hope for animals and their world on our catalogue.