We are delighted to have as the LitFest’s keynote speaker Chris Packham CBE, one of Britain’s foremost authors, television presenters and wildlife and environmental campaigners. Chris says:
'We live in exciting times for conservation, we have learned how to rebuild habitats, reintroduce extinct animals and plants We have audited, mapped and studied much of our flora and fauna and we are increasingly clear about where our conservation priorities should lie. However, coincidentally we live in the age where our awareness is countered by an extraordinary pressure on our natural environment, and it is therefore clear that action is required with desperate urgency. We are one species on one remarkable planet, with one massive problem and one last chance to sort it out.’
The measures we ourselves need to take and pressures we use to persuade government and industry to move to 'sort it out' are likely to be central to the evening’s discussions.
One of the most recognisable faces in Britain today, Chris Packham’s passion for everything wild was evident from an early age, amassing an ever-growing menagerie of wild things that included reptiles, birds of prey, foxes and badgers. He studied Zoology at Southampton University, then trained as a wildlife film-maker and photographer. He then became a presenter, fronting hundreds of TV programmes from The Really Wild Show in 1986 to Springwatch and Winterwatch today. He is President or Vice President of a host of wildlife charities including the RSPCA and the RSPB, and co-founder of Wild Justice. He campaigns against the culling of badgers and the shooting of wild birds and for Britain’s climate targets to be met by government. His critically acclaimed autobiography, Fingers in the Sparkle Jar - A Memoir, was published to great acclaim.

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15th November 7.00pm - until 9.00pm (120 mins)