Such a beautiful book! I was engrossed from the beginning of the blend of biology and botany that kept me reading from cover to cover.

oh boy do i love me a good science-based memoir! i do wish there was more about the author's upbringing in Ireland because i thought that was super interesting. i liked how the science jargon wasn't too confusing and generally thought it was very accessible to a general audience!

If you’re looking for a book that will take your breath away, please go pick this one up! Our Green Heart is both a concise work of nonfiction and a collection of essays. It’s a beautiful, unflinching look at the natural world and what we have done to it. If you enjoy nature writing, books on climate, are curious on the state of modern scientific inquiries into how nature works, or just want to read something beautiful and devastating, this book is for you.
As you read, give yourself space to grieve. And then turn that grief into action. We talk so much about the horrible effects of colonization on people quite often, but I haven’t ever seen such a look into what colonization did, and is still doing to the plants around us.
I really love how full of science Our Green Heart is. None of it is dumbed down, but all of it is explained thoroughly. We open with talks of chlorophyll and hemoglobin and it stays with us throughout the book. It is beautiful writing in a book about both many beautiful, and also horrible things.

This is everything. I love trees and forests. I love the way the author talks about them. This is science blended with poetry. Absolutely read this.

At the start of reading Beresford-Kroeger’s work, I was hesitant, as I was worried that it would be based in less-than-scientific reasoning. I don’t know why I assumed that, now that I’ve finished reading it. Truly, this work is a reflection of the author’s hope. She leads the reader on a meandering path which brings you to a call to action. It is an easy call to answer, all things considered. Plant a tree once a year for six years. A native oak, if possible.

As I write this review, I’m sitting on a picnic blanket in the shade of a willow tree the author so often described. This book changed the way I view these trees. Mostly, it gave me a sense of peace and hope. Change is possible. Humans caused climate change, but humans can also undo climate change. We must protect our forests.

Please read this book if you have been unsettled by the recent news about our agricultural future. Diana will give you hope. You can make a difference in the world.

I love the mix of Druidic wisdom, science, and stories of her botanical experiments. The chapters can twist and turn with so much information, but you encounter wonderful surprises! One moment I’m reading the science of why aspen trees sound the way they do, and the next moment I’m discovering why the celts included this tree in the Ogham alphabet.

I’ve read other books by Beresford-Kroeger, and, while some stories are repeated, they put into perspective new findings and wisdom.

Don’t forget… plant a tree, care for your plants. They need us, and we need them.

I loved the cover of this book. It is what drew me in. It took a long time to read this book, because for me it was almost a textbook. I expected a less scientific book, and more about our role in the natural world. Each chapter held so much scientific information, that I had to read the book slowly and what I gained in fact, I lost in awe. I thank NetGalley and Penquin Random House Canada for the advance read.

I have read this book with such devotion and intention and read parts of it aloud to my husband. What I've learned! It is beautifully written, the science is understandable (what is understood, that is) and I am more in awe of nature every day. A must-read for any nature enthusiast.