How nature affects our emotions, with Lucy Lapwing

What emotions have you felt when you’re in the natural world? We hear a lot about how nature calms us, gives us joy and hope, but what about other feelings, such as grief, anger or shame?

In this episode, we talk with self-confessed nature nerd Lucy Lapwing, who explores these complex emotional responses to nature in her new book, Love Is A Toad (Blink Publishing, March 2026).

Our conversation explored many subjects, including how nature writing helped Lucy fight cancer in her early 20s, and how gazing into the eyes of a slug made her head swim.

You can follow Lucy’s adventures on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/lucy_lapwing/

Photo: Lucy Lapwing

And to get more great content from BBC Wildlife, visit our website: ⁠https://www.discoverwildlife.com/

BBC Wildlife is the world’s longest-running and most popular nature magazine. This episode was hosted by Paul McGuinness and produced by Lewis Dobbs.

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