Amy-Jane Beer is a British naturalist, writer and campaigner. Her 2022 book ''The Flow: Rivers, Water and Wildness'' won the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.

Early life and education

Beer has a BSc (1993) in biology and a PhD (1997) from

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

. Her doctoral thesis title was ''Postembryonic development and neurobiology of the sea urchin

Psammechinus miliaris ''Psammechinus miliaris'' is a species of sea urchin in the Family (biology), family Parechinidae. It is sometimes known as the green sea urchin or shore sea urchin. It is found in shallow areas of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. D ...

''.

Career

Her book ''The Flow: Rivers, Water and Wildness'' won the 2023

Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing The Wainwright Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of general outdoors, nature and UK-based travel writing. In 2020 it was split into the Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing and the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Glo ...

. She writes for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' "Country Diary" column. She is president of the Friends of the Dales, the society supporting the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

. She contributed to the ''People's Manifesto for Wildlife'' coordinated by

Chris Packham Christopher Gary Packham CBE (born 4 May 1961) is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author, best known for his television work including the CBBC children's nature series '' The Really Wild Show'' from 1986 t ...

, writing the section for the "Ministry of Social Inclusion and Access to Nature". She is an enthusiastic

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

er and supports the campaign for free access to England's rivers. She has been interviewed by

David Oakes Rowan David Oakes (born 14 October 1983) is an English actor and environmentalist. He is best known for his roles in the series ''The Pillars of the Earth (miniseries), The Pillars of the Earth'', ''The Borgias (2011 TV series), The Borgias'', ...

for his ''

Trees A Crowd ''Trees A Crowd'' is a natural history podcast presented by actor David Oakes. Creation and reception of the podcast Oakes, as an environmentalist and an ambassador for the Woodland Trust and The Wildlife Trusts, started ''Trees A Crowd'' as a ...

'' podcast.

Personal life

Beer lives in North Yorkshire with her husband, her son, and her

Border Collie The Border Collie is a British list of dog breeds, breed of herding dog of the collie type of medium size. It originates in the region of the Anglo-Scottish border, and descends from the traditional Sheep dog, sheepdogs once found all over the ...

dog.

Selected publications

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References

External links

Amy-Jane Beer on LinkedIn
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London British nature writers 21st-century British women writers {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub