A review by bookalong
Field Study: Meditations on a Year at the Herbarium by Helen Humphreys

5.0

"The herbarium becomes a place, a landscape if you will, where the experience of people connecting with nature is revealed. I cannot think of another place where it is possible to look into the past and see the moment and Orchid was plucked from the forest floor or Willow frond was cut from a branch. A visit to the herbarium is an exquisite kind of time travel. And by learning more about the intersection of people and nature in the past, I hope to gain some understanding of where we can go from here."
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~THOUGHTS~
FIELD STUDY is a beautiful ode to
herbarium's and nature.

Published last month, this book is absolutely gorgeous inside and out! Structured seasonal, Humphreys takes us on a year long journey through the world of herbarium's, the history behind them and the people whose collections still inhabit our world today. She also reflects on the importance of nature in our lives today and the losses nature has seen from environmental changes. Included within are so many lovely quotes and archival photographs, as well as Humphreys own drawings.

I was captured within the first few pages of reading this as Humphreys writing is beautiful and brimming with imagery. So much research and work went into this book. I loved learning about all the plants. I dont naturally gravitate towards nature books but find when I do pick them up I am easily immersed in their calmness and allure and FIELD STUDY was no different. Humphreys has written such a facinating look into a world a bit forgotten nowadays but a special part of our natural history that needs to be remembered and cherished.

Thank you to @ecwpress for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

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