Neurodivergent, By Nature: Why Biodiversity Needs Neurodiversity

A BBC WILDLIFE BEST BOOK OF 2025

Exploring the connections between nature, neurodiversity and the conservation world

Why are so many neurodivergent people drawn to the natural world – and what does that tell us about how we live and work?

After receiving an ADHD diagnosis in his thirties, Joe Harkness set out to better understand his lifelong bond with nature. In doing so, he began a wider investigation, speaking to neurodivergent people across conservation, ecology and other nature-based roles.

Threading these conversations with his own experience, Joe explores the skills, perspectives and passions that neurodivergent people bring to the sector, alongside the barriers they still face. From fieldwork to policy, from grassroots projects to major organisations, their stories reveal how different ways of thinking shape our relationship with the natural world.

At once personal and wide-ranging, Neurodivergent, by Nature offers a fresh perspective on biodiversity, inclusion and what more supportive environments – in nature and beyond – might look like.