Campaigning for Lost Words

We’re losing nature as well as the names for nature - Robert MacFarlane

CCI Patron Robert Macfarlane's magical book Lost Words was created to celebrate and revive once-common “nature” words – from acorn and wren, to conker and dandelion – after they were dropped from the Oxford Junior Dictionary and replaced by words like broadband and blog. The act of eliminating these words from such an important classroom resource sparked an outcry from all sorts of people and the book and this subsequent campaign (one of many across the country) has proved a brilliant catalyst for new conversations with schools about these essentials rights and freedoms for children - to explore, to imagine, to be creative and to connect with their local landscapes. 

The book is a joyful celebration of nature words and the natural world they invoke. With acrostic spell-poems by award-winning writer Robert Macfarlane and hand-painted illustrations by Jackie Morris, the book captures the magic of language and nature for all ages.  It has been described as a "cultural phenomenon" by The Guardian, for the speed with which it and its ideas have taken root in classrooms and homes across Britain since its publication in October 2017.

CCI mounted a successful campaign to ensure that every one of the 301 primary schools and early years settings in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough received their own copy of the book. 

This otter was specially drawn for the campaign by Jackie Morris at the Cambridge Literary using wild water from Hobson’s Brook and sumi ink, pencil and gold leaf. It was signed by both Jackie and Robert and then auctioned, with all proceeds going to the campaign.

CCI successfully campaigned to get Lost Words into every school in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. This was made possible by many individual donors and by support from The Francis and Maisie Pryor Charitable Trust.