Inside the Jewel Box

Hear how the contents of a moth trap can illuminate how ecosystems and evolution function from author and ecologist Professor Tim Blackburn. Inspired by Professor Blackburn's debut book The Jewel Box.

A New Scientist book to watch and the June non-fiction editor’s choice in The Bookseller, The Jewel Box is the debut from UK leading ecologist Professor Blackburn.

Every morning Tim heads to the rooftop of his Camden flat and opens the moth trap he has set up to see what has entered overnight. This seemingly benign experiment actually illuminates the larger order of the natural world. Just as Michael Faraday's iron filings arrange themselves to articulate a magnetic field that would otherwise be invisible, Tim shows us that when we pay proper attention to these tiny animals, their relationships with one another, and their connections to the wider web of life, a greater truth about the world gradually emerges into focus. In The Jewel Box, Tim reflects on what he has learned in the last 30 years of work as a scientist studying ecosystems and demonstrates how the contents of one small box can illuminate the workings of all nature and how we must engage now to protect our planet and its biodiversity. Includes a chance to buy a signed copy of The Jewel Box.