Diary of a Young Naturalist

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Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty: 1. Spring

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Diary of a Young Naturalist, by Dara McAnulty

1. Spring

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

BBC Radio 4 - Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty, 1. Spring

An autistic teenager documents the passing of a year in both nature and his life.

4 Extra Debut. Autistic teenager Dara McAnulty documents a year in his life as a person with an intense connection to the natural world.

“I was diagnosed with Asperger’s/autism aged five. By age seven I knew I was very different, I had got used to the isolation, my inability to break through into the world of talking about football or Minecraft was not tolerated. Then came the bullying. Nature became so much more than an escape; it became a life-support system.”

Chronicles of the turning world of autistic teenager Dara McAnulty. 

Beginning in spring, his diary takes us through a year in his home patch in Northern Ireland. 

These vivid and moving diary entries about Dara’s connection to wildlife, and the way he sees the world, are raw in their telling and urgent in their message. 

They communicate his intense connection to the natural world, and his perspective as a teenager juggling exams and trying to build friendships alongside a life of campaigning.

Written and read by Dara McAnulty.

Abridged in five parts by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed.

Producer: Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2020.

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Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Dara McAnulty, aged 15, documents the passing of a year in both nature and his life.

Book of the Week. Dara McAnulty documents a year in his life as an autistic teenager and an intense connection to the natural world.

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Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

1. Spring

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