Learn about creepy crawlies in new book

Conservationist and author, Jonathan Leeming launched his book, Spider Nature Explorer on April 9 at the Kloofendal Nature Reserve. During the launch, the author explained that the purpose of the book was to pique children’s interest in creepy crawlies.

“There is a lot of information that will create awareness and value of these creatures. If all the spiders in the world died right now, would our lives change?” he asked.

“Definitely,” he confirmed. “If the insects died we would all probably starve to death. There are animals out there that deserve our value and attention but just don’t get it. I think spiders are among them.”

Spider Nature Explorer uses children’s interest in insects and turn it into action, increasing awareness and closing the disconnection we have with the natural world.

“The idea has been in my mind for a while but the problem was figuring out the age group.” Leeming began. “The past couple of years I have been taking notes about my Creepy Crawlie Walks at Kloofendal and I tried to cover all those topics. I also removed all the long names, and there is a lot of stories such as a spider’s life-cycle. The information is quite short; I tried to get to the point.”

Leeming said his hope for the books is that children will go to nature reserves or explore their backyards to learn about spiders, and apply what they learn in the book in a practical way. The book has multiple-choice questions, practical activities and puzzles. There are 30 species of common spiders that are easily identifiable and can be found in the common garden.

“The book illustrates lifestyles of spiders; spider webs, what they eat and all those things. Two colour spider posters are available on my website and they will go hand in hand with the book. They are completely free.”

The book costs R185 and is available at https://scorpions.co.za/shop/.