The TV star spent his childhood Saturdays at Cobbett Road Library and has actively defended it against funding cuts in recent years.
In a venture spearheaded by Friends of Cobbett Road Library, artist Joanna Rose Tidey was commissioned to create a mural for the library.
This forms part of the wider ‘Nature all around us’ scheme, led by Friends of Bitterne Station and financed by the South Western Railways Customer and Communities Improvement Fund 2023/24.
Chris Packham unveiling a new mural at Cobbett Road Library (Image: Supplied)
Packham’s favourite animal, a fox, and some of his books are depicted in the mural, ominously titled ‘Knowledge protects nature’, an ode to the critical roles education and literacy play in safeguarding our environment and wildlife.
Packham’s zeal for nature, wildlife, books and libraries has prompted Friends of Cobbett Road Library to team up with the Council Library Service to introduce a new Special Collection at Cobbett Road Library.
The collection will centre on concepts of environmental awareness, wildlife protection, rekindling connections with nature and promoting narratives with wildlife as a central theme.
The collection will offer a plethora of children’s and adult non-fiction books, young adult tales, fiction works and non-fiction materials.
The library mural (Image: Supplied)
Several groups, including Friends of Bitterne Station, Friends of Chessel Bay, Friends of Riverside Park, Southampton National Park City, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust are making strides in local environmental efforts.
The Friends have kickstarted the collection with an £800 donation amassed from locality fundraising.
Packham said: “I read, revised, plotted and schemed; I dreamed and devised a life in those semi-silent rooms,” he said. “And now libraries are so, so much more: Cobbett Road Library is many things to many people of all ages and all walks of life.”
Artist Joanna said: “It was amazing to make visible the connection between books and nature, and painting a fox for Chris – who loves them so much – was a fantastic opportunity.”
