Sunrise is my absolute favourite time of day. I am very good at sleeping, and very bad at getting up, but when the weather is forecast to be clear, frosty, foggy or snowy, and I have time to get out before work, then I force myself out of bed early. It’s always worth it.

These tiny dots are a flock of lapwing (honest!). Due primarily to habitat loss, these lovely birds have declined in population by 80% since the 1960s. It is absolutely vital that we leave space for wildlife so that future generations can experience the thrill and pure joy of the wild.

Last May, I traveled to the Isle of Mull and camped next to a beach on the west coast. The neighbouring field was covered with wild yellow irises and beeped to the sound of peewits early in the mornings. The lapwings sounded like a convention of robots, a gathering of R2D2s, chatting away. It was a surreal and quite wonderful experience. The thought of these pure voices being silenced one by one is simply too unbearable.