The New Eden – JC Niala

Sat 10 October, 2026 at 6:00 pm

An urgent new voice in nature writing JC Niala explores wildlife in our cities, reframing our perception of co-existing with the natural world.

We think of the city as a human domain but nature is always present. From the remarkable adaptation of birds to the fearless resilience of mammals, nature is abundant in our cities – and it is time to discover a new way of living with it. Through her experience of cities, from London to Nairobi, San Francisco to New Delhi, anthropologist JC Niala offers a luminous exploration of city life. This illustrated talk combines memoir, social history, and cultural commentary to celebrate nature in our cities and offers a powerful vision of the future where we can all belong – living with nature rather than simply in it.

‘Moving and beautiful’ Robert Macfarlane

JC Niala is an award-winning writer, environmental historian and anthropologist specialising in human-nature interactions. JC works as the Deputy Director and Head of Research, Teaching and Collections at the History of Science Museum, University of Oxford.