About

23 July 1987 - 17 May 2022

Olivia Norfolk was once was an artist, then a scientist and finally an author.

Back in 2006 she completed a Fine Art Foundation Degree at the University of the West of England, Bristol, where she observed the beauty of nature that is found all around us. She was fascinated by the intricacies of the natural world, so put down her pencil and paintbrush and pursued a degree in Zoology at the University of Nottingham.

She learnt how critical our natural systems are for keeping us alive and realised the urgent need to change our own behaviour and halt the ongoing biodiversity losses. Between 2010 and 2015, Olivia went on to carry out a Masters of Research and a Phd, based in the mountains of South Sinai in Egypt, where she looked how traditional Bedouin farming practices affected wild flowers, pollinators and birds. Her work showed that sustainable farming is a possibility in these water limited regions.