I have very happy memories of David Bellamy (Obituary, 13 December) visiting our first school (for children aged four to eight) in Binley Woods, Warwickshire, in 1983. A letter from the children asked him to visit their small copse in the grounds they cared for and a pond they had created. He came for two, but stayed for three hours, talking to all 150 children and sharing their enthusiasm for natural history. He lay on the floor with the reception class, loving their song about a caterpillar. “Just wish I was five and could come to your school,” he said, ending his special morning. A year later he had an evening at Warwick University. I managed to pass a jar of blackberry jam to him, the fruit picked from the copse by the children and the jam made with some older help. David was delighted and touched, talking about it in the second half of the show. He was a truly delightful character.
Val Roberts
Retired headteacher, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters