In todays show I’m chatting to wildlife artist Harriet mead. Harriet specialises in sculpting animals out of scrap metal turning thrown away junk into pieces of art. Her sculptures an are quirky combination of metal and her love of the subject. Today we talk about how she combines nature and art, the process of sculpting a animal and how long it takes. Harriets Website Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter...
This week I speak to Dave Hamilton who is a keen forager as we talk about where you can forage in the uk and laws around it, how to watch out for deadly mushrooms and how you can drink your wife's urine after ingesting mushrooms to get high! Daves Book Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter...
This week I speak to wildlife tv researcher Sophie Pierce as we talk about what kind of ideas are best to pitch, what a researcher does and the frustrating aspects of the job. Sophies Website Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter
Many of you will know I’m a keen wildlife gardener and love me a pond so I’ve wanted to do a podcast on wildlife ponds for a while. Probably the best book on the market about the subject is written by todays guest Jules Howard, titles the wildlife pond book. Its well worth a read if you haven’t got a copy. We are going to do something slightly different today and rather then straight questions I’m going to be putting all the biggest pond myths to Jules to get to the bottom of them like do plasti...
In todays episode I’m speaking with Ellie & Ben from The Wildlife Garden Podcast and also Ellies Wellies which are a Nottingham-based garden maintenance company and consultancy that specialises in wildlife gardens using organic methods. Ellie and Ben set up one of the first totally organic garden maintenance companies in the UK, Ellie’s Wellies Organic Gardening. No matter what size the garden, Ellie and Ben help to bring nature in with the three key things for wildlife; shelter, water and f...
This week I’m joined by wildlife photographer dan Ruston. Dan is based in Dorset and quite frankly is a master at fieldcraft getting closer to species like roe deer, peregrine and red fox which he has a special affinity for. We talk about what fieldcraft really means in wildlife photography, the use of commercial hides and how starting off in a gamekeeping background helped his photography. Here’s are chat. Dan's Instagram Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter...
This week I’m talking to Sheena Cruickshank about parasites that love nothing more then living in the human body. She’s a professor at the university of Manchester and specialities in immunity & infection. We talk about 50ft worms in your gut, how pubic lice are declining and how some parasites might actually make you healthier. Sheena Cruickshank Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter...
In todays episode I’m having a chin wag with Chris Yates, Chris is an angler preferring to use more traditional techniques and is well known for being part of Hugh miles passion for angling as well as catching the bishop a former uk record carp. Chris is also a brilliant writer and naturalist and we spoke for hours about bird watching after the podcast. I have to thank Hugh miles for setting this up as it was part of a fundraiser for Britains hidden fishes and all and in all was a fabulous day. ...
Today I’m talking to singer - song writer kitty Macfarlane who mashes up folk tunes with natural sounds to make some incredible pieces of music. She’s guest presented radio shows on BBC Radio 3 & 4 was nominated for a horizon award. Her debut album namer of clouds is out now. We chat about why she uses nature as a theme for her music, how she incorporates the sounds of nature into her songs and why she wrote a song about eels! https://www.kittymacfarlane.com/ Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Tw...
This week I’m joined by Bertie Gregory who is a British wildlife filmmaker. He’s been named a National Geographic Young Explorer and The Youth Outdoor Photographer of the year, Bertie's goal is to find stories that get people to fall in love with the natural world.Bertie currently splits his time between shooting behind the camera as a cinematographer for the BBC's landmark series and hosting shows for National Geographic. Bertie recently won a BAFTA for his cinematography in the latest BBC Davi...
In this Bonus episode I talk about the topic of wildlife photography going into decline as a career choice. Is it still a viable career and what have been the changes in it over the years? Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter
This week I’m with wildlife camerawomen Jessica Mitchell who is well known for her variety of work including time-lapse, topside and especially underwater. She’s filmed for groups such as Natural World, BBC & Oxford scientific films to name a few. Today we cover the pressures of being a wildlife camera op, whether it should even be called cameraman or camera operator and the distant lack of women in that role plus much more. Here’s our chat. Jess Instagram Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitt...
This week I’m joined by fellow countryfile presenter Joe Crowley, Joe has presented a host of television programmes from holiday hit squad to police 5 but is best known for his regular slots on both the one show and country file. It's here he embraces his passion for the outdoors and in particular rivers and recently made a film for panorama about the disgusting amounts of raw sewage entering British rivers which is the main topic of todays chat. Joe's Twitter Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitt...
In todays show I’m chatting to springwatch presenter Gillian Burke. Gillian finds herself living in Cornwall now and over the years has done lots of narration and voicework before making the leap to the big screen and presenting for many BBC wildlife programmes most notably the watches. She’s also a biologist, public speaker and writer. Today we talk about how voice work is different to presenting , if she was nervous joining the watches team and why we see so few people from BAME communities on...
In this weeks show I’m chatting to hamza yassan who many will know him from his CBeebies programme Let’s Go For a walk as well as appearing on the one show, country file and the recent channel four series Scotland: My life in the wild. He has a passion for birds, is a skilled ornithologist and bird nest recorder with excellent field craft and habitat knowledge. Hamza is also a published wildlife photographer as well as a wildlife tour guide. We chat about the main challenges of wildlife filmmaki...
In todays show I’m nattering to the aptly named Helen scales who is a marine biologist and prolific nature writer having recently released the brilliant abyss which covers deep sea creatures. Helen also teaches at Cambridge University and delivers talks to groups and people of all ages. We talk about why people should care about fish, why write about the deep sea and the curious habits of the pearl fish. Helen's Books Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page Twitter...
This week I’m joined by the celebrated street artist Mark Anthony aka ATM who’s work has featured rare birds all over Britain and further afield. You can see his fantastic work in places like Camden, Walthamstow, Turnpike and and Acton. Being interested in art and birdlife from a young age it was a natural progression to combine the two. We cover he started street art, the reaction from the public to these large bird pieces and what if any permissions Mark needs to do his art. ATM's Website - ht...
In this weeks episode I’m talking to Francesca trotman who is the founder of love the oceans a non-profit marine conservation organisation working in Jangamo Bay, Mozambique. Their mission is to protect the marine environment in Jangamo, Mozambique, by conducting education projects and scientific research that will support the establishment of a Marine Protected Area. One of the main ways of setting up these marine protected areas is working with the community so we talk about what made fran set...
When you think of Wales three things come to mind, rugby, rolling green hills and iolo Williams in worryingly short shorts. For those that don’t know iolo he is currently one of the main presenters for the hit BBC nature show spring watch and has also appeared in many other programmes including rugged Wales, great welsh parks and welsh language programmes for S4C. Iolo also isn’t shy to stand for nature from raptor persecution to egg collectors he’s a vocal activist for the natural world. Today ...
This week I’m talking to prolific nature writer & biologist Amy Jane-beer who is based in Yorkshire and writes columns for the Guardian, BBC Wildlife and Countryfile Magazine. She currently has two books coming out with A Tree A Day in September and The Flow: a return to the river going to take a little bit about those and nature writing in general. We discuss how she picks stories to write about, wild swimming and planting tree to offset carbon. Amy's Website Buy Me a Coffee Facebook Page T...
All to often I focus on the living things on this podcast but thought it was be great to delve into the past and what many animals leave behind, bones and there’s one person who sprung straight to mind to speak about them and that’s Ben Garrod. Ben is a professor of Evolutionary Biology and Science Engagement at the University of East Anglia and also a primatologist. You may of seen him on one of the many tv programmes he’s featured on like secrets of bones, Attenborough and the giant dinosaur a...
Today I’m joined by Sally Le Page who is a biologist and full-time science YouTuber you may of seen some of her content including shed science, nature dates and the secrets of sex but there’s loads of content to explore on her channel which if you want to check it out is her name. PhD from the University of Oxford and specialises in breaking science to appeal to wider audience. We talk about what prompted her to start making science films for YouTube, the downsides of being a YouTuber and touch ...
I’m chatting with MNHP tutor Adrian Brown he is a senior lecturer on the BA(Hons) Marine & Natural History Photography and heads the third year of the degree course. He also runs the professional photographic practice modules during the student's second year. In this episode we talk about the course, what it takes to get on it and what percentage of students make it into wildlife photography. Adrians Website - http://adrianbrown.com/ Facebook Page Twitter...
In this episode I’m chatting to German biologist Katrin Linse of the British Antarctic Survey who has spent the last 25 years researching biodiversity and in particular looking at what’s living deep in out oceans. We talk about giant squid, megaladon, the mysterious "bloop" and how animals adapt to live down in the depths. Facebook Page Twitter
In todays show we’ll be looking at how wolves got domesticated, if dogs and wolves are the same species and how dogs have changed are own evolution. One thing I wanted to find out was how we got from the might wolf to a walking sausage so I got in touch with Greger Larson. He studied at Oxford and the University of Colorado before receiving his PhD in Zoology in 2006. He is now the Director of the Palaeogenomics & Bio-Archaeology Research Network Greger where he is continuing his focus on th...
This week I’m speaking to Hannah O’Regan who is an Associate Professor in Archaeology at the university of Nottingham. We discuss when bears roamed the UK, when they died out and if there’s a possible future for bringing them back. Facebook Page Twitter
Celebrating one year of podcasting I decided to release an extra episode on the subject of dogs and UK wildlife which can come into conflict. I also talk about the past year for the podcast, some stats and where it's heading. © www.jackperksphotography.com Facebook Page Twitter
Today I’ve got an old friend on, Jacky Poon. We went to college and university together and its been great watching his career go from strength to strength. He lived in Nottingham for a few years before moving back to china in the yuan province. He’s a camera operator, director and drone pilot having worked for then blue chip BBC series such as Seven Worlds One Planet, Disney nature, National Geographic you name it and we talk about the emerging wildlife film industry in china, what its like wor...
In this weeks podcast I’m speaking to fellow East Midlander Jack Baddams. He’s worked as a bird ringer, volunteered at sherwood forest and currently works on Springwatch as researcher. So we discuss a bit about Jacks career but also look are all non native species bad? Are we at the point of no return with some alien species and discuss a new type of conservation gaining momentum compassionate conservation where you don’t kill any thing. Jack's Insta - https://www.instagram.com/jabaddams/ Facebo...
Today I’m talking to a childhood hero of mine I remember growing up in the 90’s and watching all the wildlife programmes on animal planet and two people really stood out to me the late great Steve Irwin and todays guest mark o’shea who hosted o’shes big adventure where he’s go around catching dangerous reptiles to collect data, venom and help people understand them. He’s now taken up the role of Professor of Herpetology at the University of Wolverhampton and previous to that was working with rep...
