Last Summer, MGL shared a very exciting secret with me. A year on, it is with no small amount of delight that I can now finally cease my silence! In Maya’s words: “I have written a book about Portly the Otter, son of Otter from The Wind in the Willows. It is modelled on Kenneth Grahame’s original, as a series of riverbank stories, and features characters we all know and love, as well as introducing you to some new ones. The book is called The Adventures of Portly the Otter - Untold Tales from Th...
Jul 01, 2025•11 min•Season 5Ep. 13
A writer concerned with wondrous beetles and beautiful birds, M G Leonard and her award-winning books, for the past decade, have been inspiring the entomologists and ornithologists of tomorrow. Here, Leonard joins Oakes on the banks of the river that inspired Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" for an episode about how Nature and Storytelling are vitally important in inspiring young (and old) minds. In an interview that spans the arts - everything from Shakespeare to "Starship Troopers" ...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr•Season 5Ep. 12
Britain and its rural communities have been obsessed with Badgers for centuries. Sometimes cast as hero, sometimes as villain, tales of their behaviour can be found woven into the fabric of our nation's folk stories. They have since been immortalised in literature by the likes of Beatrix Potter and Kenneth Grahame. Their prominence in rural life continues into our modern Britain, where Badgers find themselves in the crosshairs of an ongoing cull. But are Badgers the villain of this new tale - pe...
Aug 13, 2024•48 min•Season 5Ep. 11
Matthew Oates is a naturalist, nature writer, and poet with a lifelong passion for butterflies. In the short sward of the Cotswolds, Matthew takes David Oakes on a journey through his fluttery past. They discuss the writers who have inspired him, from Tolkien to Wordsworth and W.H. Hudson, and share stories of other notable butterfly enthusiasts, such as Sir Winston Churchill. Matthew explains his belief that true conservation is a blend of science and love. They also delve into the realities of...
Jul 09, 2024•52 min•Season 5Ep. 10
In the second part of David Oakes' interview with Professors Fiona Mathews and Tim Kendall, the mammal-enthused trio head into the Forest of Dean in search of Wild Boar! Fiona Mathews is a professor of Environmental Biology at the University of Sussex and the founding Chair of Mammal Conservation Europe; Tim Kendall is a professor of English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Exeter, and; their dog Charlie Brown is an especially trained labrador with the talent for locating the...
Jun 18, 2024•35 min•Season 5Ep. 9
Fiona Mathews is a professor of Environmental Biology at the University of Sussex and the founding Chair of Mammal Conservation Europe; Tim Kendall is a professor of English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Exeter, and; their dog Charlie Brown is an especially trained labrador with the talent for locating the bodies of bats that have been killed or injured by wind turbines, all in the name of conservation science. Together, they wrote the Wainwright award-nominated book “Blac...
Jun 11, 2024•45 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Rob Stoneman wanted to make lots of money in the oil industry… and then he found peat! This episode is a deep dive into that blancmange-like substance that should be our saviour. Also, the Wildlife Trusts’ plans to grow a new rain forest in North Wales and Rob’s dream of having a mile deep nature reserve that circumnavigates the entirety of the British Isles coastline. A geologist at source, Rob has grown into a leading expert on the pragmatism required for landscape reform on the British Isle. ...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 5Ep. 7
The Horstmann Trust is a brand new charity primarily focused upon breeding and ultimately releasing back into the wild four species of endangered vultures: the Bearded, Egyptian and Hooded Vultures, as well as the Andean Condor. But what makes the Horstmann Trust particularly interesting, is that these birds are Welsh Vultures! In this episode, David heads to Wales to meet Holly Cale & Adam Bloch, the custodians of around 70 birds which were previously the private collection of a brilliantly...
Apr 09, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 5Ep. 6
At the launch of his latest video installation at the Tate St Ives, artist Andy Holden meets with David Oakes to discuss the creativity present within the bird world. But, whilst exploring avian aesthetics, Andy's artwork - "A Natural History of Nest Building" - also explores the roles of nature versus nurture at an additional level. This exhibition, one exploring how and why Birds learn to create nest structures, is created by a father and son team; the son an artist, and the father a famous or...
Mar 12, 2024•55 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Dr David Hetherington is an expert on the Eurasian Lynx and the beneficial links Lynx (Lynx lynx lynx) can manifest within our complicated British ecosystems. What he doesn’t know about the Lynx’s rich history across Europe is not worth knowing: Hear why Hildegard von Bingen thought drinking Lynx urine was highly beneficial; when exactly(ish) Lynx were wiped from British shores leaving only one town name with any form of association to a once indigenous species, and; how the Nazis could be consi...
Feb 13, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Dr Ruth Tingay is a conservationist and campaigner who has spent her career primarily focused upon the world’s raptor population (that’s Birds of Prey, rather than Veloci-...) Her career was inadvertently kickstarted through working at Heathrow airport’s Animal Reception Centre. Here she welcomed back the UK’s Red Kite population for their reintroduction to our country, as well as the usual pampered felines, escaped pooches, and boxes stuffed full of mystery birds. Throw Nile Crocodiles, an annu...
Jan 09, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Hello, and welcome to a little festive bonus Trees A Crowd. Some of the eagle eared amongst you may have noticed that the regular “three final questions” were missing from this month’s interview with the artist and activist, Katie Holten. Well… …it’s because they’re here! So, before I hand you over to Katie for an additional stocking filler, I wish you all a glorious Christmas, and a new year tingling with positivity and promise. Merry Christmas! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...
Dec 23, 2023•9 min
Katie Holten is a visual artist and environmental activist who splits her time between Ireland and New York. She has exhibited at the Venice biennale and many galleries across the globe, with her work being described as “…an ongoing investigation of the inextricable relationship between man and the natural world in the age of the Anthropocene.” Recently she created the internationally best-selling book, “The Language of Trees”. Reclining in a mossy moot deep within the Woodland Trust’s Duncliffe...
Dec 05, 2023•49 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Senior Scientist at Bird Life International, previously the Principal Scientist at the RSPB, and before that at the BTO, Paul Donald is a world expert on things that fly. As such, it is perhaps somewhat surprising that he has focused this expertise into a groundbreaking book about roads, the things that travel upon them, and the damage they do to nature. This in depth discussion of two halves begins by showcasing how Paul helped re-establish the population of one of the world’s most endangered b...
Nov 07, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 5Ep. 1
This bonus episode was recorded live at the Global Bird Fair, and is a conversation with the Actor, Director, RSPB Ambassador and Trainspotter-turned-Birder, Samuel West. Samuel talks about his recent experiences shooting the Channel 5/PBS Masterpiece remake of “All Creatures Great and Small” in the Yorkshire Dales; how the rural connection to nature and community helped him and many of its viewers through the pressure of the COVID lockdowns, and how the production team had to wrestle with some ...
Oct 05, 2023•43 min•Season 4Ep. 23
Located in the southwestern corner of South Africa's Little Karoo, the Sanbona Nature and Wilderness Reserve is an area of ex-farmland about the size of the Isle of Wight. Over the past 21 years, it has been transformed into a protected haven for a rich and varied tapestry of African flora and fauna. Seated on the ground by the edge of a Sanbona’s main lake, David Oakes is joined by Paul Vorster, the reserve's Director and General Manager - oh, and by six increasingly inquisitive hippopotamuses....
Oct 03, 2023•57 min•Season 4Ep. 22
Nardstar, the creative alias of Nadia Fisher, is a captivating wall-art and mural virtuoso hailing from the vibrant cityscape of Cape Town. Through bold lines and distinctive colour palettes she uses local flora and fauna both as a tribute to her local milieu and a catalyst for thought-provoking social discourse. Her urban landscape becomes a canvas for contemplation: How do we reclaim our city spaces? What boundaries should exist between land and ownership? Can nature's boundless beauty be a bi...
Sep 05, 2023•35 min•Season 4Ep. 21
Bridging the gap between wildlife naturalist and dedicated photographer, Chris Fallows was the first person to photograph the now famous breaching Great White Sharks of South Africa. Since then, he has been the human face for Great White Sharks on the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, the BBC and almost everywhere else you can imagine. Chris has devoted his life to demonstrating the gentler side of “…the last animal on earth that can catch, kill, bite us in half and consume us!” In this in...
Aug 01, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Two additional Rhino-related conversations: The first is with Piet Beytell, the Chief Conservation Scientist at the Namibian Government's Ministry of Environment Forestry and Tourism, and the National Rhino Coordinator for Namibia; the second is with Tommy Hall who works as a Wildlife Intelligence Officer, running a number of informer networks that assist both the Namibian Government and the Save the Rhino Trust in their anti-poaching endeavours. These two conversations serve as an addendum to l...
Jul 11, 2023•51 min•Season 4Ep. 19
This episode is about Rhinos; desert-adapted free-ranging Black Rhinoceroses and the men and women who devote their lives to protect them - to be precise. Save the Rhino Trust Nambia has existed for over 40 years, their mission is to monitor and conduct research on the Black Rhinos of the North-Western part of Namibia known as the Kunene desert region. An incredibly hostile environment, the Black Rhinos have adapted to live here thanks to a tolerance for an extremely toxic plant that even White ...
Jul 04, 2023•56 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Sophie Pavelle spearheads the new breed of science communicators. She is a nature writer, the communications co-ordinator for the Beaver Trust and an ambassador for the Wildlife Trusts. Recorded in front of a live audience in November 2022, this interview chronicles the journey she undertook to write her award-winning book, “Forget Me Not”. Hear about her encounters with “salt and vinegar chipsticks”, “bald men in hot tubs” and “that guy in the office who trails a 10 metre wake of paco rabane” (...
Jun 06, 2023•49 min•Season 4Ep. 17
Tan Twan Eng was the first Malay writer to win a number of key literary prizes including the Man Asia Prize and the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. David Oakes and Twan Eng first met whilst in Malaysia shooting the film adaptation of his Booker prize nominated “The Garden of Evening Mists”, and on the eve of publication for Twan Eng’s new novel, “The House of Doors”, David seeks to find the secret behind the novelist’s skill at crafting pitch-perfect nature metaphors - despite the tru...
May 16, 2023•48 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Dr Brian Briggs is a man of two halves; by day he is the Nature Reserve Manager at the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust’s Llanelli reserve, but by night he is the lead singer and songwriter for the Glastonbury-playing, Later-with-Jools-Holland-appearing, Silver-record-selling, “Rural existentialist orni-folk-band”, Stornoway. Reforming after a 10 year hiatus for a new tour and a new album, on a walk around the Llanelli reserve, Brian details how being immersed in nature during the pandemic is what has...
May 02, 2023•59 min•Season 4Ep. 15
Emma Marsh sits on the Executive Board at The RSPB, and was until recently the Director of RSPB England. But, despite working for the nation’s largest bird charity (the RSPB is actually Europe’s largest conservation charity!), she says that she is not a twitcher, rather that “…being in nature just feels right. Everything is right in the world when nature’s right.” Raised on a farm, yet having studied International Relations at University, it is no surprise that Emma is well placed to discuss the...
Apr 04, 2023•50 min•Season 4Ep. 14
In the second half of David's interview with Chris Packham, we hear how Chris originally wished to pursue a career as a wildlife cameraman, but a twist of fate thrust him into the arms of the Really Wild Show (or perhaps it was Chris who twisted their arms to let him in!) And from there, his TV career exploded! Chris clarifies exactly how his co-star, Terry Nutkins, lost his fingers, and how Chris himself was partially eaten by a vulture – you know, all the important stuff – and you’ll learn how...
Mar 14, 2023•38 min•Season 4Ep. 13
Chris Packham is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable faces on British Television. He’s been a mainstay of the BBC’s Natural History programming for nearly 40 years. Alongside this commitment he also currently serves as President for the Bat Conservation Trust and Vice President for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, Butterfly Conservation, and the RSPCA. In this two-part discussion, David and Chris walk through the New Forest (the site of both the...
Mar 07, 2023•41 min•Season 4Ep. 12
To celebrate one of the scarily rare “Good Environmental News Stories” of this and last year, David heads out to Kent Wildlife Trust and the Wildwood Trust’s “Wilder Blean” project just outside of Canterbury. He is there to mark the return of the European Bison to Britain, and the birth of the first bison born in the UK in a free roaming herd since the species went extinct in the wild. In the safe hands of Britain’s first “Bison Rangers”, Donovan Wright and Tom Gibbs, David hears about the known...
Feb 07, 2023•55 min•Season 4Ep. 11
In this, the second part of David Oakes’ interview with botanist Dr Trevor Dines, Trevor goes into detail about the sheer power of community science when documenting our nation’s flowers. Our understanding of British Flora - and indeed that of the BSBI (Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland) - would be nowhere without keen amateur volunteers. Spotlights are shone upon plants like the “Meadow Maker”, Yellow Rattle; upon different “wild” habitats like Knepp and the New Forest; and also upon lic...
Jan 17, 2023•46 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Despite being raised in the fields of England and having slept upon the Rainforest Canopies of Cameroon, Dr Trevor Dines’ heart is intertwined with the flora of Wales. Recorded in his own personal Wildflower Meadow in North Wales’ Conwy Valley, this interview charts Trevor’s journey from the youngest member of the Wessex Orchid Society (when still only aged in single digits) to one of the inspirational forces behind the UK’s largest botanical charity, Plantlife. Trevor has written books, present...
Jan 10, 2023•45 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Working from her Devonshire studio and the surrounding natural habitats, artist and printmaker Sarah Gillespie, in looking carefully at our wild world, can’t help but sense the sentience of nature looking right back at her. Raised by two artist parents, and having been blessed with at least one truly inspirational teacher, it’s perhaps not surprising that Sarah is now an acclaimed Royal West of England Academician, and most recently was asked to collaborate with Cambridge University’s Conservati...
Dec 06, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 8
