The Oakbank Pod – Détails, épisodes et analyse

For our debut Oakbank podcast, Tim Furbank and Ryan Peach sit down at the Arundel Estate with Head Gamekeeper Charlie Mellor and Farm Manager Conor Haydon, exploring what it really takes to run a successful wild grey partridge project in the UK.

The conversation lifts the lid on the working relationship between farming and gamekeeping, how habitat and predator management intertwine, what stewardship and SFI mean in practice and the crucial role of having a long-term vision. Charlie and Connor share refreshingly honest insights into collaboration, pitfalls, practical decisions and the realities of delivering both productive farming and thriving wildlife.

The episode also includes a feature from GWCT’s Megan Lock on the importance of the Big Farmland Bird Count.

For this episode, we sit down with Alex Keeble, Game and Wildlife Advisor at the GWCT, to discuss the role of predator control in a wide range of conservation projects, from wild game to reintroduction of waders.

Alex shares his journey in conservation, explains the science behind effective predator management and highlights practical methods for controlling predators. We explore the three-legged stool approach - habitat, feed and predation management - for boosting biodiversity, and discuss challenges like legal changes to trapping and the importance of sustainable habitat creation. In addition, we touch on the importance of baselining before making habitat changes, shift to non-toxic shot, promoting game meat consumption and actionable tips for landowners and conservationists.

As is the tradition, we also sample a selection of cheeses and discuss our favourites.

This time, we are exploring turtle dove conservation with Graham Denny at Brewery Farm in Suffolk.

In this episode, Tim and Ryan head to meet Rupert Brewer, Game and Wildlife Ranger at Bisterne Estate, for a deep dive into wader conservation in lowland England.

Rupert shares the story of a ten-year lapwing and redshank recovery project that has transformed breeding success across the estate. We explore how habitat management, targeted predator control and long‑term monitoring have driven measurable results, including increased fledging rates, growing redshank numbers and wider benefits for wetland birds, water vole and river habitats.

The conversation covers:

• Why lapwing and redshank have declined and what works to reverse this trend
• The importance of winter grazing, water levels and invertebrate‑rich scrapes
• Predation management decisions on complex, publicly visible landscapes
• Using ringing, tracking and generational data to prove conservation outcomes

As always, the episode blends practical detail with wider reflection on the realities of modern land management and finishes in true Oakbank style with local cheese, quick‑fire questions and Rupert’s thoughts on what, if anything, still holds UK conservation back.

A must-listen for farmers, land managers, gamekeepers and conservation practitioners working towards productive, wildlife-rich landscapes.

In this episode, Tim and Ryan head to meet Toby Simpson and Stuart Tabernor who farm in Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire - to delve into the topic of Regenerative farming ahead of Groundswell next month. We cover how regenerative farming has helped their farm businesses, natural assets and biodiversity.

We explore their thoughts on natural assets, such as soil structure and waterways, and how catch cropping, cover cropping and longer rotations are all intertwined and support one another. They share their thoughts on noticeable increases in species biodiversity, how to tackle invasive species while not always having to use herbicides and the do’s and don’ts of farming regeneratively that they’ve learnt so far.

The episode finishes in real Oakbank style with not so local cheese and some quick-fire questions to round off a captivating discussion.

A real must listen for farmers from all practises, gamekeepers, conservationists and anyone else with a real passion for positive change in the countryside to produce the wildlife-rich landscapes we all want to see.