The Wildlife Explorer – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Zoologist and author Jules Howard tells the stories of sex on Earth.

We find out some of the flirting techniques of the animal kingdom, how has sex shaped life on earth and what happens when animals don't sexually reproduce?

In this special episode we head to our Nature Nursery to find out about outdoor learning. We speak to the children and staff about why this nursery is so special.

We also hear from author Patrick Barkham about his book Wild Child: Coming Home to Nature and his experiences as a Forest school volunteer and as a father. Patrick also tells us why he believes it is so important that children explore the natural world.

On today’s show, We delve into a very modern mystery - where have all the eels gone? Despite being one of our most recognisable fish species, eels have disappeared at an alarming rate - and no one knows why. Not only that, there are many other surprising secrets eels are not willing to reveal to the human race just yet. Have a listen to find out why. 

We'll also be enjoying a day out at the beach accompanied by a very cute puppy called Betsy, and sauntering along the saltmarsh to discover all the new life that is bursting into the world at this time of year.

Our ‘What 3 Birds’ feature is back, helping you to identify three bird calls you may hear at this time of year and we look at what else you can spot this month in our 'Wildlife Wow's'.

Check out all our Marine Week Celebrations here https://www.essexwt.org.uk/get-involved/campaign/marine-week 

Get involved in a beach clean, learn more about the species we share our coast with, download spotter and activity sheets and find out about our important projects to protect our precious marine habitats. 

Become a member of Essex Wildlife Trust - https://www.essexwt.org.uk/get-involved/membership

This episode of The Wildlife Explorer is slightly different to our usual episodes as we are having a 30 Days Wild takeover hosted by our Campaigns Officer, Bailey!

Abbie takes us out on a reptile survey and gives her top tips for how you can do your own at home. Some reptiles have a VERY unusual way of fending off predators - have a listen to find out why!

Lauren and Gemma talk us through their wild fitness plans and Emma and Bones share their own thoughts on how nature can have such an incredible impact on our mental health   

https://www.essexwt.org.uk

On today’s show, we are by the Blackwater on the trail of the elusive turtle dove, an exotic looking bird with a cat-like purr, sadly threatened with extinction. Can you help us find where they are hiding in Essex? We will also be delving into the fascinating folklore behind some of our best loved native plant species and wildflowers. How did their strange nicknames come about and why did people believe picking bluebells would have dire consequences for their children? Finally, we have a quick update about our BioBlitz campaign – where people all across the county are rising to the challenge of becoming the ultimate citizen scientist!

Thank you to Stuart Brooker for the wonderful birdsong recording heard in the background of our 'What 3 Birds' feature.

Links:

Seen or heard a turtle dove? contact: communications@essexwt.org.uk and mark.nowers@rspb.org.uk with the date, location, time and if possible, a photo. See www.operationturtledove.org for further details

For more information on Essex BioBlitz: https://www.essexwt.org.uk/essex-bioblitz-2022

To tune into our barn owl webcam and other webcams: https://www.essexwt.org.uk/wildlife/webcams

On today’s show, we delve into the fragmented world of our urban wildlife and reveal how you can become a champion for them. We will also be learning about the amazing colony of bats that have taken over the maternity roost situated at our Hanningfield Nature Discovery Park and finally, how being in nature can work wonders for your mental health.

Welcome back! We’re very excited to be back for Season 2 of The Wildlife Explorer with more special guests, experts from across the Trust and lots of fun facts about the wonderful wildlife we share our Essex home with.

On today's show, we’re going to be taking an honest look at some of the issues women may feel they face when looking at a career in conservation. From periods to pink rucksacks, nothing is off-limits. We'll be taking a woodland wander in search of our elusive Essex toads and offering advice about what you can do to help our emerging spring wildlife. We also have a brand new feature called 'What 3 Birds' which will hopefully help you to ID the birds you hear in your garden or when out for a walk. 

If you’re a regular listener of The Wildlife Explorer podcast, you’ll know that we wrapped up season one back in October with our ‘Autumn Arrivals’ episode full of stories about our magnificent migrant birds, fascinating fungi and what’s happening in nature throughout the season. 

However, we couldn’t finish the year without thanking you – our wonderful supporters. So, we thought we would add in a bonus ‘end of year special’ episode to revisit some of the projects we have been working on for wildlife this year, and see what has happened across the county since the projects were last featured. 

As it’s a festive time of the year for many, we thought we would also take a look at some of our seasonal traditions – why we decorate trees at Christmas time and the stories and folklore around some of our familiar plants such as mistletoe and ivy. 

Thank you for all your support this year, enjoy celebrating and we will see you again March for Season 2. 

We've reached our 10th episode! Today, we’re going to be talking all about autumn arrivals - from birds to mushrooms, there’s lots of new discoveries popping up during this season. So, if you struggle to tell your fieldfares from your redwings and your fly agarics from your jelly ears, we’ve got you covered (with some bonus bird impressions too..!)

We’ll also be explaining how and why birds choose to migrate such vast distances, as well as talking about a very important event for environmental issues across the globe - COP26. This is the UN’s climate change conference being held in Glasgow this year, starting on October 31. We will be asking MP’s to ensure this conference tackles both the climate and nature crisis and you can do your bit to help too.

Thank you to everyone who has joined us on our nature journey so far, keep an ear out for our bonus Christmas special episode in December and we will see you next year for lots more inspiring nature stories, special guests and updates about our conservation work.

Imagine being able to see your favourite shop shimmering in the distance, full of delicious food to feed you and your family, but all roads leading to it are cut off. In a roundabout way, this is the problem our wildlife faces on a daily basis. With an ever increasing number of houses and roads being built, the pockets of habitat wildlife rely on are getting smaller. We are trying to change that by ensuring wildlife corridors are in place to connect habitats across the county - and you can help too! 

On today's episode, we'll be looking at the problems fish face getting from A to B in our rivers, the wondrous journeys of brent geese, a wander around our Abbotts Hall Farm nature reserve and how you can get involved in our exciting new campaign, the #BigWildSeedSow for which, with your help, we are aiming to plant one million native wildflowers across the county.