Welcome back to the third and final episode live from Global Birdfair 2023. In this episode, I was joined by the team from Sounding Wild, an immersive birding experience, and we had a great chat about how they are working to bring amazing bird stories to local communities to show them what is available on their doorsteps.

The episode begins with a Catalonian dawn chorus and ends with the tuneful song of the Golden Oriole, soundscapes recorded as part of the Sounding Wild project. 

Sounding Wild is an experience like no other that will take you on a journey to see the world in a whole new way.

 Follow the journey:

Instagram: Sounding Wild (@soundingwild) • Instagram photos and videos

Twitter: Sounding Wild (@soundingwild) / X (twitter.com)

Website: Sounding Wild - Nature Stories

In this second episode of The Wildlife Community Podcast, live from the Global Birdfair at Rutland Showground, Dan Rouse and Charlie Bingham were joined by well-loved naturalist, author and tv presenter, Nick Baker. Nick has been a true inspiration for many nature enthusiasts for the past few decades and Charlie and Dan jumped at the opportunity to sit down and get Nick’s perspective on how exactly we can harness our curiosity and inspire the next generation of nature nerds. They took to the Whinchat stage in front of an audience of nature lovers of all ages, and had a chat about the importance of holding onto that childlike curiosity as we explore the world around us. 

We’ve left this chat largely unedited because we wanted to capture the true essence of the conversation and the fun of being on stage with a live audience. 

Don’t forget to set your reminders for the third and final episode from Global Birdfair, where Charlie chats to two brothers who are taking the natural world to a community near you, with an immersive nature experience like no other….

Want to start a wildlife garden in your own back garden? Well famed wildlife gardening expert and author, Brigit Strawbridge Howard, is doing just that in her new home in Cornwall. We caught up with her to see how she's faring, what really matters for wildlife in our gardens, and what she's discovered is making her garden its home.

Dan Rouse is a famed ornithologist, wildlife presenter and author. We encouraged her away from the South Wales Coast, and her binoculars, to talk to us all about how to attract birds to our own gardens.

We learn the secrets of her daily wildlife-friendly gardening routine, what she's noticed most about lockdown and birdlife in Wales, and how and why she's helping farmers to encourage owls onto their farmland.

Find out more about our Wildlife Community podcast on our website. 

Helen is joined by butterfly expert and National Trust conservationist, Matthew Oates, on the trail of His Imperial Majesty - a butterfly with the morals of a Tolkien orc apparently! Purple Emperor Butterflies are little known and little talked about, but they’ve attracted a cult following for their allusiveness, rarity and iridescent beauty which they flaunt with vanity. Helen meets superfan and author, Matthew Oates, in Gloucestershire’s Lower Woods on the hunt for the Purple Emperor Butterfly. A good news story for British wildlife. “The males have the morals of some of Tolkien’s orcs! You wouldn’t want your sister or daughter to go out with a bloke with the morals of a purple emperor butterfly!” Find out more about Matthew Oates on our website.

Feeling a little bit wild in your garden? Let's get rewilding our green spaces and turn our diverse mosaic of gardens into one big tapestry of wildlife habitats. Find out more about our podcasts on our website.

In this month’s podcast we interview the Heal Rewilding charity who are attempting to 'wild' our countryside for the good of us, our climate and our wildlife. And we celebrate the Wildlife Trust’s 30 Day Wild Campaign and find out from their Community Action Officer why we should all be dancing in the rain!

Do bees need our help? Surely the solitary bee is happy on its own? We delve into the secretive world of these fascinating pollinators who are a gardener’s best friend. You can find out more about the podcast on our website. In this episode, Paul and Helen speak to a professor of pollination, Jeff Ollerton, to get more of the science behind the solitary bee. And find out from bee-mad Jean Vernon, how we can make our gardens as bee-friendly as possible, including the top ten plants for attracting solitary bees. 

Helen is jealous of Paul’s hedgehog babies! And we interview Fay Vass, the chief executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society on how to turn our gardens into hedgehog havens. Find out more on our website. 

Our first episode of The Wildlife Community podcast is all about Britain’s favourite wild animal, the hedgehog. To celebrate Hedgehog Awareness Week, we want to dive into the stats and facts behind why this much-loved creature has recently landed itself on the Red List for endangered species. And what we can all do to try and encourage and care for hedgehogs in our own gardens and green spaces. 

“It takes a community…”

The Wildlife Community team had an exciting weekend recently when we took the podcast on the road to the Global Birdfair at Rutland Showground! We were lucky enough to grab a slot on the brand new Whinchat podcasting stage, sponsored by Swarovski Optik, and had the chance to interview some exciting guests and talk about all things wild and of course, community. 

In this first episode recorded from the Global Birdfair, our ambassador, Dan Rouse, took over the helm and had a chat with Dale Forbes, head of strategic business development at Swarovski Optik. 

Dale told Dan all about Swarovski’s, latest project, which has seen Swarovski purchase 285 acres of rainforest on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is well known for its biodiversity but growing tourism and expanding development means that the landscape and habitats are changing dramatically. Swarovski are taking a hands on approach to ‘on-the-ground’ conservation and in this episode, Dale delves into the project in more detail.

The episode is dotted with soundscapes taken directly from the Swarovski rainforest, so sit back and immerse yourself in the sounds of Costa Rica as you listen to the latest installment from The Wildlife Community!

Find out more about the Swarovski Optik Rainforest and hear the full soundscape here:

 https://www.swarovskioptik.com/us/en/birding/stories/our-project-in-costa-rica

In this episode, Charlie chats with author, poet, and nature lover, Victoria Bennett about her recently published book, 'All My Wild Mothers'. They take a deep dive into the difficulties of facing loss and grief and the healing power that nature has to get us through challenging times. Victoria talks about a group she established, 'Wild Women', with the aim of helping women reconnect with their wild side. Through this, she has created a community of women who come together to help each other and share experiences. 

Together they explore the potential that we have when we come together as a community whether that is litter picking in your local area, putting up Swift boxes to provide a safe place for migrating birds to nest, or working through grief and shared experience together. 

Find out more about Victoria's work at: http://victoriabennett.me/

How can we mobilise people to come together with community projects to improve their wild spaces for both people and wildlife? Charlie chats to The Wildlife Community ambassador, Simon King, about his exciting career as a wildlife camera operator and they discuss the importance of connecting with nature. 

Wildlife gardening author, Jean Vernon, introduces us to some of the more surprising pollinators we might find in our garden. Convincing us that it's not just the bees and the butterflies we should be thinking about when it comes to pollination. Find out how to grow a pollinator-friendly garden, and what's been popping up in Paul's wildlife garden this summer. 

'The queen of herbs', Jekka McVicar, is a famed herb farmer working from her 'Herbetum', known as Jekka's Farm, on the outskirts of Bristol where the constant hum of bees fills the air. In this podcast, she takes us on a tour of her weird and wonderful herbs. Celebrating the benefits of growing herbs - not just for cooking - but also for wildlife.

In our latest episode, Helen and Paul interview Professor Dave Goulson, the voice of bugs! Dave is a world renowned expert on bee ecology and an all round lover of insects. We talk chemical free farming and gardening, the top five plants for wildlife and what is a dead hedge? Find more of our podcasts online https://wildlifeworld.co.uk/blogs/podcast 

It's National Nestbox Week! The perfect time to pop up a nest box in your garden. But how, where and when should you do it? We speak to wildlife TV presenter and ornithologist, Dan Rouse, to find out all the facts. Take a look at our range of nest boxes here https://wildlifeworld.co.uk/collections/bird-nest-boxes 

Why do hedgehogs hibernate when other mammals don't? And how can we help them to snore safely in our gardens? This episode, we speak to hedgehog-rescuer extraordinaire, Mary Hinton, who has been running the Help A Hedgehog Hospital in south Gloucestershire for ten years now. And this winter all of her cages and pods are filled with sick and injured hogs and those too small to hibernate safely this winter. Find out how to make your garden welcoming for hedgehogs now and come the spring. And what to do if you do see a hoggy wandering about in the winter.