Podcasts

Enjoy our new series of podcasts - interviews with heroes at the front line of conservation.

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The founder of the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation joins us to discuss the success of their hands-on approach to saving wildlife and to take a look at the current world of conservation on focus.

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Katy Williams joins us from South Africa to share with us her work to monitor, educate and conserve the leopards of the Cape despite their persecution, conflicts with humans, hunting, snares and other perils.

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In this remarkable episode, we discover the previously little known consequences the damaging effects widespread sunscreen use is having on ocean life. Marine Ecotoxicology Researcher Anneliese Hodge, at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, illuminates her latest discoveries regarding the detrimental compounds found in commonly used UV protection products and proposes safer alternatives.

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Was Disney guilty of unfair portrayal when it comes to hyenas? Do our perceptions of these creatures and their way of life align with reality? Today, we're accompanied by Sandra Martens, a Conservation Advisor from WWF, who brings insight into the often misrepresented world of hyenas.

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For this week we are joined by Ecology Lecturer, Evan Berry, to get an overview of the current situation for invertebrates across Britain.

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World - famous wildlife activist and Founder of he Orangutan Project, Leif Cocks, shares with us some of his incredible life story and his insights into the deeper connections humanity can regain with nature.

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For this week we are joined by award-winning Founder of tree-planting organisation 9Trees, Mike Cunningham as he talks about his incredibly ambitious and rapidly growing movement to repopulate vast swathes of Britain.

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Over the past decades, the Netherlands has successfully undertaken enormous efforts to adapt nationwide infrastructure to improve road safety and reconnect wildlife. We speak with Senior Research Ecologist Edgar van der Grift on what has made the work so successful and how other organisations can learn from the Netherlands Success Story.

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With modern networking and community-building platforms, it's never been easier for ordinary people to participate in conservation. Ecologist and Founder of citizen science organisation Ingwe, Marine Servonnat, shares with us how local communities are working together to track, map and help conserve leopards in South Africa.

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Today we are joined by Veterinary Cardiologist Dr Laurent Locquet and Species Anaesthetist Dr Aleksandr Semjonov. They have been practising and lecturing in the medical field as it advances practices to benefit captive species and build on research to be used for broader species conservation. Do please forgive a few early moments in the recording as Dr Semojonov encountered poor signal whilst travelling.

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For this week we are joined by the President of Oceans Unmanned, an organisation 'facilitating the use of unmanned technologies and promoting their safe and environmentally conscious operation through education and outreach.' Matthew shares his wealth of experience and dives into the incredible array of projects his team are involved in. He also gives advice on how would-be practitioners might get into the industry.

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We are joined by the co-founder of Rewilding Europe, Wouter Helmer, who describes the current conservation trends across the continent and beyond.

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For this week we are joined once again by Andy Lester from A Rocha UK who shares with us his thoughts on the recent State of Nature Report, projects and work going forward and how the part Christianity could play in weathering the storm.

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On Northern Sulawesi Island, Indonesia the black macaque has suffered decades of persecution through habitat loss, but organised locals and communities have been turning the tide.

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Dr Patricio from California-based freshwater conservation organisation, Shoal, shares with us the devastating data behind global freshwater habitat degradation and species population decline. However, there is hope as groups across the globe are beginning to mobilise to take action.

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After poachers killed his father in an ambush, Dexter followed in his footsteps as a game ranger. He shares his story of the dangers he faces in protecting endangered species in one of the most dangerous areas for conservation on the planet, Zambia.

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It can be daunting to face the climate challenges of our time, but finding answers and building online communities is easier than ever. This week we are joined by the Oxford-based community-building group Conservation Optimism who share their guiding ethos and some ideas of how individuals and small committed groups can come together to take things forward

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For this week we are joined by Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust discussing the reintroduction of the pine marten as it was almost wiped out across the British Isles.We hear about their work with local communities to create an environment for the species, and those which depend upon it, to thrive long-term.

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For this week we are joined by Tanzania-based safari guide Shayne Hodges who describes for us his incredible life. How do guides track down animals? How to judge and interact with different species? What to do when an angry hippo flips your canoe?

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Replenishing our oceans is no easy task, but some dedicated organisations are beginning to make a positive impact. For this episode, we speak with George Clark from the Marine Stewardship Council on their brilliant work to set our seas on the road to recovery.

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For Podcast#43 With so much focus on threatened animal species are we overlooking endangered plants? Shubhashis shares with us his journey to educate Nepalis on the dangers facing native flora from illegal trafficking and invasive species. Plus the solutions being promoted linking conservation and uplifting the mountain nation's rural poor.

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For Episode#42 we're joined by the Founder and CEO of the Sea Ranger Service an organisation training underprivileged youths to become qualified seafarers to work on marine conservation projects.

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Episode#41 This week we have a special podcast to celebrate Easter. Andy Lester, Head of Conservation from A Rocha UK, speaks with us about the rapid growth of their work across the country bringing together Christianity and conservation to fight climate change.

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Episode # 40. We speak with Re-Peat founder Bethany Copsey explaining the crucial role peat bogs play in our ecosystems. They hold more than twice as much carbon as all of the world's forests and play a vital role in supporting wildlife. They are in retreat due to human expansion so we must act fast before it is too late.

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Episode #39. Persecuted to extinction from the British Isles, dedicated groups have been working to restore the world's heaviest flying bird, the Great Bustard.

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Episode #38. We are joined by Stephanie Fennessy, Executive Director of The GCF based in Namibia. She talks about the largely unknown plight giraffes have experienced in recent decades and how their work is having positive outcomes across 18 countries and over 100 million acres of giraffe habitat.

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For Episode #37 For this week's podcast, we cover exciting new programmes integrating family planning and conservation in rural Uganda creating successful results and improving livelihoods in poor communities. Our guests are Advocacy and Project Manager Carina Hirsch, and Midwife and Family Planning Coordinator Uwimbabazi Sarah. Photo © Margaret Pyke Trust/Mark Baron: In Uganda, the Margaret Pyke Trust trains healthcare professionals in sexual and reproductive health. Ethnographic research undertaken locally has demonstrated a deep and widespread understanding of the connections between climate impacts, livelihoods, health and environment among the community members who are calling for better health services. Community education which incorporates topics beyond pure health messages is proving a valuable way to engage and reach more people on sexual and reproductive health.

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For Episode #36, we are joined by Ouma Oluoko in western Kenya talking about exciting new developments between communities and nature.

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Episode #35 with Giuseppe Forestieri. Much messaging around climate change and conservation issues can be counterproductive instead spreading anxiety and despair. However, there are actions we can take every day that not only affect positive good in the realm of what we can influence but improve our mental health and prepare us to affect wider change together in the future. Giuseppe through his work and animation company Motion Aptitude shares with us how to spread actionable messages and help others on the path to feel positive and in control of the reality we face. https://motionaptitude.com/ https://twitter.com/Restore_Planet https://www.linkedin.com/company/7929... https://www.facebook.com/restoreourpl... https://www.instagram.com/restoreourp... If you would like to take part in a podcast please email ideas to jackcole@restoreourplanet.org Enjoy the conservation! #ClimateChange #PositiveVibes #Podcast #Animation #MentalHealth #MotionAptitude

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For this week’s podcast, we are joined by Lucy Radford from the Sumatran Orangutan Society who is speaking with us about their work to protect the critically endangered species.

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For this week's episode, we are joined by Daniella Samura in Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. She tells us the incredible story of how the group was founded in the midst of the civil war and continues to thrive.

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For this special podcast with COP27 around the corner, we are joined by Solomon Adefolu and Ken Mwathe to discuss conservation in these times of energy uncertainty, severe drought and government hesitancy. However, hope remains as reforestation and habitat regeneration are becoming more central to the societal development discourse.

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For this week’s podcast, we are joined once again by Alex Ngari who is speaking with us about the relationship and sometimes conflict between energy development and migratory birds across Africa.

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For this week's podcast, I am delighted to have back Chinedu Mogbo calling us from Lagos, Nigeria to tell us about his incredible work with the variety of wildlife he has rescued. Chinedu began the Green Fingers Wildlife Conservation Initiative by himself and has undergone great difficulty to keep the sanctuary going through economic crises and an environment often hostile to his work.

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For this week's episode, I'm joined by Helen Gowans from the Ocean Conservation Trust based in Plymouth who tells us about their work to conserve 'Blue Meadows' and how to build positive relationships with fishermen and communities.

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For this week's episode, I'm joined by David Bargh who has spent a number of years working on building grassroots sustainable fisheries across the Sub-Saharan nation of Malawi. David covers some of the background of the landlocked nation as well as the challenges facing vulnerable communities putting their faith in new techniques that could bring about prosperity in an otherwise poverty-stricken society.

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For this week's podcast, we are speaking with Hazel Ryan from Wildwood Trust who is speaking with us about the process of reintroducing small mammals back into the wild.

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This week for episode 26 I'm joined by Lawrence Ball who explains to us the variety of incredible ways drones can be used to monitor the impacts species, such as the recently introduced bison, are having on the countryside.

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For this week's episode I'm joined by Robbie Still from Kent Wildlife Trust who speaks about how technology is being used to monitor habitats and record how the newly reintroduced bison affect their new environment.

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This week we have a special podcast with Britain's first Bison ranger who is speaking with us about the exciting new wilding reintroduction! Tom Gibbs from Kent Wildlife Trust explains a little bit about how he landed the dream conservationist job and how bison are set to transform British habitats.

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For today’s podcast, we are joined by Dr David Gowing from the Open University who is speaking with us about his floodplain meadow restoration work at the Floodplain Meadow Partnership. David describes how meadows have been essential for the survival of British communities for millennia, their crucial role in biodiversity, where the situation now stands, and why to be excited about the future.

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Following a decrease in the polluting of marine systems which went on for decades, bottlenose dolphins clung to Britain's coasts. They are now tentatively making a comeback. Today I am joined by Abby Crosby from Cornwall Wildlife Trust to discuss the species and other marine life in the area as well as how proud communities are playing such as crucial part

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As social and economic development continues to grow across Africa tensions have risen between utility companies and species conversation groups. In a considered effort to resolve these conflicts, Power Africa is now working in collaboration with BirdLife in order to inform its policies in alignment with the needs of migratory birds and other affected species. We cover a breadth of issues from a variety of perspectives and get into the practical solutions which can have a positive outcome for both human development and conservation. Taryn Bigwood and Dr Paul Maina speak on behalf of Power Africa, and Alex Ngari represents BirdLife

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For episode 20 I am joined by David Gill from Fauna and Flora International who speaks with us about our Saiga antelope conservation project operating throughout central Asia. David tells us about the past rocky decades the saiga has experienced during the times of the Soviet Union and the species almost becoming extinct following it’s crash in the early nineties.

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Today I am joined by Isabel Vique and Rebecca Drury from Flora and Fauna International who are speaking with us about their anti-reptile-trafficking work throughout the Caribbean.

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Today for our third special podcast in collaboration with Birdlife to celebrate the International Day of Forests I speak with Mami Rasamoelina, Forest Programme Manager for Africa. Mami describes his upbringing in Madagascar and his ongoing work across various nations in different climates, states of poverty and vulnerability.

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In celebration of the International Day of Forests, we have three special podcasts in collaboration with Birdlife with forest restoration leaders from across the globe. Today I am joined by Mike Seager from Birdlife Americas in Ecuador who shares with us insights on the incredible diversity of forest types, an overview of Birdlife's work and future trends for the coming decade.

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In celebration of the International Day of Forests, we have three special recordings with forest restoration leaders from across the globe. Today I am joined by Lahiru Wijedasa from Birdlife Asia in Singapore who shares with us insights on how to restore Asia's depleted forests, how to balance food production with biodiversity, the limits of permaculture and much more!

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This week, for episode 15 I am joined by Dr Julia Cooke from the Open University who is speaking with us about her work and research as a plant ecologist. Julia was an advisor for the recent and successful BBC documentary series Green Planet and describes what it was like working on the show.

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This week, for episode 14 I am joined by Lucy Groves from Durrell Wildlife Trust who speaks with us about the successes of their white stork reintroduction project. Lucy describes the illustrious history of the bird, such as its symbolic status leading to their persecution in the English Civil War, their love for nesting on Polish rooftops, their machine gun like calls and of course much more.

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This week for Ep. 13 I am joined by Roger Safford, Senior Programme Manager from BirdLife International to take a look at the overall picture and remind ourselves of the fundamental questions and reasons for conservation in the first place.

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This week I am joined by WWF Conservation Biologist Shaleyla Kelez who works in northern Peru dedicating her time towards protecting sea turtles from fishermen bycatches. Shaleyla is a Biologist, with a focus on Ecology, from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, and has a PhD in Marine Biology and Conservation from Duke University (US) thanks to a fellowship in Ecology from the Fulbright Commission and the OAS.

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This week I am joined by vulture conservationist Salisha Chandra from BirdLife International who explains the devastating impact vulture poisonings are having across much of Africa, the impact on ecosystems and communities, and the work she is doing to prevent it.

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This week, for episode 10 I am joined by Kini Roesler, from Aves Argentinas who shares with us the incredible story of how he and a handful of volunteers helped save the grebe from being wiped out from Patagonia.

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This week, for episode 9 I am joined by Anuj Jain, from BirdLife International Asia currently in Singapore who talks with us about the fight against the illegal bird trade not just in his country but across wider Asia.

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This week, for episode 8 I am joined by George Monck, founder of Cleanup UK who is going to be talking with us about the fight to keep Britain’s streets clean from litter by organising local communities to come together.

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This week Alice Tribe and I discuss the struggle to keep Malta's skies clear for migratory birds running the gauntlet of hunters.

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This week Stan and I discuss the exciting plans to bring bison back to Britain and how they can transform the countryside.

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In this episode, Alan Watson Featherstone and I discuss how, though beautiful, Scotland's environment has in fact deteriorated considerably over the past centuries. We delve into Alan's illustrious background, rewilding and which species are ready for a comeback, faith in the youth and much more!

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Today I'm talking with BBC documentary producer and conservationist Mary Colwell about the plight of the curlew, degradation of British wetland habitats and countryside, whether our problems are deeper than we think, whether Greta Thunberg is the second coming, and much more!

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In this episode, I chat with Nigerian conservation educator Chinedu Mogbo who explains the dark reality of the African bushmeat trade, the dearth of connection many Nigerians feel with native species, and what his organisation, The Green Fingers Initiative, has spent the last decade doing about it.

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For our second episode, I speak with aquaculture and sustainable fish-farming consultant David Bargh who explains how the industry has changed over the decades and what improvement can be made to feed the populations of the future.

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Welcome to the launch of our Restore Our Planet Podcast! We will be delving into the great minds of the heroes on the frontline of #conservation across the UK and the Globe. Our first episode is with the brilliant Peter Smith who for 25 years has been a revolutionary & pioneering nature conservationist pushing the boundaries and shaping the growth of the #rewilding movement.