Podcasts about Buglife

Paul Hetherington, Director of Fundraising & Communications at Buglife chats to JP about the Bugs Matter survey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The idea of a multi-billion pound theme park in north Kent is officially over after the company behind it went into liquidation.We were told London Resort on the Swanscombe peninsula would attract millions of visitors and create thousands of jobs.But it faced several challenges, including from wildlife campaigners. We've been getting reaction from Buglife.Also in today's podcast, and in a rare move, a planning officer has stepped in to stop councillors rejecting plans for a 52 home estate in East Malling.The Tonbridge and Malling council committee were due to refuse the plans for Ivy Farm after receiving more than 200 objections.Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President yesterday, a Kent campaigner says his second term in office feels like a 'step backwards'.Sara Fox organised a march in Canterbury last weekend to express concerns about women's rights.An electric vehicle owner says he's been treated "unfairly" by the council - after being fined for leaving his car at a charging station in Deal.Tony Nagle pulled up at the West Street Car Park only to find his phone had gone flat, and he couldn't recharge his car without it.Also on today's episode you can hear from a Kent mum who's been telling us how she fought to make her local football club more accessible for disabled people.It's after she struggled to find toilet facilities for her son, who's in a wheelchair.A B&B in Harrietsham that appeared on TVs Four in a Bed has revealed plans for expansion.Stable Oak Cottages has applied to convert a redundant barn into a tearoom and café for its guests.  And in sport, Ashford United manager Danny Kedwell has left the club after eight months in charge.The former Gillingham player goes after a run of three defeats and the side 10th in the Isthmian South East league.

The weather has certainly been a big talking point for a lot of us this week. And it's also the theme of a new exhibition at the McManus Art Gallery and Museum in Dundee. Rachel went to take a look at A Weather Eye along with curator Kirsty Matheson.We hear from Paul Hetherington of charity Buglife about the impact the mild weather before Christmas, and now the very cold weather, is having on our bees. Sadly, it's not great news.A second pair of lynx has been captured after being found near Kingussie in the Cairngorms National Park. Two other lynx, released illegally, were caught in the same area on Thursday. We get the latest from BBC Scotland's Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs Correspondent Kevin Keane.Huntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre in Aberdeenshire is Britain's only purpose-built all-weather facility for cross-country skiing and roller skiing. And since there was a bit of snow on the ground, Mark went along to try his hand at cross-country skiing.We speak live to Donald MacRae, vice chair of Scottish Mountain Rescue about the conditions the teams across the country have been facing so far this year. We also hear advice on heading to the hills at this time of year and how prepared you need to be.Staying in the hills, the Glenmore Visitor Centre and Café near Loch Morlich has had a bit of a facelift in recent weeks. It's now owned by the community, who have big plans for the centre. Rachel went along for a visit to hear about what they've done so far, and what's yet to come.The wintry weather prompted Mark to think about the extreme winter weather of the recent past, including low temperatures in Braemar of -27.2 degrees Celsius.Photographer and Landward presenter Shahbaz Majeed has a new book out which explores Scotland's landscapes from a slightly different perspective. Recently, Rachel caught up with Shahbaz in his home city of Dundee for the Scotland Outdoors podcast. He told Rachel the story of how a rather unexpected request led to him making a name for himself behind the lens.And when Mark visited the Huntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre, he couldn't say no when he was offered the chance to go tubing. The simple pastime of sliding down a hill in an inflatable ring is pretty popular at the centre with kids and big kids too!

A very cold week in the garden! Darren has some advice on outside taps and pipes as well as a rather beautiful poem to read us, entitled "The gardening year ahead" written by his own fair hand. Mollie chats to Buglife about how the charity has grown in 2024 and what they hope to achieve in 2025. Andy Lound brings us the history of some inspirational gardeners and as always, there is a chuckle or two to be had here and there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Step into the heart of an ancient woodland as we explore Ashenbank Wood, a Site of Special Scientific Interest rich in history and teeming with wildlife. Woodland has stood here for centuries, but this haven is under threat. A proposed tunnel project, the Lower Thames Crossing, could harm the irreplaceable ecosystem and ancient trees here. Jack, leader of our woods under threat team, explains what's at stake and the challenges and strategies involved in trying to maintain a delicate balance between development and nature. A decision on whether the project goes ahead is due from Government in May 2025. We also meet estate manager Clive, who delves into Ashenbank Wood's history, tells us more about why ancient woodland is so important and shows us the unusual approach of strapping deadwood to trees. Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk Transcript You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive.  Adam: Today I am at a site of Special Scientific Interest in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is teeming with extraordinary wildlife, and I'm told you can stand in the shadows of gnarled veteran trees and even spot some shy dormice, rare bats, and woodland wildflowers if you're there at the right time of year. But it is also a site under threat. National Highways propose to build a new tunnel linking Essex and Kent under the River Thames, and many feel that that will create a threat to the trees and wildlife here. So I've come not just for a walk, but to chat to experts and the first is the man responsible for coordinating the Woodland Trust response to big infrastructure projects and to chat to him about how infrastructure and nature can live hand in hand.  Jack: So I'm Jack Taylor, I'm the programme lead for the woods under threat team at the Woodland Trust.  Adam: Brilliant. And we're at Ashenbank Woods?  Jack: We are indeed.  Adam: Good, OK, sorry, yeah *laughs* I know I should sound more sure, we are at Ashenbank Woods.  Jack: I think its full title might be Ashenbank Woods SSSI, site of special scientific interest.  Adam: Oh right yes, yes. And we're going to see a bit later a colleague of yours, Clive, who will tell us more about the details of this woodland. But the reason why I wanted to talk to you first as we walk through, what is a lovely, actually dappled, dappled bit of woodland here is about your role in protecting places like this from development because, so what, what is your job?  Jack: Yeah, it's beautiful. That's a good question *laughs* what is my job? I I suppose the the base of it, the basis of it, the foundation really is about trying to protect ancient woods and ancient and veteran trees from forms of development, but also from other threats outside of that as well. So non-development threats like air pollution, pests and diseases, deer overbrowsing. Most of my work does focus on working within the development sector and trying to protect against those development threats.  Adam: Right, and you're the project lead.   Jack: Yeah.  Adam: When I first saw that, I thought you meant you're the project lead for this woodland, but you are not. You are the project lead for all development threatening woodlands throughout the UK. This is an extraordinary, I mean that's quite a job.  Jack: Yeah, it's it's a lot. There are a lot of threats to have to deal with across the UK because we're always building always sort of growing as a nation. We always need sort of new forms of infrastructure and new sort of housing. We recognise that. But all of that does come with the added impact of having threats on our ancient woods and ancient and veteran trees, so we have a team of myself and my my wonderful team of four as well.  Adam: Alright. Yeah, it's not big.  Jack: No, it's not big, but they they are enthusiastic and they're great at what they do.  Adam: So this is quite a political area because we've got a new government which has promised to improve lots of things, get the country working, build lots of homes. I think, I think the Prime Minister only recently talked about, you know, we're going to get spades in the ground, we're going to be doing stuff. Well, is it your job to stop all of that, I mean, or how do you balance what needs to be done for the country and what needs to be done to protect woodlands?  Jack: Yeah. So it's so none of this is really about stopping development from from happening and we we have to be sort of quite clear that that's not what we're set out to do as an organisation. It's about trying to ensure that where development is happening. It's not going to impact on our most important and our most valuable woods and trees and that's why we do have a focus specifically on ancient woodland, but and then also on ancient and veteran trees as well, because we know that for the most part, there are lots of really valuable woods and wooded and wooded habitats and trees that are plenty sort of valuable and important. But we know that ancient words and ancient and veteran trees are likely to be our most important sites. We have to focus on protecting those. So we do have to object to some developments where we think the harm is gonna be too great, but we're never really looking to stop them from happening, unless the harm is too great.  Adam: OK. Which way?  Jack: Umm, I think right.   Adam: OK. So one of the things I've noticed before, I mean, when I was following the HS2 debate, was politicians were going ‘it's fine, it's fine, it's fine. We'll cut this down, we're going to replace them. I tell you what, we'll do you a deal, we'll plant two for every one we cut down.' On the face of it that sounds reasonable?  Jack: OK. Yeah, not to us.   Adam: Why not?   Jack: Well, I think if you're, if you're looking at ancient woodlands and ancient and veteran trees, you're looking at something that is an irreplaceable habitat. There is no sort of recreating that habitat in in one space again, once it's been lost and the reason for that is these things take centuries to evolve and develop to create those sort of vital links between animals, plants, fungi, the soils as well. So ancient woodlands are especially important for their soils. So you can't really just take those soils and put them elsewhere because once that happens you completely disturb the relationships that have built up over centuries within them. And ancient and veteran trees, so you're talking about trees that for the most part are going to be centuries years old. How do you how do you replace centuries of development creating these wonderful sort of niche habitats for different parts of our ecosystems?   Adam: And is it, you said quite clearly that it's not your job or the Trust's job just to stop development, just to sort of blanket go, ‘hey, stop building' so is it about going, ‘don't build here' or is it about saying, ‘if you're gonna build here, this is how to do it with the least amount of impact'? What's the sort of your approach?  Jack: Yeah. In some cases it is about saying not, not building here. It depends what we're dealing with, I suppose so it's different if you're dealing with, say, housing developments or leisure facilities as opposed to something like rail infrastructure or road infrastructure, which is quite linear in nature, so they can only really go in one place to deliver its purpose, whereas housing is not as locationally dependent.  Adam: I see. So you feel you've got a better argument if it's a housing project, cause you can go, ‘put it somewhere else', but the train journey from A to B has to sort of go through this area. You're you're on a loser there are you?  Jack: Well, sometimes, but there are there are ways of of getting around sort of kind of impact. I mean it doesn't have to go absolutely sort of A to B in one way. You can think very carefully about the design to try and minimise impact on ancient woods. You can also look at alternative solutions, engineering solutions like tunnelling for example, so HS2 is a good example of that. The Phase One section which is going ahead between London and Birmingham, they actually put in a tunnel under the Chilterns, which saved about 14 hectares of woodland saved these three really good prime areas of ancient wood. And of course the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty came into that in a way, and they were trying to protect that also. But that was one solution to stop wildlife and nature being harmed.  Adam: Right. So that's, was this, were you involved with that?   Jack: Yeah, yeah.   Adam: Amazing. So how difficult was that to get that that project through and try to avoid the destruction of all that woodland?  Jack: Well, a lot a lot of destruction still is happening from High Speed 2. So about 20 hectares of ancient woodland has been destroyed at this stage now. A lot of the sort of preparation works for the Phase One section, that London to Birmingham bit, are now complete. So it it was difficult, but it it the way in which we were involved is we really brought ancient woodland to the table and put it at the forefront of considerations and and gave it a voice I suppose. It's not that it wasn't being looked at at all, but not nearly to the degree that we thought it needed to be looked at. And so we sort of kind of introduced that idea of well look, there's ancient woodland here, you need to be thinking carefully about the design and, you know, you think you're talking about halving the impacts on ancient woodlands from from our sort of kind of involvement and involvement of other conservation organisations in there as well.  Adam: So a lot of it is trying to say, to make the argument, but also to raise the profile of that argument,   Jack: Sure.  Adam: To bring, population and say this is actually a loss. You know, cutting it down is is a loss. So how much harder or easier has it got for you to make that argument?   Jack: Well, do you know, interestingly, I I would probably say that projects like High Speed 2, where there is such a big argument around the ancient woodland has raised the profile of ancient woodland itself. That's one of the sort of silver linings of that project for us, it's put sort of ancient woodland on the map in terms of habitat that needs to and is worthy of protection. So I think a lot of people now understand ancient woodland a bit better and what it is. There's still lots of awareness to do, you know, people just think of ancient woodlands as bluebells, big large oaks and it's not quite there. I mean, they're all so kind of varied in their nature and geographically across the country, but it's got people thinking about them.  Adam: So that was something of a success, although I know more complicated than just ‘yes, we won that'.   Jack: Sure, yeah.   Adam: Any areas you feel you really lost that, you know, keep you up at night, you go, that was that was a failure and you know, we've lost that woodland?  Jack: Yeah. I mean, there've been, there've been some over the years. Back in 2012 a a large quarry was built on an area of woodland called Oaken Wood in Kent, probably taking about out about 30 to 35 hectares of ancient woodland which is massive, massive amounts, I mean, you're talking about in the region it's like 40 to 50 football fields and and and we're actually dealing with another threat to that woodland from an expansion of that same quarry. So yeah, you know that that one is one that gnaws gnaws at us, is that, you know, we don't want to see that happening anymore.  Adam: Are you getting more optimistic that you know the public are more on your side that this is at least something that plays in policymakers' decisions now?  Jack: I I actually think the public have always really been on our side. I think if you ask the the general public, they would probably say to you, we do not want to see ancient woodlands subject to any loss or deterioration, whatever the cause.  Adam: Yeah, I think you're right. But they also say, yeah, but we like cheaper housing and want better transport links so.  Jack: Yeah. Well, I mean the Lower Thames Crossing, which is going to be affecting this site that we're in now, Ashenbank Wood is sort of a prime example of that the the intention of that project is to relieve traffic congestion on the existing Dartford Crossing.  Adam: Which I think actually I can hear in my headphones this, although we are, I mean it looks beautiful, there's quite a lot of background traffic noise. So we can't be that far away actually from from transport, from big roads. So explain to me you say this this particular site, Ashenbank Woods which is a site of Special Scientific Interest, so it's not just any old woods, this is a really special place, is under threat. What is the threat here?   Jack: So the threat here is partially there will be some loss to the wider SSSI ancient woodland in the area when you're losing sort of kind of, Ashenbank Wood itself is not going to be subject to much loss, although there is a cycle route diversion going through the woods that might impact on some of its special features.  Adam: Oh one second just, we've we've just turned off the path, we're just, oops crawling under some trees. I don't quite know why we've come, we we seem to have chosen the most difficult route. Well, it is beautiful because we've come off the path right into a magic dell.   Jack: There we go.  Adam: Oh, look, there's obviously some, I think, probably some kids have built a sort of camp, tent out of fallen branches. OK, so sorry so I understand that this is under threat from development, the the development plan though is what? What are they trying to do here?  Jack: So so what they're doing is they're building a new crossing further to the east of Dartford Crossing, but that's going to involve connecting...  Adam: A river crossing, a tunnel?  Jack: Yes a river crossing.   Adam: But it's a tunnel.   Jack: Yeah, it's a tunnel.  Adam: Why would that? That's that's great, surely?  Jack: Well, the tunnel goes under the Thames. But in order to connect the A2/M2 to the to the sort of tunnel portal, they're going to be going through a lot of ancient woodlands as a result. So just down the way Clay Lane Wood is one that's going to be heavily impacted by by the proposals, you know several hectares of ancient woodland loss there, but in terms of our wood itself, you're you're gonna have impacts on some of the veteran trees from some of the works that are required in here. But you're also sort of increasing the traffic around the area on A2/M2. And as you can hear, there's already quite loud background noise from the traffic. If that becomes louder, it further reduces the suitability of this habitat for a lot of species.  Adam: Right. So what are your, what are you doing?  Jack: Well we're campaigning against it for one thing. So we've been campaigning against it since 2016, trying to bring those bring those sort of impacts down as far as possible. At this point in time, I would probably say that it's unfeasible, that it could go ahead without causing loss or damage to ancient woodland and veteran trees, and that's something that we have to oppose as an organisation. So we're working with other environmental NGOs, conservation orgs like RSPB, Buglife, Wildlife Trust, CPRE to to oppose this scheme.  Adam: So, and if people want to keep an eye on the sort of campaigns you're running, and the sort of live issues around the country, where can they get that information?  Jack: They can go along to woodlandtrust.org.uk/campaigns and they'll be able to find out about what we're doing in terms of campaigning for protection of ancient woods and veteran trees. We've got a really great campaign at the moment, all about protecting ancient and veteran trees and we're stood in in front of one of these at the moment, we call them Living Legends.   Adam: Right OK, what a lovely link, because I I was gonna say you've brought me to a stand. It looks like a sculpture this, so what, so let me just briefly describe this. I mean, it's a hollowed out tree. There's, it almost looks like there's 3 or 4 bits of different trees supporting each other, and you can go hide in the middle. I mean, there's, I'd, I couldn't spread my arms in the middle, but I mean almost, you know, there's probably, I don't know, 4 or 5 foot wide in the middle. It's most extraordinary. What is this? What's going on here?  Jack: So I would probably say this is an ancient ash tree. As trees sort of grow older, they they have to sort of kind of allow their heartwood to to rot away because that's what keeps them sort of stable and secure and in doing so that creates really important habitat for wildlife. And so this is what has happened to this ash tree effectively, its heartwood has sort of rotted away, it's still got this kind of all important surrounding ripewood to be able to support the rest of the tree.  Adam: That's extraordinary. So the the, the, the wood at the centre of the tree, the heartwood has gone?  Jack: Yes, yeah, yeah, cause it it's not it's not really useful for for trees at that sort of point. It's it's no longer the part of the wood that's carrying the sort of the water and nutrients up the tree. That's what the sort of outer ripewood does. So the heartwood decays away as they as they grow older.  Adam: And that's just ash trees is it?  Jack: No, that's that's pretty much all. Yeah.  Adam: How ignorant am I? OK, fine. OK. I didn't realise that that happens to all trees. And it looks like that would cause an instability problem, but this looks actually fairly fairly stable, it's fine.  Jack: It it's it's actually it's actually the other way they do it because it allows them to remain as stable as possible. And I I mean this one it doesn't, it doesn't look in the best sort of structural condition does it, but they need to do that for their sort of physiological condition because if they have if they're trying to support too much sort of heartwood then it affects the trees energy balances. And I mean that there's actual sort of scientific things here between the kinetic and the potential energy in a tree and why why they do this but all old trees do it and in turn it creates this amazing habitat, so you can see all these little holes in the in the sort of kind of inside wood and the decaying wood as well, where insects have sort of burrowed into it, where birds would be, woodpeckers, you know would be would be accessing that as well.   Adam: Yeah. Amazing   Jack: Amazing structures, aren't they?  Adam: And so I'm going to meet now, one of the people responsible for actually managing woods such as Ashenbank, and he's waiting for me a bit further into the woods.  Clive: OK, I'm Clive, Clive Steward, I'm one of the estate managers for the Woodland Trust working in the South East.  Adam: So what is important about this site? What makes this wood special?  Clive: What makes this site special is that it's ancient woodland or partly ancient woodland, but it's also managed as a wood pasture or has been managed as a wood pasture in the past, and because of that habitat it has lots and lots of old trees and old trees is very important in terms of what they support in terms of dead and decaying habitats.  Adam: Right, so well we're standing by this extraordinary ash tree, I mean, it's extraordinary that there's an ash tree at all, given ash dieback, but it's extraordinary for all sorts of other reasons. But is ash a big part of this woodland?  Clive: In terms of its name, Ashenbank, you you think it should be but but it's it is a component of the site but it's not, the majority species is not ash.   Adam: What is this site then?  Clive: So mostly sycamore and we're in the northern part of Ashenbank where we've got a lot of sycamore and we've got some really big old sweet chestnuts, but there are lovely old oak trees and hornbeam trees.  Adam: Right. And so when we talk about ancient woodland, it's always worth, I suppose, explaining a bit about what we mean because clearly will go, well, that's old. But old for trees can be a whole different sort of thing. So how, what, what, what do you mean when you're talking about ancient woodlands?  Clive: Well, when we say ancient woodland ancient woodland is defined as areas which have been permanently wooded since 1600AD. That's the sort of the the the date.  Adam: Oh right, I didn't realise it was that precise.  Clive: Well, it well, yes, it's roughly when big old estates used to produce maps, so they discovered paper and started drawing maps of what they owned but prior so before this this, the assumption is that if it's wooded then it would have been wooded ever since the Ice Age retreated but managed by mankind for for thousands of years.  Adam: So we're, we're assuming actually that ancient woodland is all it's probably been here since the Ice Age?  Clive: Yes. Yeah.  Adam: So that's why I mean that's it's worth I think pausing on that because it's why when we're talking about ‘oh, we'll have to destroy a bit of woodland for a tree, for a road' sorry, we're talking about taking away a bit of the landscape, which has been there since the Ice Age probably. So that's quite a big deal to have done that.  Clive: Yeah, yeah. It is. It is. Yeah. The the other part of Ashenbank, which is the bit we're in is a more recently wooded area, probably about 200 years old. I have a a map here which is not good for a podcast, but I can show you a map.  Adam: Go on go on, we can describe this. Hold on. I'll hold the microphone and you can describe what we're seeing. So go on, yes.  Clive: So we have a a map here of Ashenbank Wood dating from 1797, which shows the woodland it used to be. I have another map showing the wood as it is today. So here's a map from a couple of years ago, but we're we're actually up here, which in the 1797 map shows fields. And now, now, now it's woods. So so basically, what's happened this Ashenbank used to be owned by Cobham Hall, which is a big estate to the east of Halfpence Lane, so this used to be partly of Cobham Hall Estate and in 1790, as many of these big old estates houses used to do, they used used they they employed a landscape architect to make their their grounds nicer as it were. So it wasn't Capability Brown, but it was a chap called Humphrey Repton who worked on this site from 1790 to about 1880, when he died 1818 when he died. And he landscaped the estate and the view from the house over to here looking west to what is now Ashenbank Wood was obviously important to him. So they actually planted a lot of these big old chestnuts which we walked past, which date from 200 years ago.  Adam: Which is very nice and we often hear about cutting trees down and looking at old maps going ‘oh, we've lost all that wood', here's an example of the reverse to actually that's a good nature story.  Clive: Yeah, yeah, definitely it is. Yes. As you get older, as they get older, these trees there are microhabitats which develop rot pockets, branches fall off, they they rot, big holes develop and that that's these microhabitats which are home to what's called saproxylic species.   Adam: OK, that's a new word, saproxylic?  Clive: Saproxylic. So saproxylics are are basically insects and beetles and flies which only exist in dead and decaying wood. So if these big old trees weren't around, they've got nowhere to live.  Adam: Right, which is why it's useful to have deadwood on the ground. It's not so, it looks untidy, but actually that's often the richest place.  Clive: Indeed. Yeah, yes, but often, but often these insects and beetles are actually in the living tree, not in the in the horizontal, dead and dying stuff. And it's the living trees, which are are why this habitat is so important.  Adam: But I thought you said you said they're living in the living trees, but but saproxylic means they're living in the dead trees?  Clive: But within these big old trees, there are these rot holes and pockets and little microhabitats within the tree...  Adam: Yes, which are dead and that's where they live?   Clive: Where they live yeah that's right.  Adam: Right OK. Yeah, very interesting. OK, very interesting. Now, there's also, I knew I was told, but I'm completely confused by, an idea that I'm told that goes on here of strapping deadwood to live trees. Did I did I misunderstand that?  Clive: No, no, you you didn't misunderstand it. No.   Adam: OK and you're going to show me where this is ?  Clive: Yep. Shall we shall we go, we'll we'll walk there, have a look.  Adam: Alright. Brilliant. So you've taken me to this tree, a very substantial tree, but next to it, this is the a bit of, what, you better explain, because this is really odd and I don't really understand what I'm looking at.  Clive: Right. Well, going back to 1999 when High Speed One was being built, they took out three hectares of Ashenbank Wood along with lots of other woodland in the area. And fortunately, somebody had the idea of of suggesting that we could save some of those big trees they felled and reerecting them against living trees to help them degrade and and become part of the habitat.  Adam: So I mean to describe this, we've got a very big tree. What sort of tree is this?  Clive: So you've got a big, big oak tree.  Adam: That's a big oak, and next to it is 6, 12, I don't know, 30 foot, 40 foot high dead tree, bit of bark. But it's it's not like a small, it's a 40 foot bit of bark which you have propped onto the living tree. Why is it better to have done that than just to leave it on the ground?  Clive: Well, it's about these microhabitats. So I mean, it's not just propped up it's actually strapped to it, so it's actually quite secure.  Adam: It is secure, that's y your health and safety hat on.  Clive: We had to make sure it was strapped up, but vertical dead or decaying wood is equally as important as horizontal, dead and decaying wood.  Adam: OK. Is it different? What, does it do different things?  Clive: The wood doesn't but it attracts different insects and species so that that that's why so. But in most in most woodlands you'll see deadwood as being felled trees which are lying or windblown. You don't often see dead vertical trees.  Adam: I've never seen that.  Clive: Well, they're often well, they're often felled and taken out for firewood or something but they are important as as a sort of microhabitat for these saproxylics. That that's purely why.  Adam: So the saproxylics which are insects which live on deadwood prefer, some prefer the high rise living of the vertical tree rather than the low level bungalow type living. But what what sort of, do you do, don't worry if you don't know, but do you know which insects prefer living vertically?   Clive: I I don't know that.  Adam: You don't. Somebody will, somebody will.  Clive: Yeah somebody will. But if you look at that tree, you'll see that it's a there's a there's a U-shaped crook 2/3 way up and in that there's there's a there's a hole which has probably got water in it. So water gathers from rain and that's that that little microhabitat will be, something will live in it. And if that was horizontal, it wouldn't be there.  Adam: Right, yes, yes. Well that I think this must be, I mean, we've been doing this for a few years. I've never seen that. So that is amazing. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. So I know that the history of this site goes back quite a long way, not just the natural history, but the human history as well, and am I right in saying there's quite quite a lot of sort of Bronze Age heritage here?  Clive: Well, we've got a Scheduled Ancient Monument which has been dated to between 2000 and 1500 BC, which is a big burial mount and it is scheduled and it's, you know, English Heritage monitor it and we have to make sure it's free of trees and it's there to see.  Adam: Right. Wow. And it's interesting you talk about it's there to see because we came and parked in the Woodland Trust car park. Free parking, as is normal in Woodland Trust places, first time though a full car park. We are here midweek during the day. I was surprised to see it's full so talking about visitors, this is clearly a, I mean have I just come at a weird time, have they all come to see the Woodland Trust podcast being made, it's right, it's a popular site. That always feels like contention to me because I know you want to encourage people to come, on the other hand, coming in a sort of, destroys a bit of what we see. How much of a problem are the level of visitors?  Clive: Well, we basically have a path network through Ashenbank Wood which we maintain, we mow, we make sure it's open and safe. So most people walk on those those paths which steers people around the the wood, as it were, so and we we don't stop people from walking off the path but most people don't cause it's, you know, nettles or brambles or whatever. It's difficult to do.  Adam: Right, yes. And keeping dogs on the lead and everything. You've been with the Trust for a long time, haven't you, really. What sort of change have you seen in the the the debate around the natural world in your time here?  Clive: That's a big question.  Adam: Have you, I mean, sort of, it assumes you have seen a change, you might not have seen a change. I mean I the reason I ask it is because it feels to me it's gone up the political agenda, that it's not just, you know, people dismissively talking about crazy tree huggers and let them onto their own thing. It's become more mainstream. Do you think that that's it's become more optimistic, do you think it's become more pessimistic, do you think, you you know, it's become more informed, I suppose?  Clive: Well, I think there's a growing recognition that ancient woodland is a special habitat, but it hasn't quite gone far enough to get total protection. But I think there's a growing realisation that ancient woodland is special and we need to look after it. And I think the politicians probably do understand it, but maybe can't quite make that move to legislate against total protection.  Adam: Yeah. And I think that's part of the Living Legend campaign that the Woodland Trust is organising, isn't it?  Clive: Definitely is. Yeah. Yeah, very much so.  Adam: Well, there were two websites we talked about today. So if you want to get involved in a local campaign, search for ‘Woodland Trust campaigns' and you can find out more about the attempts to get better legal protection for ancient and veteran trees by searching for the Living Legends campaign and of course I hope you get a chance to visit Ashenbank Woods yourself. So until next time, happy wandering.  Thank you for listening to the Woodland Trust Woodland Walks. Join us next month when Adam will be taking another walk in the company of Woodland Trust staff, partners and volunteers. And don't forget to subscribe to the series on iTunes or wherever you are listening. And do give us a review and a rating. If you want to find out more about our woods and those that are close to you, check out the Woodland Trust website. Just head to the visiting woods pages. Thank you. 

Meet 2 amazing giant vegetable growers at the Malvern Autumn Show! Dave had the 2nd biggest cucumber and he was very proud of it. Is there a knack to growing huge veg? Find out. Darren answers a great question on when and how to plant bare root roses and why they might be a better purchase than buying a rose in a pot. He also brings you his October foraging slot. Mollie talks to Buglife to find out which insects you might find in the garden this month. Gather round... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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" - David and Maya discuss why badgers walk like an actor called Michael Bryant, how Ladybirds are actually Transformers, why Entomologists hate "The Hungry Caterpillar", and why beetles deserve a co-credit for authoring Darwin's "The Origin of the Species". Most importantly, hear how Maya's journey into our natural world was far from guaranteed; in reality, it was a wild journey forged through stories, storytelling and one or two lies. Initially just a "Bug Tourist", Maya is now the Vice President for the insect charity BugLife, and manifested the world's first Masters Degree in Entomology. All that, and how to survive if you were ever to find yourself in a battle against a human-sized beetle! Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Title image : Grey-banded Mining Bee (Andrena denticulata) Steven Falk Wild Belfast and Buglife have come together to highlight the alarming loss of wildlife-rich brownfield habitat across Belfast. Some brownfield sites in Belfast can support rare and endangered wildlife, including well-loved species such as Red-shanked Carder Bee (Bombus ruderarius), Common Lizard (Zootoca vivipara) and Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus). However, many of these nature hotspots are at risk from being lost to development. Belfast wildlife needs protection "The state of Belfast's brownfields: nature under threat" 2024 report shows that over a seven-year period, 40% of 47 brownfield sites that Buglife had previously identified as important for wildlife in Belfast have been lost, damaged or are in immediate threat. Concerningly, when live planning applications are also considered, over 60% of the total area of this vital habitat has either been lost or is under immediate threat- with potentially profound impacts for nature in the city. Brownfields can support a huge diversity of wildlife, often providing refuges for species which have suffered population crashes as a result of habitat loss, such as wildflower meadows disappearing from the landscape. They can include quarries, disused railways lines, spoil heaps, even former industrial estates that have been allowed to develop into urban havens for wildlife. Sadly, despite often being the last remaining 'wild' green spaces in Belfast's neighbourhoods, brownfields are frequently targeted for development. Conor McKinney, Chair of the Wild Belfast community group says, "Now is a critical period for the protection of biodiversity. Our planning system offers the potential to protect and enhance biodiversity- or to destroy it. Despite being a priority habitat our planning system is currently failing to protect wildlife-rich brownfield sites in Belfast, or indeed across Northern Ireland. Nature and planning authorities must seize the opportunities available to them to protect these sites for nature and the communities with which they share these valuable wild urban spaces". Buglife has previously identified and measured the extent of brownfields important for invertebrates in a 2017 report- a habitat often referred to as 'Open mosaic habitat on previously developed land'. Shortly after that report, the habitat was listed as a conservation priority in Northern Ireland. However, this new study that revisits these sites suggests that despite this commitment, these important wildlife sites are still being lost, hindering the city's nature recovery ambitions. Jamie Robins, Programmes Manager of Buglife says, "Brownfields which have been reclaimed by nature are becoming increasingly important for our rare invertebrates as the wider countryside is degraded. We need to do more to protect these wildlife havens. The remaining wildlife-rich brownfields should be protected from development and embraced as a key nature recovery solution, and celebrating the role they have to play in giving communities a place to connect with nature." The 2024 report suggests that Belfast's brownfields need to be better recognised and protected by the planning system. It also suggests that the best sites be incorporated into the important Site of Local Nature Conservation Importance (SLNCI) network. In addition, the report looks beyond Belfast and recommends that a Northern Ireland wide inventory of the habitat should be urgently created. Buglife is the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates our aim is to halt the extinction of invertebrate species and to achieve sustainable populations of invertebrates. Invertebrates are vitally important to a healthy planet - humans and other life forms could not survive without them. The food we eat, the fish we catch, the birds we see, the flowers we smell and the hum of life we hear, simply would not exist without bugs. Invertebrates underpin life on earth and wit...

The Bugs Matter 2024 survey, led by Buglife and Kent Wildlife Trust, is calling on citizen scientists across the UK to participate in this crucial insect population study. Since the first reference survey in 2004 led by RSPB, analysis of records from nearly 26,500 journeys across the UK shows a continuing decrease in bug splats, with the number of splats sampled on vehicle number plates by citizen scientists decreasing by 78% nationwide between 2004 and 2023. Bugs Matter 2024 survey "We're at a critical juncture in the 2024 survey season," says Paul Hetherington, Buglife Director of Fundraising and Communications. "The summer holidays present an ideal opportunity for families to contribute to this important citizen science initiative while on their travels. Many people are noticing fewer insects this year so please collect more data over your summer break to help us understand the situation better." The 2024 survey began on 1 May, and since then 5,292 journeys have been logged, covering an impressive distance of 146,291 miles, showcasing the collective effort of citizen scientists across the UK to collect valuable scientific data. Each journey recorded represents a vital contribution to our understanding of insect abundance and the data will help to inform better conservation policy and practice to save our bugs. Dr Lawrence Ball, Kent Wildlife Ecological Data Analyst Lead shares: "Notably, participants in the South East have emerged as the front runners, having logged an impressive 1,279 journeys over the survey period so far. The East of England and Scotland are not far behind with 1,068 and 472 journeys, respectively, but there is still time for these regions and others to overtake before the end of September!" A noticeable lack of insects across the UK this summer has been the subject of much discussion across many social media platforms and discussion groups; with individuals and conservation groups expressing their fears about our future if we don't take action for insects now. A number of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation charities have recently come forward with anecdotal observations linking to possible declines in insects too. Bat conservation groups across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Worcestershire, Essex and South Lancashire have said that they are seeing an increase in the number of "starving" or "underweight" bats, often juveniles, who need to be rescued and cared for by volunteers. In some places, they are seeing fewer bats than they usually do in the summer. Similarly, Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue recently shared that "This year has been a true 'eye-opener' into the 'issues' regarding the lack of insect life and the weather patterns. The direct impact on insectivores/garden birds across various species has been all too clear: failed nestlings, abandoned nests/broods, and emaciation cases. As well as garden birds, we have taken on the care of 16 juvenile swifts, and many of these admissions have been emaciation cases." Conservationists are expressing that several factors may be contributing to the lack of insects, including habitat loss, pesticide use, light pollution, invasive non-native species and changing climate, and the knock-on effects on other species. Many experts are also advising that the unusual weather conditions of the last two years are an exacerbating factor. With a prolonged wet spring, and colder than usual summer conditions, many insect breeding cycles will have been impacted. Dr Lawrence Ball emphasises the need for more research: "While these theories are plausible and anecdotal observations are valuable, we need robust data to understand the full picture. That's why every contribution to the Bugs Matter survey is vital." The 2024 survey ends on 30 September 2024. Families, friends and individuals are encouraged to take part in the survey as part of their summer holiday activities. Further details on supporting Bugs Matter can be found at buglife.org.uk/get-involved/ surveys/bugs-matter/ Bug...

‘If we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world's ecosystems would collapse.' Sir David Attenborough.From pollination and seed dispersal to pest control and nutrient cycling, insects and other invertebrates provide humanity with a wide plethora of ecosystem services. Without them, nature and subsequently the global economy will collapse into ruin.Unfortunately, despite their significance, invertebrates are under immense threat. According to a study published in 2019, 40% of all insect species are declining. Threats ranging from climate change, light pollution, habitat loss, pesticides, and pharmaceutical waste are dimming the future of invertebrates globally.In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, Paul Hetherington from Buglife and I, discuss the insectinction. Paul elaborates upon the projects that Buglife is spearheading to help halt and reverse the insectinction. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anishbanerjee.substack.com

A mum and her young daughter have been injured after a teacup became detached from a ride at Dreamland.Kate Davies was visiting the Margate theme park with three year-old Poppy when it happened last Wednesday. We've had a statement from the theme park.Also in today's podcast, police say they're 'well prepared' to respond to any potential protests in Kent.It's as reports on socials suggest far-right groups plan to gather at three sites in the county - although we've decided not to share those details.Hear from Neil Mennie who heads up the Kent Police Federation and has been explaining how officers train to deal with violent disorder.Meantime, the man who oversees the police in Kent has told the KentOnline Podcast the force is determined to crack down on shoplifting.It's after data revealed a 39% increase in offences.It's been revealed our food security is being put at risk by a dramatic drop in the number of pollinators and insects in Kent.Data's collected each year by recording the number of bug splats on car number plates. The charity behind it is called Buglife and we've been speaking to Paul Hetherington who's one of the directors.And in sport, Gillingham have added another player to their squad ahead of the season starting on Saturday.Former Charlton player Euan Williams has featured in most of their pre-season games.

A young man from Essex who didn't really know what stand-up comedy was until his twenties, Russell Kane has gone on to become one of the UK's best comedians since taking the chance to step on stage.  How did Russell catch the comedy bug? Can he identify a musty flannel? Who will he put in the virtual graveyard? In this episode we learn all about leeches. A huge thank you to Craig Macadam from Buglife and Rachel Davies formerly of The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside for telling us all about them! You can pre-order Russell's new book Pet-Selector here Harry is on tour in 2025! Get your tickets at harryhill.co.uk Get in touch: harry@arewethereyetpod.co.uk Website: www.harryhill.co.uk Instagram: @mrharryhill YouTube: @harryhillshow Producer Neil Fearn A 'Keep it Light Media' production All enquiries: HELLO@KEEPITLIGHTMEDIA.COM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 29th of June marks the beginning of swift awareness week. Mark meets Cally Fleming of the Huntly Swift Group at the Bennachie Centre to chat about these amazing birds.The beautiful garden at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre celebrates the Scottish plant explorers of the past. In recent years, a major project has been underway to restore the Explorers garden. Head gardener Caroline Bavey gives Rachel a tour.In the latest edition of Our Story, Mark visits Danish ceramicist Lotte Glob, one of the founders of the Balnakeil Craft Village near Durness. Mark takes a wander around her Sculpture Croft on the shores of Loch Eriboll.Every year, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust publishes a watchlist which gives an indication of how our native breeds are faring. Rachel meets up with some farmers who keep rare native sheep at the Highland Show, Denise Playfair and Johnathan James, as well as Steve McMinn from RBST in Scotland.It seems that we have been aware of less insects in our gardens and in the wild this June, but why is this? Craig Macadam of Buglife joins us live to discuss the reasons for the decline of insects in Scotland and what we can do about it.Every year, more and more people are signing up to the Shorewatch scheme, a citizen science project run by the marine charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Rachel joins Shorewatch Coordinator Katie Dyke and two seasoned spotters Gary Fahey and Ronnie Mackie at the top of the Burghead visitor centre to learn about the scheme while also watching out for dolphins.Producer Helen Needham's series for BBC Radio 3, Dig Where You Stand, has been on this week. The series involves five musicians from the Celtic Nations unearthing old tunes and songs from specific places. We hear from Allan Henderson, a multi instrumentalist originally from Mallaig, as he shares a story and a tune called Dalshangie that he learnt from his fiddle teacher, Aonghas Grant.Mark visits Blackthorn Salt in Ayrshire to visit the impressive Salt Evaporation Tower. He meets Master Salter Gregorie to find out more about the business and the process behind making the salt.

Text 'Yes' or 'No' in Response to June 2024 Poll!Host Bill McGeeney is joined by David Smith of Buglife, lawyer and policy researcher, Yana Yakushina, and Dark Skies Officer for Cumbria, Jack Ellerby.See Full Show Notes, Lighting Tips and more at LightPollutionNews.com. Like this episode, share it with a friend!Bill's Picks:Why some animals become agitated during solar eclipse, Basel Hindeleh, ABC News. Global study finds there really are more insects out after dark, Mark Wong and Raphael Didham, Phys.org. MHM WANTS TO FIGHT LIGHT POLLUTION, Emmanual Delacour, Est Media Montreal.Episode #7: Dark Sky Tourism,  Avery Morgan, Andrew Galster, and Greg Egbert,  The Reflection. Jasper's dark sky tourism could help combat light pollution: researchers, Local Journalism Initiative.Mirrors in space could boost solar power production on Earth. Here's how.,Tereza Pultarova, Space.com.  Support the Show.Like what we're doing? For the cost of coffee, you can become a Monthly Supporter? Your assistance will help cover server and production costs.

We meet listener Karen who is opening up her garden for The Nation Garden Scheme for the first time this year. Hear how she's getting ready and why she's so nervous! We catch up with Craighouse Cacti who scooped gold at Chelsea to see how they are feeling and also chat to Buglife to discover which insects we will find in our gardens in June. Questions on non flowering wisteria and bedding plants are answered too. Planting up old underwear also features! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A team of entomologists and naturalists from Northern Ireland and Germany have described a new species of beetle, previously unknown to science. The colourful insect, nicknamed the "Fence-climber Twiglet Weevil" due to its prevalence on wooden fences, was discovered in County Down by Buglife Conservation Officer Joshua Clarke, during a night-time survey in September 2022. Introducing the Twiglet Weevil After the initial discovery and additional finds, Joshua partnered with Stewart Rosell, a PhD student based at Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, to intensively search other sites with similar habitats; their efforts uncovered numerous specimens of the mysterious weevil. It was then discovered leading Irish entomologist, Dr. Roy Anderson, had independently collected specimens as early as 2011 that remained undetermined, which were later confirmed to be the same species. To formally evaluate and describe the new species, the Northern Irish team collaborated with Dr. Peter Stüben, a leading weevil researcher at the Curculio Institute in Germany. Dr Stüben described the weevil's morphology and provided its DNA barcode, available in the journal Weevil News. "The distinct features, like the raised reddish-brown structure on its back called the scutellum, along with genetic analysis of its mitochondrial DNA, revealed this weevil was not closely related to any known Western Palearctic species," stated Dr. Stüben. The new weevil has officially been named Xenosacalles irlandikos, which loosely translates as the Irish stranger weevil, reflecting that this colourful weevil probably arrived in Ireland from somewhere else. "This discovery highlights our incomplete understanding of global invertebrate biodiversity," said Stewart Rosell. "and the challenges this creates for entomologists identifying and understanding non-native invertebrates." Joshua Clarke added "The influx of non-native species to Ireland shows no signs of slowing down. Introductions frequently occur through the importation of plants and wood products and factors like climate change may enable introduced species to gain a foothold and proliferate in new regions." He continues "This includes non-native species being described outside of their native range, such as the flatworm Marionfyfea adventor (Jones & Sluys 2016) with probable introduction from New Zealand, and Anasaitis milesae (Logunov 2024), a jumping spider with speculative origins from the Caribbean." The authors had speculated the weevil could be an accidental introduction from another part of the world, like Australia. After publication, they had been contacted by a Tasmanian entomologist and weevil enthusiast, Otto Bell, who recognised the species as a possible undescribed weevil specimen he and his twin brother Bruno Bell had collected in Victoria, Australia. "We only know of several specimens of this previously undetermined species" stated Otto Bell. Two of those specimens are available in the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery collections, with senior curator Dr. Simon Grove on his Facebook page saying, "these specimens were collected by Dick Bashford in 2010 on King Island as by-catch during panel traps for monitoring Ips bark beetles and remained undescribed until now", adding "we agreed Xenosacalles irlandikos is our weevil." This exciting find by the dedicated Irish entomologists working together with international expertise in Germany, and now Australia, contributes to our knowledge of the varied insects present in Ireland, and provides further insight into global biodiversity. Research is currently ongoing to confirm origins, phylogeny, and ecology. Buglife is the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates our aim is to halt the extinction of invertebrate species and to achieve sustainable populations of invertebrates. Invertebrates are vitally important to a healthy planet - humans and other life forms could not survive without them. The food we eat, the fish we catch,...

The troubling extent of insect declines has been highlighted once again by the 2023 Bugs Matter citizen science survey published today. The new report reveals that the abundance of flying insects sampled on vehicle number plates has fallen by a staggering 78% since 2004. The Bugs Matter survey, led by Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife, is supported by a nationwide network of volunteer citizen scientists who record insect splats on their vehicle number plates after journeys. Since the first reference survey in 2004 led by RSPB, analysis of records from nearly 26,500 journeys across the UK shows a continuing decrease in bug splats, with the number of splats in 2023 decreasing by 78% nationwide. Concern over insect numbers Insects are critical to ecosystem functioning and services. They pollinate crops, provide natural pest control, decompose waste and recycle nutrients, and underpin food chains that support birds, mammals and other wildlife. Without insects, the planet's ecological systems would collapse. Dr. Lawrence Ball of Kent Wildlife Trust stated: "These results are extremely concerning, particularly if insect splats serve as an accurate measure of insect populations. This is a red flag for the state of nature in the UK that shouldn't be ignored. A decrease in the number of insects sampled of more than 75% in less than two decades is really alarming, and we're seeing fewer insects being sampled every year! It is critically important that we continue to run Bugs Matter, and we're so grateful for the ongoing commitment of citizen scientists to the Bugs Matter survey, which led to more data in 2023 than in any previous year. " The new data shows decreases in insect splat rates across all regions of the UK, with the sharpest fall between 2004 and 2023 recorded in England at 83%. Scotland saw a 76% drop, while Wales experienced a 79% decrease over the same period. Northern Ireland, with limited data, showed a 54% decline between 2021 and 2023. Andrew Whitehouse of Buglife added: "The latest Bugs Matter data suggests that the abundance of flying insects in our countryside has dramatically fallen. The consequences are potentially far-reaching, not only impacting the health of the natural world, but affecting so many of the free services that nature provides for us. The Bugs Matter findings are similar to other studies which have documented declines in insect abundance from around the world. Human activities continue to have a huge impact on nature - habitat loss and damage, pesticide use, pollution, and climate change all contribute to the decline in insects. Society must heed the warning signs of ecological collapse, and take urgent action to restore nature". The report's authors caution that further long-term monitoring is needed to reliably estimate trends, but stress that the current pace of decline is unsustainable. By taking part in the Bugs Matter survey each year, citizen scientists can provide crucial data to better understand insect population patterns. They call for urgent action to address drivers of insect declines like habitat loss, unsustainable agricultural practices, and environmental pollutants. Andrew Whitehouse concluded: "Thank you to everyone who took part in the Bugs matter survey in 2023. Without your help we would not have this crucial data on the health of our insect populations and our environment. We are relaunching the survey in May this year, and hope that lots more people will join in." The Bugs Matter survey will continue annually to generate crucial data on flying insect populations across the UK. It is quick, free and easy to get involved - just download the free mobile phone app, and start recording insect splats on vehicle journeys. 2024 will see the survey season extended to firstly capture even more valuable data and secondly to potentially account for changes and variations in weather patterns and possible insect emergence events; participants can now record journeys and submit date between...

Buglife's citizen science project, the Scottish Oil Beetle Hunt, needs your help. As part of the partnership programme, Species on the Edge, members of the public are asked to look out for these amazing beetles and record any sightings. Looking for the Scottish Oil Beetle Scottish records of oil beetles on iRecord more than doubled last year due to the combined effort of the Scottish Oil Beetle Hunt and surveying carried out by the Species on the Edge team. Survey work for Short-necked Oil Beetle in particular yielded over 100 records of individual beetles, with many new sites discovered for the species. The Black Oil Beetle was also confirmed from Scotland, following doubt about previous records due to issues with misidentification. In 2023, Short-necked Oil Beetle were found on Tiree for the first time by Ranger Hayley Douglas. Long thought to be present, this discovery is the latest new island site for the species, following on from populations found in North Uist in 2022, and Barra and Islay in 2021. Species on the Edge is an ambitious four-year programme for species recovery in Scotland that aims to take action for 37 declining and threatened species across Scotland's coasts and islands. It is a partnership programme of eight organisations, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The partnership consists of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Bat Conservation Trust, Buglife, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, NatureScot, Plantlife and RSPB Scotland. One of these threatened species is the Short-necked Oil Beetle, which has only been found in a handful of locations within Scotland - the Isles of Coll, Islay and Tiree (Inner Hebrides), as well as Uist and Barra (Outer Hebrides). Classed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species is at high risk of extinction and therefore it's imperative that we learn more about this amazing beetle to help improve its fortunes. Oil beetles are eye-catching, charismatic beetles that are so-called because they exude a yellowish oily substance from their leg joints when threatened. They have been described as looking like they're wearing an ill-fitting waistcoat; the 'waistcoat' being the short wing cases that do not fully cover the beetle's abdomen. Oil beetles are under threat. Populations have declined due to the loss of flower-rich habitats owing to changes in countryside management. As oil beetles are nest parasites of solitary bees, declines in populations of wild bees has worsened their fortunes further as they depend on them for survival. Scotland has fewer oil beetle records than both England and Wales, so it's possible that oil beetles are under recorded in Scotland. To get a better understanding of their current distribution in Scotland, it's important we keep a look at and hear about all sightings of oil beetles. Sally Morris, Buglife Conservation Officer, explains: "Last year was great for oil beetles in Scotland, but we're still far behind England and Wales for records - it's time we catch up! Have you ever seen a shiny black beetle that may be an oil beetle? Please send us a photo and help us to learn more about these amazing beetles within Scotland." Oil beetles have an amazing life cycle, intricately linked to that of solitary bees. After hatching, oil beetle larvae (known as triungulins) make their way onto a flower head where they lie in wait for a solitary bee. Using specialised hooks on their feet, they attach themselves to the back of a visiting female bee and when the bee returns to its underground nest, the triungulin disembarks and continues its development underground, eating through the bee's stores of pollen and nectar. Depending on species, they then emerge in the same or following year, as an adult oil beetle ready to start the life cycle all over again. There are five species of oil beetle in the UK, only three are found in Scotland, these are the Black Oil Beetle (Meloe proscarabaeus), Violet Oil Beetle (Meloe violaceus) and Shor...

In this conversation, Jo Haywood, founder of Skylark Media, discusses her journey as a former BBC producer and her mission to use video as a force for good. She shares her early inspiration from her biologist mother and her desire to make a positive impact on the environment. Jo reflects on her work producing groundbreaking films on climate change in the early 90s and the challenges of raising awareness at a time when few people cared about the issue. She then explains how she founded Skylark with the goal of changing the purpose of business to prioritise people and the planet. Jo highlights some of Skylark's impactful campaigns and videos, including their work with Buglife and their films on hydrogen power. Jo discusses her award-winning collaborations, the importance of building a different type of media business, and the value of B Corp certification. She shares insights on overcoming established thinking, empowering employees, and the need for radical innovative thinking. Jo also emphasizes the importance of finding happiness without consuming power and the need to educate women for a more sustainable society. Her advice for someone with a radical idea is to be ready, shoot, and aim, and to not get caught up in overthinking and delaying action. Key takeaways from this conversation: Video can be a powerful tool for storytelling and raising awareness about important issues. The mission and values of a business should come before the work. It's important to have a clear story and purpose behind your work. The environmental movement has gained traction over the years, and businesses are now recognising the value of incorporating sustainability into their messaging. Videos have the potential to make a significant impact, whether it's securing funding for a cause or influencing government decisions. Collaborations and awards can bring recognition and success in the media industry. Building a different type of media business requires a systemised approach and a focus on customer service. B Corp certification can lead to positive changes in working practices and a more sustainable business. Overcoming established thinking and giving everyone a voice can foster innovative thinking and drive positive change. Finding happiness without consuming power and educating women are important for a more sustainable society. Jo on linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johaywood/ Visit: https://www.skylarkmedia.co.uk/ Rob on linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-warren/

Adrian Leaman from Wholewoods delves into the world of roundhouses and sustainable building practices. The conversation spans from building advice to foundation methods and the importance of using the right timber species in construction. We also discuss different types of roundhouses, techniques for building ring beams and the practicality and sustainability of round structures. Join us as we share experiences and insights into the unique world of roundhouse construction.Episode linksWholewoods - https://wholewoods.co.uk/Buildcamp - https://www.instagram.com/buildcamp/Tony Wrench Roundhouse - https://www.thatroundhouse.info/. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_RoundhouseBuglife (invertebrate roofs) - https://www.buglife.org.uk/Center for ancient technology - https://ancienttechnologycentre.com/Bill Coperthwaite - https://www.insearchofsimplicity.net/BOOK - Bill Copperthwaite - A handmade life - https://tinyurl.com/2pwaetpdTom Ingall Roundhouse - https://www.instagram.com/tom_merlin_ingall/BOOK - Barbara Jones - Building with straw bales - https://tinyurl.com/mu9xfk4fKings Foundation Building Craft Apprenticeship - https://www.kings-foundation.org/education/building-craft-programmeCollect art Fair - https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/collect-fair/collect-art-fair-2024Futurebuild - https://tinyurl.com/4bubkxw6ASBP Healthy Buildings Conference - https://asbp.org.uk/healthybuildings2024Connect with me:IG - @jeffreythenaturalbuilderTwitter - @JNaturalBuilderFacebook - JeffreythenaturalbuilderLinkedIn - JeffreythenaturalbuilderSupport this podcast - https://www.patreon.com/buildingsustainability Support the show and get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Build a Roundhouse - Part 2! Be sure to check out Part 1 first.Episode linksWholewoods - https://wholewoods.co.uk/Buildcamp - https://www.instagram.com/buildcamp/Tony Wrench Roundhouse - https://www.thatroundhouse.info/. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_RoundhouseBuglife (invertebrate roofs) - https://www.buglife.org.uk/Center for ancient technology - https://ancienttechnologycentre.com/Bill Coperthwaite - https://www.insearchofsimplicity.net/BOOK - Bill Copperthwaite - A handmade life - https://tinyurl.com/2pwaetpdTom Ingall Roundhouse - https://www.instagram.com/tom_merlin_ingall/BOOK - Barbara Jones - Building with straw bales - https://tinyurl.com/mu9xfk4fKings Foundation Building Craft Apprenticeship - https://www.kings-foundation.org/education/building-craft-programmeCollect art Fair - https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/collect-fair/collect-art-fair-2024Futurebuild - https://tinyurl.com/4bubkxw6ASBP Healthy Buildings Conference - https://asbp.org.uk/healthybuildings2024Podcast episode - https://www.buildingsustainabilitypodcast.com/building-with-purpose-the-straw-bale-house-experience-jo-bolton-matt-whitaker-bs102/Connect with me:IG - @jeffreythenaturalbuilderTwitter - @JNaturalBuilderFacebook - JeffreythenaturalbuilderLinkedIn - JeffreythenaturalbuilderSupport this podcast - https://www.patreon.com/buildingsustainability Support the show and get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Dig It Chris Day and Peter Brown chat with Val Bourne - a lifelong gardener and award-winning garden writer whose name will be familiar to readers of The Telegraph, Country Life, Gardens Illustrated, Amateur Gardening and Saga magazine amongst others. As well as writing and lecturing, Val is an organic hands-on gardener and by her own admission a committed plantaholic.Plants mentioned: Agapanthus, Artemisia, Antirrhinums, Aquilegia, Aster, bee orchid, Daphne Bholua, Camassia, Cosmos, Foxgloves, flowering cherry trees, Dahlia, Dierama, Lonicera fragrantissima (winter honeysuckle), Hellebores, hardy ferns, Narcissi, Nasturtiums, Paeonia, Pears, Penstemons, Rose Champagne Moment, Rose Wildeve, Red trefoil, Yellow Rattle, Phlox, Snowdrops, Trilliums, Whitebeam, Winter sweet and Zinnia.People, places and products mentioned: Aphids, Buglife, Adam Henson, Ann-Marie Powell (garden designer), Long tailed bees, caterpillar control in salt water, earwigs, Blackspot, Hook Norton Brewery, Ground beetles, Thames Valley radio programme Dig It (no longer broadcast), ladybirds (two, seven spot, meadow species), Book English Pastoral by James Rebanks, Jennifer Owen (zoologist) and her book Jennifer Owen - Wildlife of a Garden: A Thirty-year Study (published by RHS). Andrew Halstead, retired RHS Principal Entomologist. Rothamsted Research Station, Cedric Morris garden at Chelsea, and No Mow May.Val's desert island tool - Cobra headed weeder tool. Castaway plant Amsonia, the eastern blue star plant.Val's book's The Living Jigsaw, (Kew Publishing), The Natural Gardener: The Way We All Want to Garden, (Francis Lincoln) plus Val's 10 Minute Gardener's range of books covering vegetable, fruit, Grow your own and flower growing.Our thanks to Chiltern Music Therapy for supplying the music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Image Fen Raft Spider (Dolomedes plantarius) (c) Liam Olds Wales has become the first country in the world with a map of its most important areas for insects and other invertebrates - a vital source of information to help guide nature recovery in Wales. Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust is launching the 'Important Invertebrate Areas: Putting Bugs on the Map in Wales' report at the Senedd today. The network of 17 Important Invertebrate Areas (IIAs) has been identified by the charity working closely with experts and using millions of records collected by naturalists. Welsh Bugs Mapped Wales is home to iconic and threatened species found nowhere else in Britain, such as the Cliff Mason Bee (Osmia xanthomelana) now only known from two short stretches of Welsh cliff top, and the Critically Endangered Scarce Yellow Sally Stonefly (Isogenus nebecula) which is only found in the River Dee and was once feared once being feared extinct. The IIAs, which are home to nationally or internationally significant invertebrate populations and their habitats, took nearly five years to map. They cover 1,344km2 of Wales. Although this is just 6.5% of the country, they are home to over 10,800 species of invertebrate, including 7 of Britain's endemic species - those found nowhere else in the world. The IIAs are also home to threatened species, including the stunning Blue Ground Beetle (Carabus intricatus), Britain's rarest snail - the Glutinous Snail (Myxas glutinosa), and the Fen Raft Spider (Dolomedes plantarius)- our largest spider. Buglife Cymru Manager, Clare Dinham, said, "Wales' Important Invertebrate Areas, from the Ll?n Peninsula to the South Wales Coast, are home to some of our most special species. But many are under threat. We hope that the new IIA map will help people to learn about and celebrate their local wildlife. And also understand what they can do to help nature recover." Jamie Robins, Programmes Manager, said, "To secure a better future for our invertebrate populations and help nature to thrive, it is essential to know where our most threatened species live. We've started the job by mapping IIAs for Wales, but this is only the beginning. We need decision makers to recognise the important role that invertebrates play and use our IIAs to prioritise much needed conservation action." The full map of IIAs can be explored on the Buglife website, with freely accessible profile documents for each of the 17 IIAs that explain why they are important, the threats they face and what needs to be done to enable their special inhabitants to thrive. Cymru yw'r wlad gyntaf yn y byd gyda map o'i ardaloedd pwysicaf ar gyfer pryfed ac infertebratau eraill - ffynhonnell wybodaeth hanfodol er mwyn helpu i arwain adferiad natur yng Nghymru. Mae Buglife - Yr Ymddiriedolaeth Cadwraeth Infertebratau yn lansio adroddiad 'Ardaloedd Infertebratau Pwysig: Rhoi Pryfed ar y Map yng Nghymru' yn y Senedd heddiw. Mae'r rhwydwaith o 17 o Ardaloedd Infertebratau Pwysig (AIP) wedi ei ddynodi gan yr elusen drwy weithio'n agos gydag arbenigwyr a gan ddefnyddio miliynau o gofnodion a gasglwyd gan naturiaethwyr. Mae Cymru'n gartref i rywogaethau eiconig ac sydd dan fygythiad sydd ddim i'w canfod yn unman arall ym Mhrydain, fel Saerwenynen y Clogwyn (Osmia xanthomelana) sydd bellach ond i'w chanfod mewn dau safle bach ar ben clogwyni yng Nghymru, a'r pryf cerrig prin Isogenus nebecula sydd Mewn Perygl Difrifol, sydd ond i'w gael yn Afon Dyfrdwy ac yr ofnwyd ei fod wedi diflannu am byth. Cymerodd yr AIP, sy'n gartref i boblogaethau o infertebratau o bwys cenedlaethol neu ryngwladol a'u cynefinoedd, bron i bum mlynedd i'w mapio. Maent yn cwmpasu 1,344km2 o Gymru. Er bod hyn yn ddim ond 6.5% o'r wlad, maent yn gartref i dros 10,800 o rywogaethau o infertebratau, yn cynnwys 7 o rywogaethau endemig Prydain - rhai sydd ddim i'w cael yn unman arall yn y byd. Mae'r AIP yn gartref hefyd i rywogaethau sydd dan fygythiad, yn cynnwys y chwilen ddaear Carabus intricatus h...

Rachel is on Deeside where a rare and elusive ant which hadn't been spotted in the area for over 70 years has been rediscovered in large numbers. She hears from the man who found it.And Rachel also chats to Dr Jenni Stockan, an insect ecologist at the James Hutton Institute who confirmed the ant discovery. She explains the process of identifying insects.We hear an excerpt from this week's Scotland Outdoors podcast which features author Peter MacQueen. Peter's family have a hut in Argyll but to get there, you have to cross a stretch of water by boat or canoe. Mark heads out to visit the hut with Peter and his Dad.Dundee Museum of Transport is on a major fundraising drive to make their planned new home weather tight. The museum has major plans for the old Maryfield tram depot but before work to relocate can take place, Mark hears about the maintenance they need to carry out.We have not one but two rare insects on the programme this week as we also hear about the discovery of medicinal leeches in Dumfries and Galloway. Craig Macadam from charity Buglife joins us live to tell us about these fascinating invertebrates.Rachel is in Edinburgh visiting Rhyze, a community mushroom farm. She hears how the group got started in a shipping container on a former industrial site and what their plans are for the future.Paul English joins the Inverclyde Time Teamers, a group of enthusiastic amateur archaeology detectives, and hears about some of their incredible finds.And sticking with archaeology, Mark hears about the discovery of the site of Deer Monastery where it is believed the Book of Deer, possibly the earliest surviving manuscript produced in Scotland, was written. Dr Ali Cameron was part of the dig and she tells Mark about its significance.

A new report by Buglife has found that half of the UK's most special species are at risk of global extinction. The report brings together knowledge on twenty invertebrate species which are endemic to Great Britain. Endemic species are those which are only found in Britain, and nowhere else in the world - they are the crown jewels of our biodiversity. They are species that we have an international responsibility to look after, to ensure that future generations can enjoy them. The twenty special species include the Celtic Woodlouse (Metatrichoniscoides celticus) which is only found in Wales and the West of England, the Lundy Cabbage Flea Beetle (Psylliodes luridipennis) particular to Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, and the Manx Shearwater Flea (Ceratophyllus fionnus) - which lives in the burrows of Manx Shearwater on the Island of Rum in Scotland. Worryingly, the review has found that over half of Britain's endemics are threatened with global extinction, and some may have already been lost forever. The Ivell's Sea Anemone (Edwardsia ivell) - an animal that inhabits coastal lagoons - has not been seen since 1983 and so may already be extinct. Across the country, planning developments threaten to destroy some of the last known habitats for species such as Fonseca's Seed Fly (Botanophila fonsecai), threatened by a golf course development in Scotland, or the Horrid Ground-weaver Spider (Nothophantes horridus), threatened by a housing development in Plymouth. Urgent action is required to prevent our endemic species from being lost forever. Further research and monitoring is needed to determine how and where these species survive. Many are so poorly known that we don't even have a photo of them. It is also vital that the important places for our threatened endemics are properly protected. The current protected area network doesn't sufficiently cover our most threatened species and many protected areas aren't managed with these special species in mind. Craig Macadam, Conservation Director at Buglife, and author of the report, said "Our report highlights some of Britain's lesser known wildlife. The high proportion of these special species at risk of extinction is really shocking. Extinction is forever, there is no turning back. The UK has an international responsibility to prevent the extinction of our endemic species. See more breaking stories here.

Delving in to the world of spiders, both garden and house varieties. Mollie talks to Buglife about these fascinating creatures. The amazing Andy Lound brings us the history of the foxglove and we hear from Keith who was taken to hospital with suspected sepsis after a simple prick from a rose thorn on his thumb. As a result, Darren discusses safety whilst gardening. As always, lots of advice, giggles and jobs for the week ahead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The hibernation period is here and we take a look at the beautiful ladybird and explain why there are hundreds hiding in the double glazing! We're joined by the fabulous charity Buglife. Darren answers more of your gardening queries and Andy Lound delves in to the history of carrots. We also laugh a bit.Please do have a look at Buglife, they do amazing work - www.buglife.org.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How are crickets so loud? Why do they chirp at night? How are they different from grasshoppers? We're talking crickets today with Karim Vahed, a cricket and katydid expert and entomologist (bug scientist) in England who works with BugLife, the Invertebrate Conservation Trust. In this episode, Professor Vahed takes on some of pressing general insect questions as well: Do insects have bones? What do baby bugs like to do? Do insects drink water? Why are bugs so important? Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

All week we're assessing the state of the shellfish industry. Brown crabs are a lucrative catch for Northern Ireland's fishermen but concern about a decline in numbers has led to the fishers themselves calling for tighter rules about their extraction. Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has introduced measures limiting the size of crabs which can be landed and now it has gone further, banning fishermen from catching immature, soft shelled crabs. The charity Buglife, which supports invertebrates including crabs and lobsters, welcomes the scheme in Northern Ireland but is calling for improved protection measures for brown crabs around the rest of the UK. They say crab numbers have plummeted, and unlike fish, there are no quotas governing how many crabs can be caught. A multi-million pound oat processing plant will open later this year in Northamptonshire. The new company called Navara brings together a consortium of the growing group Frontier, Anglia Maltings Holdings, and cereal store specialists Camgrain. The plant will supply oats for cereal companies and possibly oat milk processors. It says it will have the capacity to be the biggest factory of its kind in Europe. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

The company behind plans for a huge theme park in north Kent has called in financial administrators. It's 11 years since the idea of the London Resort development on the Swanscombe Peninsula was first suggested. Now, London Resort Company Holdings have revealed they've appointed administrators after getting into £100 million of debt. We've been getting reaction from BugLife which opposes the plan. Also in today's podcast, the home secretary has been visiting Rwanda to see where asylum seekers who cross the Channel to Kent in small boats could be sent. Suella Braverman says she's keen to push ahead with the plans despite objections from charities and human rights organisations. More animals have been released into the wild near Canterbury as part of a plan to boost biodiversity. Hear how cattle, ponies and pigs are now part of the Wilder Blean project. A Sevenoaks man living with the same rare form of dementia as actor Bruce Willis says he intends to live life to the full. Eamonn Dobbyn was diagnosed with FTD dementia four years ago and since then has been unable to work, lost the ability to read and write and has seen his mobility decrease. He's been telling reporter Keely Greenwood all about it. There's been more speculation over the weekend as to whether Bansky has been back in Kent. He posted a video from an open mic session in Margate on his Instagram. And, it was a defeat for Gillingham on Saturday. We've got reaction from manager Neil Harris after they lost 2-0 to Walsall.

A Kent mum has vowed to continue wearing eccentric outfits on the school run, despite getting abuse online. Hear from Charlie Hayes from Folkestone who has been speaking to reporter Millie Bowles. Also in today's podcast, a Northfleet man has spoken out after his house was targeted by young people throwing stones. Hugh Wood has no idea why he is being singled out - and has been telling Alex Langridge how the abuse has escalated. We're going to be paying more money to Kent Police through our council tax from April. An increase of £15 a year for the average Band D home has been approved by a special panel. There's been another worrying decline in the number of bugs in Kent. Figures given to the KentOnline Podcast show flying insects have reduced by nearly 75% in less than 20 years. Hear from charity Buglife. And in sport, Kent cricket are looking for a new batting coach. Ryan ten Doeschate has left after just a year to work in the Indian Premier League.

The Bugs Matter Citizen Science Survey, led by conservation charities Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife, found a 64% decline in insect numbers sampled on vehicle number plates between 2004 and 2022 across the UK, highlighting the urgent need for more, large-scale research on insects, and action to reverse declines in their abundance. As world leaders meet to discuss global declines in biodiversity at the COP15 UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the 2022 Bugs Matter Survey results reveal further shocking declines in the numbers of flying insects in the UK, supporting the call that urgent action is needed to restore insect populations. Increasingly, abundance, not just diversity, is being recognised as a key driver in creating landscapes that are resilient to the impacts of the climate and nature crises. Are falling insect numbers due to record summer temperatures? The Bugs Matter Citizen Science Survey uses an innovative method for the large-scale surveying of flying insect abundance across the UK. The survey runs every summer and involves citizen scientists recording the number of insect splats on their vehicle number plates following a journey. The latest 2022 Bugs Matter report has found that the number of insects sampled by citizen scientists across the UK reduced by a worrying 64% between 2004 and 2022. This is a 5% greater decline than that observed between 2004 and 2021, it is not clear what proportion of this decline is due to the long-term trend or the result of record summer temperatures, but climate change links these two factors. England, Northern Ireland and Wales saw continued declines into 2022, but figures for Scotland showed an upward trend. Insects make up the greatest proportion of life on Earth. They underpin food chains, pollinate most of the world's crops, and provide natural pest control services. Without insects, life on earth would collapse and the survivability of humanity on our planet would be threatened. There are many causes of insect declines – these include the loss and damage to habitats, climate change, pollution of rivers and streams, use of pesticides, and development of wild spaces. There is growing evidence that these factors have caused significant declines in insect abundance in the UK and worldwide – with knock on consequences for other wildlife and for people. The Bugs Matter Citizen Science survey provides an efficient and scalable approach to monitor trends in insect abundance. It is hoped that the survey method could be adopted in other countries, with citizen scientists across the planet taking part to compile a hugely valuable global dataset. The Bugs Matter team are now busy with upgrades to the app in time for the 2023 survey season, including a trial of artificial intelligence to automatically detect the number of insect splats on a number plate. Evan Bowen-Jones, Chief Executive at Kent Wildlife Trust, said : “Thanks to citizen scientists across the country, we are building a better picture of the health of our insect populations and already we are seeing some concerning patterns in the data. However, we need more citizen scientists to take part in the Bugs Matter survey next year and into the future, to understand whether we are seeing actual long-term trends or the impact of the extreme temperatures we faced in 2022. Thank you to everyone who took part in this year's survey. We hope even more citizen scientists will contribute to this valuable dataset in the 2023 survey period and beyond.” Andrew Whitehouse, Head of Operations at Buglife, said: “For the second year running, Bugs Matter has shown potentially catastrophic declines in the abundance of flying insects. Urgent action is required to address the loss of the diversity and abundance of insect life. We will look to our leaders at COP15 for decisive action to restore nature at scale – both for wildlife, and for the health and wellbeing of future generations.” The 2023 Bugs Matter survey season will begin on 1 June 2...

Image Bilberry Bumblebee (Bombus monticola) © Steven Falk “Get the Marches Buzzing” a new Buglife project, set to restore 57 hectares of lowland heath and species-rich grassland across Shropshire and North Herefordshire has received funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Severn Trent Water. Get the Marches Buzzing starts Winter 2022 and will work to restore habitats critical to the survival of the Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) and the Bilberry Bumblebee (Bombus monticola). This project is added to the cohort of B-Lines projects running up and down the country, from Perthshire in Scotland down to Cornwall in South England. New project aims to restore 57 hectares of Shropshire lowland heath Since the 1930s over 97% of all flower-rich grasslands has been lost, leaving our pollinators vulnerable and in serious decline; B-Lines are an imaginative and beautiful solution to this loss. B-Lines are 3km wide ‘insect pathways' running through our countryside and towns, connecting wildflower-rich habitats across the UK. These lines are to be filled with wildflowers to enable pollinators, and other wildlife, to move through our landscape to feed, nest and hibernate. Get the Marches Buzzing will see Buglife teaming up with delivery partner Herefordshire Meadows to work with landowners in North Herefordshire; restoring over 13 hectares of species-rich grassland. In Shropshire, Buglife will be working with Shavington Estate, Telford & Wrekin Council, Severn Trent and the National Trust to restore almost 44 hectares of lowland heath and species-rich grassland. Two roles will be created for this project, a Project Officer and Intern. They will oversee delivery of the habitat works; putting together a wide-reaching events programme engaging with schools, community groups, other local charities, youth clubs and reach out to people in-need through Telford and Wrekin Council's green-prescribing service. Get the Marches Buzzing will also have a strong focus on landowner engagement; working with farmer cluster groups to promote and support nature-friendly farming, as well as hosting events to showcase the work delivered with landowners and inspire further action. A series of webinars, in-person events and volunteering will share knowledge about pollinators, wildlife gardening, practical habitat restoration and species monitoring encouraging people to take action themselves and add their projects to the interactive B-Lines map. Kate Jones, Get the Marches Buzzing Project Officer said, “This project is ambitious in its scope and will do important work for wildlife across our rural and urban landscapes by working with landowners, councils and communities to restore and protect our precious habitats, for wildlife and people to enjoy. We are grateful to National Lottery players for making Get the Marches Buzzing possible. Come and help us on a volunteer workday on one of the lowland heath sites in Telford, join us for guided mindfulness events in a local greenspace or log onto one of our webinars to learn what you can do to help pollinators.” Get the Marches Buzzing is being made possible with substantial funding from National Lottery players, via The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Additional funding has been secured through Severn Trent's Great Big Nature Boost. Severn Trent are funding the habitat restoration work in Shropshire which will contribute to their recently released Pollinator Strategy which aims to show how the organization will champion pollinators across the region, through funding projects like this and through work on their own land. Graham Osborn, Principal Ecologist at Severn Trent, said: “Our Pollinator Strategy sets out exactly why everyone, including large businesses need to champion pollinators, they are vital to a healthy ecosystem for wildlife and habitats. “We're delighted to fund what is a wonderful project that will transform such a large area of heath and grassland in our region as part of our commitment to im...

Invertebrate conservation charity Buglife is thrilled to announce that two new populations of one of Britian's rarest beetles have been discovered in Devon. The rare Blue Ground Beetle (Carabus intricatus) has been found at two new sites on Dartmoor – thanks to the efforts of Buglife staff, volunteers, and local naturalists. Laura Larkin, Buglife Conservation Officer shared “Previously, the Blue Ground Beetle was only known from 13 sites in Devon, Cornwall and South Wales, so these new sightings are really significant, and they show how much we still have to learn about this magnificent beetle!” Blue Ground Beetle, rare beetle discovered on Dartmoor Up to 38mm in length, the Blue Ground Beetle is the UK's largest ground beetle. Given its name as a result of the beautifully marked and strikingly blue-coloured wing cases, the Blue Ground Beetle makes its home in damp, deciduous, often ancient, woodlands of Oak and Beech. Both the adults and their larvae feed on slugs; upon finding their prey, the beetle will bite with its large jaws and inject digestive juices into the slug, eating it by sucking out its insides. Blue Ground Beetles are mainly nocturnal and can be found all through the year, although they are most active and easiest to see from March to June, when adult beetles can be found clambering up mossy tree trunks under cover of darkness, in search of prey. Blue Ground Beetles can be easily confused with some of their smaller, more commonly seen relatives including the Violet Ground Beetle (Carabus violaceus); these beetles can be found throughout the UK, are smaller in size and more purple in their colouring. It would be highly unlikely to find a Blue Ground Beetle outside of its known range. Buglife's Dartmoor Blue Ground Beetle project was established to survey Dartmoor woods; seeking undiscovered populations of the Blue Ground Beetle. Working with local volunteers and naturalist John Walters, the project team have spent many damp torchlit nights searching for the beetle. The hard work and late nights have been rewarded with the addition of two new Blue Ground Beetle sites on Dartmoor during 2022. Claire Hyne, from Papillon Gin who have funded the project said: “We are delighted to be able to provide funding for this important project on Dartmoor. It is very exciting that two new sites have been found this year. Great work from the Buglife team and volunteers”. Richard Knott, Dartmoor National Park Authority's Ecologist, said: “Dartmoor is of national importance for the Blue Ground Beetle, Britain's largest and rarest beetle, and the combination of ancient valley woodlands and humid climate create the perfect conditions for slugs, which adults and larvae feed on. The discovery of these new sites is very exciting and indicates that Dartmoor habitats remain favourable for this rare and fascinating species. There has been further excitement following a member of the public finding a deceased beetle whilst out walking near Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. Tom Waters, who discovered the beetle said “‘I was genuinely thrilled to discover the Blue Ground Beetle in what is one of my favourite spots, and also very proud to be able to provide a new record for the beetle in Cornwall.” Laura Larkin added “These new Blue Ground Beetle records are really exciting. To find two additional sites on Dartmoor and realise that a third site in Cornwall is much larger than we originally thought are very significant for this very rare species. The fact that we now know of 15 UK sites is an incredible boost for these magnificent beetles, and there is still more work to do.” If you're interested in learning more about Buglife's Dartmoor Blue Ground Beetle Project and would like to get involved please visit Dartmoor Blue Ground Beetle Project – Buglife projects Buglife is the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates our aim is to halt the extinction of invertebrate species and to achieve sustainable populations of...

The Scottish Government wants to create a 'bespoke rural visa' to allow remote communities - and farms - to attract people from abroad to work, but it needs the Westminster Government's approval, Charlotte hears from a Scottish minister. One of the newest English vineyards has just opened in Suffolk, Catherine Scarff left a job in the music industry, studied viticulture, and joined the family farm to start a new venture. Some agronomists reckon farmers will lose 20% of their crop to the flea beetle this year, one farmer near Cambridge explains how he has been affected. Meanwhile, as the Government plans to revoke pesticide legislation - when it removes EU laws from the statute books - ministers say that this will not come at the expense of high environmental standards, Matt Shardlow Chief Executive of Buglife is not convinced. Presenter: Charlotte Smith Producer: Alun Beach Editor: Dimitri Houtart

A meat processing plant is claiming to be carbon neutral, using animal fats from the abattoir process to power the plant. ABP has invested millions of pounds in the vast new site at Ellesmere in the Midlands, using state of the art equipment to make the process as easy as possible for the animals themselves, and providing data and insight for the farmers that supply them. A new report by a group of charities says chemicals are the hidden killer in our rivers. WildFish (formerly Salmon and Trout Conservation) worked with the RSPB, BugLife and the Pesticide Collaboration, testing invertebrates from 12 rivers to assess river health. They found the number of species had declined, and are calling on the government to better regulate and police water quality rules. Defra says it is committed to river health, including through the new Environment Act. As part of our week looking at the rising cost of food, today we meet a farmer who says a 'perfect storm' of Brexit, war in Ukraine and the effects of Covid, have led to a drastic shortage of labour to work on farms and in food processing, pushing prices up for farmers and consumers. Presented by Charlotte Smith.

In recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the global decline in insect abundance.  A recently published survey of the abundance of flying insects in the UK has revealed very troubling results. The Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife – two UK-based conservation groups – compared the number of dead insects on vehicles in 2004 […]

A former teacher who groomed and sexually assaulted a pupil has been jailed for six years. Carly Dear was teaching PE at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls at the time. Hear from our court reporter Sean Axtell who's been following the case. Also in today's podcast, the military are going to be put in charge of preventing small boats of asylum seekers from crossing the Channel to Kent. We have reaction from Samphire refugee charity based in Dover. New rules around how long you have to isolate for if you test positive for Covid have come into force today. Dr Jack Jacobs from Hamstreet Surgery near Ashford has been telling the KentOnline Podcast what he thinks and if it's part of living with the virus. Residents living on a new estate in Canterbury blighted by vandalism say they're having to cover a £20,000 repair bill. Bollards, trees and swings on the Royal Parade site off Littlebourne Road have been damaged - our colleagues from KMTV have spoken to two women living there. You can also hear from wildlife charity BugLife after tens of thousands of pounds was raised to fight plans for a huge theme park in north Kent - in just 48 hours. And in sport, there was further disappointment for Gillingham at the weekend as they suffered yet another defeat in league one. We caught up with caretaker manager Steve Lovell after they lost 3-1 to Burton Albion on Saturday.

The decline of insect populations around the world has been nothing short of terrifying. Last year I visited a school in an intensive wine-producing region in France, and suggested to the kids that they might build an insect hotel, only to be told by the head teacher "we don't have any insects here". It has stayed with me ever since. So in today's episode, we are exploring how it would feel to live through a time when insect population, and biodiversity in general, bounced back? If we did everything we possibly could to create the conditions for that? How incredible would that be? My guests are Vicki Hird, who runs Sustain: The Alliance for Better Food, and is the author of the just-published 'Rebugging the Planet: The Remarkable Things that Insects (and Other Invertebrates) Do – And Why We Need to Love Them More', and Matt Shardlow is CEO of Buglife, "the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates". Do join them and support their work. Thanks as ever to Ben Addicott for sound production and theme music, and for our taste this week of what my Time Machine sounds like... Do let me know what you thought of this episode.

The decline of insect populations around the world has been nothing short of terrifying. Last year I visited a school in an intensive wine-producing region in France, and suggested to the kids that they might build an insect hotel, only to be told by the head teacher "we don't have any insects here". It has stayed with me ever since. So in today's episode, we are exploring how it would feel to live through a time when insect population, and biodiversity in general, bounced back? If we did everything we possibly could to create the conditions for that? How incredible would that be? My guests are Vicki Hird, who runs Sustain: The Alliance for Better Food, and is the author of the just-published 'Rebugging the Planet: The Remarkable Things that Insects (and Other Invertebrates) Do – And Why We Need to Love Them More', and Matt Shardlow is CEO of Buglife, "the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates". Do join them and support their work. Thanks as ever to Ben Addicott for sound production and theme music, and for our taste this week of what my Time Machine sounds like... Do let me know what you thought of this episode.

The decline of insect populations around the world has been nothing short of terrifying. Last year I visited a school in an intensive wine-producing region in France, and suggested to the kids that they might build an insect hotel, only to be told by the head teacher "we don't have any insects here". It has stayed with me ever since. So in today's episode, we are exploring how it would feel to live through a time when insect population, and biodiversity in general, bounced back? If we did everything we possibly could to create the conditions for that? How incredible would that be?   My guests are Vicki Hird, who runs Sustain: The Alliance for Better Food, and is the author of the just-published 'Rebugging the Planet: The Remarkable Things that Insects (and Other Invertebrates) Do – And Why We Need to Love Them More', and Matt Shardlow is CEO of Buglife, "the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates". Do join them and support their work.   Thanks as ever to Ben Addicott for sound production and theme music, and for our taste this week of what my Time Machine sounds like...  Do let me know what you thought of this episode.   Please consider supporting the podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext and becoming a patron.

On this episode....It's a bit of a change from the norm - Meredith is flying solo and it's a special feature length episode with an exclusive interview with award winning children's author M G Leonard. M G Leonard is the bestselling writer of books such as Beetle Boy, The Twitchers and The Adventures on Trains series.  She burst in to bookshops in 2016 with her debut book - Beetle Boy. The success of Beetle Boy led to her becoming Vice President of the insect charity - BugLife.  Her books have been translated in to over forty languages and Beetle Boy is currently in development for a live-action TV series.  Join Meredith and Maya for an honest, fascinating and inspirational chat.M G Leonard If you would like to find out more about Maya and her fantastic books then visit her website www.MGLeonard.com And if you would like to do your bit for Beetles and bugs, just visit www.buglife.org.ukWant to get in touch with 4 Calling Birds?You can email us 4callingbirdspodcast@gmail.comOr contact us via social media:Instagram @4callingbirds_podcastFacebook @4callingbirdspodcastTwitter @birds_callingHave you visited the 4 Calling Birds Store?Inspired by our podcast of the same name, we figured that a few badass slogan sweatshirts and tees were the perfect support for our honest conversations. Check them out at  https://4callingbirds.storeAll garments are printed by hand in the UK.4 Calling Birds - Honest conversations that give us all a voiceThe 4 Calling Birds are:Hayley Clapham - Voice over artistNatalie Spence - Singer and ActressSteven Carter Bailey - Great British Bake Off Queen and Resident Agony UncleMeredith Hepner Chapman - PR Guru and Expert at making a short story longEdited & Produced by Jeremy Chapman @jeremychapman_voiceartist (On Instagram)     Music Credit: Royalty Free -  Composed exclusively for 4 Calling Birds byWillie Dowlingwww.williedowling.com

Paul is the Director of Fundraising and Communications for Buglife: Buglife is the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates, and we are actively working to save Britain's rarest little animals, everything from bees to beetles, worms to woodlice and jumping spiders to jellyfish. There are more than 40,000 invertebrate species in the UK, and many of these are under threat as never before. Invertebrates are vitally important to a healthy planet – humans and other life forms could not survive without them. The food we eat, the fish we catch, the birds we see, the flowers we smell and the hum of life we hear, simply would not exist without bugs. Invertebrates underpin life on earth and without them the world's ecosystems would collapse. Please support the SSSI designation for Swanscombe ( the link is also in the comment section below. https://lnkd.in/dX8RSps Swanscombe Marshes natures jewel of the Thames Gateway is under threat as developers look to create a theme park on this haven for over 250 endangers species. They promise dinosaurs they will bring extinctions . A site that in the words of Natural England is probably the best site in the whole UK has managed to bypass local planners by going under the guise of a National Infrastructure Project so planning enquiry and ministerial decision. We need your help to stop this now. The site is a SSSI designate that boards a Marine Conservation Zone if they can build here where can ever be safe.

 In our sixth episode we begin by discussing fur farming, Canada Goose, and the disgusting rabbit farms that T&S Nurseries are trying to set up.  Dominic discusses an article he wrote for Byline Times looking at the poor performances of opposition parties on animal welfare.  In a section on the so-called 'badger cull', Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's Tim Birch talks in a pre-record about his shock and anger that the cull will carry on for another four years and Charlie discusses the co-opting of the word 'cull' by government, industry, and lobbyists.  In 'Hero and Villian' Dominic praises Animals Asia founder Jill Robinson, and Charlie talks about the BadgerCrowd's Tom Langton (who provides a second pre-record on the 'cull' and crowdfunding for his upcoming Hgh Court Appeal). Dominic's villain this week is Cornwall's Carbis Bay Hotel and Charlie blasts irresponsible cat owners who allow their pets to decimate wildlife during the breeding season.  In '60 Second Sell' we flag up a petition asking for a 'no take' of Spider Crabs and highlight two blogs as well as discussing Buglife's new 'bug splat' app. Finally, we discuss our plans to open up the Off the Leash Podcasts website as a 'community bulletin board'. Refuse Planning for an Intensive Rabbit Farm in Cornwall  -   change.org/p/cornwall-council-refuse-planning-for-a-rabbit-farm-in-falmouth-cornwallAnimal Aid  Investigators find appalling conditions at rabbit farm in Derbyshire Byline Times  Why the Conservatives Became The Animal Friendly PartyDerbyshire Wildlife Trust  Government approves badger culling to 2026 and ignores public consultationThe War on Wildlife Project   Judicial Review over beaver killing licencesAnimals Asia  Animals Asia brings 101 bears home in largest ever operation of its kindTom Langton on Crowd Justice  Help stop badger culling adding to England's Biodiversity catastrophe BBC News   G7 Cornwall: Protest against Carbis Bay building workChange.org   Support NO-TAKE of Australia's Iconic Spider Crabs during their Moulting SeasonSimon Mustoe Blog  Animal ImpactStephen Thomson blog The Conservation BuddhaBuglife  New bug splatter app to reveal more about insect populations

US President Joe Biden has unveiled a $6 trillion budget plan. The BBC's North America business correspondent Michelle Fleury explains what he wants to spend it on, and how he going to pay for it. Police trying to halt illegal mining in Brazil's Amazon have allegedly been attacked by miners – who then went on to set indigenous homes on fire. We get the latest from of Ana Carolina Alfinito Vieira of Amazon Watch Brazil. Also in the programme, we have an in depth report on a water dispute between Ethiopia and its neighbours over a huge hydro-electric dam it is building on the Nile. Plus, a new app called Bugs Matter, launched in the UK by charity Buglife, is trying to get a picture of insects' prevalence by asking people to count the number of dead ones they find on their car after a journey. We hear from Buglife director Paul Hetherington. All this and more discussed with our guest throughout the show, Sharon Bretkelly, co-host of Newsroom's daily podcast, The Detail, who's in Auckland, New Zealand. (Picture: US President Joe Biden outside the White House. Credit: Getty Images.)

Episode 2 of the Devon Wildlife Warden Podcast brings you: Details of a new national grassroots campaign map which you may wish to use or look at The value of churchyards for conservation efforts A summary of what our local wildlife wardens have been up to Information about Wolborough Fen Information about bees, including an interview with local beekeeper, Gary and a closer look at our most endangered bee, the 6 banded nomad bee Details of the Westcountry CSI Project What you can do to support dwindling populations of house martins Information about Buglife's new campaign - "No insect-inction" ACT's Wildlife Warden Scheme is run by the Action on Climate in Teignbridge (www.actionclimateteignbridge.org) Ecology Group. The idea is to have Wildlife Wardens in every Teignbridge Parish who can help their local nature in a wide variety of ways - through promoting wildlife gardening, recording local wildlife, improving local habitats, working with clubs and schools, keeping an eye on planning applications and development and more! We offer training, project ideas and lots of support - together we can help Teignbridge's wildlife recover. Links referenced in episode: ACT Website wwwactionclimateteignbridge.org Across the UK, environmental protest is surging. So why don't we hear about it? | Environmental activism | The Guardian National Grassroots Campaigns Map - Google My Maps Wilder Churches | Somerset Wildlife Trust A Natural Place – Teignmouth Old Cemetery (wordpress.com) https://www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk/ Short List Bees, Wasps and Ants | Natural Devon – Devon's Local Nature Partnership Westcountry CSI | Westcountry Rivers Trust (wrt.org.uk) House Martins in Devon - John Walters and Kevin Cox - YouTube No Insectinction - Website Sign Up (noinsectinction-buglife.org) Wildlife and Countryside Link (e-activist.com) This podcast was written, presented and produced by Emily Marbax. Music by Storybook by Scott Holmes Music --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/emily-marbaix/message

In the first of 2 spring flower episode we take an in depth look at the Pasque Flower and Snake’s-Head Fritillary, their ecology, native status and uses in history. In news we discuss Freddie the seal being attacked by a dog, Puffin numbers booming to 1940s-level high on Skokholm, Buglife’s investigation finding ‘I’m a Celebrity’…

Police have confirmed a body found in woodland near Ashford is that of missing Sarah Everard. The discovery was made on Wednesday, a week after the 33-year-old went missing while walking home in Clapham in London. We have the latest from reporters at the search site in Great Chart and also a disused garage which used to belong to the family of the Met police officer being held on suspicion of murder. Also in today's podcast, land in north Kent earmarked for a huge theme park has been declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest. We've been speaking to Buglife. A Medway student will be back on The Voice this weekend. And we catch up with Gillingham's Vadaine Oliver ahead of their match at Swindon Town.

We look back at was has been a topsy-turvy 2020 and look ahead with positive thoughts about the New Year … Tom Pattinson reflects on a very unusual gardening year … and has some wonderful apple scented seasonal tips on yule logsSteve Lowe, Northumberland Rivers Trust, is out and about with nature on a wander along a hidden jewel of a river... Tom Cadwallender is celebrating festive birds, and looking at the Christmas robin and how 2020 brought us some amazing new county records…And … We've got winter bees with Buglife and how to help them…Music from Carl Cape Band: It Must Be Christmas Time and Auld Lang SyneAnd the Durham University  Music Choir: While Shepherds WatchedSupport the show

Matt Vickers starts the show, talking to Mike about yesterday's vote on the tougher tier system. Neil Oliver and Mike discuss normal life. Robert Colvile speaks about culture wars. Dame Esther Rantzen tells Mike about care home visits. Paul Hetherington from Buglife takes the homeschooling segment on invertebrates. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today we celebrate one of Alabama's first botanists and the poet who went by the pseudonym AE. We'll also learn about Wood Expert and xylotomist ("xy·lot·o·mist") who solved the crime of the century. We celebrate one of the 20th century's leading landscape architects. We also celebrate the Dog Days of summer through poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about plant passion and inspiration in order to "Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart." And then we'll wrap things up with the story of a touching 2014 botanical art installation around the Tower of London. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news.   Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart   Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy.   Curated News New National Wildflower Network Opens Major Routes Across UK for Pollinating Insects | The Independent "A national network of linked wildflower highways has been launched this week to provide more habitat for the UK's vital pollinating insects, including bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and moths. The newly completed B-Lines network for England has been launched by conservation charity Buglife with support from Defra. The scheme will create a vast interconnected web of potential and existing wildflower habitats across the whole country. Catherine Jones, pollinator officer at Buglife, said: "A complete England B-Lines network is a real landmark step in our mission to reverse insect declines and lend a helping hand to our struggling pollinators. We hope that organizations and people across England will help with our shared endeavor to create thousands of hectares of new pollinator-friendly wildflower habitats along the B-Lines." Buglife is asking people to grow more flowers, shrubs, and trees, let gardens grow wild and to mow grass less frequently, not to disturb insects, and to try not to use pesticides. Almost 17,000 tonnes of pesticides are sprayed across the British countryside each year. The country has lost 97 percent of its wildflower meadows since the 1930s and 87 percent of its wetlands. Both of these habitats support a huge array of wildlife."   Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events   1901   Today is the anniversary of the death of botanist Charles Theodore Mohr. Although he was born in Germany and educated in Stuttgart, Charles became one of Alabama's first botanists. He emigrated to the United States in 1848. A trained pharmacist, Charles traveled the world before settling in Alabama, and he especially enjoyed collecting plant specimens in Surinam. Charles's travel log shows that he even participated in the California gold rush and lived Mexico, Indiana, and Kentucky before settling in Alabama. In 1857, Charles started Chas. Mohr & Son Pharmacists and Chemists in Mobile, Alabama. Charles spent his entire life collecting and organizing his specimens. In fact, by the time his book on the plants of Alabama was published, Charles was seventy-seven years old. After Charles died, his herbarium specimens were donated to the University of Alabama Herbarium (15,000 specimens) and the United States National Herbarium (18,000 specimens).   1935   Today is the anniversary of the death of the poet George William Russell, who went by the pseudonym AE. Russell attended the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. There he met a lifelong friend - the poet William Butler Yeats. Russell became the editor of The Irish Homestead. His famous quotes include the following: "Our hearts were drunk with a beauty our eyes could never see." "You cannot evoke great spirits and eat plums at the same time."   1967   Today is the anniversary of the death of Wood Expert and xylotomist Arthur Koehler. Xylotomy is preparing little pieces of wood and then examining them under a microscope or microtome. Koehler worked as a chief wood technologist at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. Koehler's expertise led him to become one of the very first forensic botanists. When the Lindbergh baby was kidnapped in 1932, a homemade ladder was used to access the nursery. Koehler, along with 38,000 others, sent letters to the Lindbergh's offering prayers and assistance. Yet Koehler's expertise would become the linchpin to convicting the man accused of the crime, making Koehler one of the world's first official forensic botanists. Forensic botany is simply using plants to help solve crimes. Three months after the crime was committed, samples of the ladder were sent to Koehler. Koehler studied the pieces through his microscope discovered that four different kinds of wood were used to make the ladder—Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Birch, and North Carolina pine. In an interview with the Saturday Evening Post, Koehler was quoted saying, "I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but I have specialized in the study of wood. Just as a doctor who devotes himself to stomachs or tonsils … so I, a forester, have done with wood." A year later, Koehler was invited to see the ladder in person, and that in-person visit was revealing. Koehler discovered the ladder was handmade. He measured each piece to the nose, getting exact measurements. He understood how each piece was cut, how the pieces would have fit into a car, and then assembled at the Lindbergh home. Incredibly, Koehler was able to determine the origin of the piece of North Carolina pine used to build the ladder - it was sold in the Bronx. Ransom notes from the case lead police to hone in on the same area. Koehler was convinced the suspect would have the woodworking tools required to build the ladder. In the Lindbergh case, the wood from the ladder helped identify a carpenter named Bruno Richard Hauptmann. When the police arrested Hauptmann, they not only found $14,000 of ransom money but the evidence Koehler could link to the ladder: the saws used to make the cuts, the particular nails used to build the ladder and a missing floorboard from Hauptmann's attic that was clearly used in the construction of the 16th rail of the ladder. In fact, when the rail was removed, it slipped perfectly back into place in Hauptmann's attic - right down to the nail holes and nails on the board. Koehler estimated the chances of someone else supplying the lumber for the ladder to be one in ten quadrillions. Koehler's knowledge and testimony during the trial were vital to Hauptmann's capture and conviction. The "Crime of the Century" solved by carefully studying the only witness - a "wooden witness." It was Arthur Koehler who said, "In all of the years of my work, I have been consumed with the absolute reliability of the testimony of trees. They carry in themselves the record of their history. They show with absolute fidelity the progress of the years, storms, drought, floods, injuries, and any human touch. A tree never lies."     1996   Today is the anniversary of the death of one of the 20th century's leading landscape architects, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe. Jellicoe was multi-talented, but his true passion was landscape and garden design, which he described as "the mother of all arts." He was a founder member of the Landscape Institute. Over his 70-year career, Jellicoe designed more than 100 landscapes around the world. Jellicoe designed the John F Kennedy memorial site by the River Thames in Berkshire. Jellicoe's final and most ambitious project was the Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas. Jellicoe imagined a design where visitors could walk through the history of the landscape, from the Garden of Eden and the gardens of ancient Egypt to a design inspired by Thomas Mann's novel The Magic Mountain (1924). As the Moody Garden website acknowledges, "It was the culminating work of his design career but has not, as yet, been implemented. We live in hope." Jellicoe's favorite garden was the gardens he designed in Hemel Hempstead. Jellicoe designed the Hemel Hempstead Water Gardens to improve the quality of life for the townspeople. Jellicoe designed a canal with dams and little bridges to take visitors from the town parking lot to shopping. Jellicoe designed the canal after seeing one of Paul Klee's paintings of a serpent. Jellicoe said, "The lake is the head, and the canal is the body," wrote Jellicoe in his book Studies in Landscape Design. "The eye is the fountain; the mouth is where the water passes over the weir. The formal and partly classical flower gardens are like a howdah strapped to its back. In short, the beast is harnessed, docile, and in the service of man."   Unearthed Words Here are some words about the Dog Days of summer - which officially started on July 3 and runs through August 11.   How hushed and still are earth and air, How languid 'neath the sun's fierce ray - Drooping and faint - the flowerets fair, On this hot, sultry, summer day. — Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon ("Lew-Pro-awn", Canadian writer and poet, An Afternoon in July   Cool in the very furnace of July The water-meadows lie; The green stalks of their grasses and their flowers They still refresh at fountains, never dry. — John Drinkwater, British poet and dramatist   Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world. — Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture critic, and writer   A ladder sticking up at the open window, The top of an old ladder; And all of Summer is there. Great waves and tufts of wistaria surge across the window, And a thin, belated blossom. Jerks up and down in the sunlight; Purple translucence against the blue sky. "Tie back this branch," I say, But my hands are sticky with leaves, And my nostrils widen to the smell of crushed green. The ladder moves uneasily at the open window, And I call to the man beneath, "Tie back that branch." There is a ladder leaning against the window-sill, And a mutter of thunder in the air. — Amy Lowell, American poet, Dog Days   "Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it." — Russel Baker, American journalist and satirist     Grow That Garden Library How to Make a Plant Love You by Summer Rayne Oakes This book came out in July of 2019, and the subtitle is Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart. Michael Brune, the Executive Director of the Sierra Club, said, "I don't care what color your thumbs are —Summer Rayne Oakes will not only inspire you to connect with nature by taking care of plants but open your eyes to how even the humblest of them take care of us." Summer keeps over 500 species of live houseplants in her Brooklyn apartment. She's an environmental scientist, an entrepreneur, and (according to a New York Times profile) the icon of wellness-minded millennials who want to bring nature indoors. The book is 208 pages of plant passion and inspiration. It covers both plant styling and care. You can get a copy of How to Make a Plant Love You by Summer Rayne Oakes and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $15.   Today's Botanic Spark 2014   The outdoor public art piece called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red was installed in the moat around the Tower of London. The work commemorated the centenary of the outbreak of World War I and was made up of 888,246 ceramic red poppies, one for each British or Colonial serviceman killed in the War. The title, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, refers to the first line of a poem by an unknown soldier in World War I. For this magnificent piece fo public art, Paul Cummins designed the ceramic poppies, and Tom Piper handled the conceptual design. Almost one million of Paul's ceramic red poppies appeared to burst forth from the Tower and then flow across the moat. Poppies seeped out of the Weeping Window and cascaded down a wall. Almost 20,000 volunteers helped with the installation. And, although it was started on this day in 2014, it was not completed until November 11 of that same year.

It's a wildlife special edition of the Morning Report, packed with information about local nature and we talk to Milland farmer Duncan Ascoli. Bugs, bees and wildflowers, plus the work locally of Hampshire County Council and charities such as Plantlife, Buglife, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Petersfield & District Beekeepers Association. And we reveal how evening crickets can help you tell the temperature.  Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas and information to the programme. You can send information to team@petersfieldradio.uk or call 01730 555 500.

On Episode 4 of Season 2 on Black in the Garden we are joined by the Urban Farm Sista and entomologist, Nadia Ruffin to chop it up about that #BUGLife! Colah had lots of questions and Nadia was ready to drop all the science on this episode. We learned how love and encouragement from her great grandmother set Nadia on a journey to entomological excellence at a tender age and how education can help overcome your bug related phobias. . If you ever wondered: WTF is a cicada? What's a true bug? What happened to the fireflies? Where does SILK come from? Ayyyee...you might just be about that #BUGLife and this episode is for you! . . Keep up with Nadia: Urbanfarmsista : Instagram, Youtube &Facebook DONATE @ Agricademyinc.org to support Plantrepreneurship for the youth! . . Get Coco and Seed by visiting linktr.ee/blackinthegarden Sow a seed of Support for the podcast and become a PATRON! patreon.com/blackinthegarden @Blackinthegarden on Instagram Visit linktr.ee/blackinthegarden for all Black in the Garden Everythang!! Drop a line: Blackinthegarden@gmail.com #Blackinthegarden and Subscribe on YouTube : Black in the Garden --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/blackinthegarden/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackinthegarden/support

On Episode 4 of Season 2 on Black in the Garden we are joined by the Urban Farm Sista and entomologist, Nadia Ruffin to chop it up about that #BUGLife! Colah had lots of questions and Nadia was ready to drop all the science on this episode. We learned how love and encouragement from her great grandmother set Nadia on a journey to entomological excellence at a tender age and how education can help overcome your bug related phobias.  . If you ever wondered: WTF is a cicada? What's a true bug? What happened to the fireflies? Where does SILK come from? Ayyyee...you might just be about that #BUGLife and this episode is for you!  . . Keep up with Nadia: Urbanfarmsista : Instagram, Youtube &Facebook DONATE @ Agricademyinc.org  to support Plantrepreneurship for the youth! . . Get Coco and Seed by visiting linktr.ee/blackinthegarden Sow a seed of Support for the podcast and become a PATRON! patreon.com/blackinthegarden @Blackinthegarden on Instagram Visit linktr.ee/blackinthegarden for all Black in the Garden Everythang!! Drop a line: Blackinthegarden@gmail.com #Blackinthegarden and  Subscribe on YouTube : Black in the Garden --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/blackinthegarden/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackinthegarden/support

Just how many pollinators can you find on one wild carrot flower? And what exactly is a pollinator? Listen to find out! In this podcast episode, Kaska and Johanna Willi, Fife Council's Biodiversity Officier, marvel at the flowers, bugs and beasties which can be found in Tayport’s wildflower meadows established by Fife’s Buzzing project. PLANT volunteers turned out in force to do the sowing and planting in the Spring of 2016. We hear about the extraordinary benefits of this project for protection of these rapidly vanishing natural spaces locally and how it’s already helped our precious pollinator dwellers. Tips on how to make home for pollinators in your own backyard are also included. Project team was careful to involve Tayport community in selecting the meadow sites, they held consultation 'drop-in' event with the Community Council, and also consulted park users in the Common. Fife’s Buzzing was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Fife Environment Trust. Partners in the project included Fife Council and Buglife Scotland. Land owners involved ac included The Woodland Trust Scotland, Fife Golf Trust, St Andrews Botanic Garden, CommScope, Dalbeath farm, Fife Council. Resources: Fife’s buzzing project: https://www.buglife.org.uk/projects/fifes-buzzing/ Buglife’s B-Lines project providing wildlife corridors for insects to connect fragmented habitats (Tayport is on a B-Line!): https://www.buglife.org.uk/our-work/b-lines/ All things bumblebee at Bumblebee Conservation Trust website: https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/ Exploring pollinators – backyard science: Count pollinators visiting your flowers https://www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/projects/pollinator-monitoring. Flower-Insect-Timed Counts which involve monitoring a flowering plant in a 50x50cm square for 10-15 minutes and counting the different pollinators that visit the flowers. Record bee-flies for Bee Fly watch (April – June): https://www.brc.ac.uk/soldierflies-and-allies/bee-fly-watch Spotting bumblebees on a BeeWalk: https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/beewalk/ Ideas on how to support pollinators in your garden: - Buglife Make a Mini Meadow: https://www.buglife.org.uk/get-involved/gardening-for-bugs/make-a-mini-meadow/ - Buglife How to make a community meadow: https://www.buglife.org.uk/how-to-make-a-community-meadow/ - RHS plants for pollinators (many ornamental plants included): https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/conservation-biodiversity/wildlife/plants-for-pollinators - Wildlife gardening tips from Wildlife Trusts: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/gardening - Garden for life leaflets (Scotland): https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/local-environmental-quality/community-projects/garden-for-life/resources/

¿Para qué diseñar el producto si luego no le acompaña la cultura y la marca? Tener marca y cultura en condiciones es cansado pero realmente vale la pena y afecta al negocio. En este SaaS Product Chat profundizamos en esto de crear productos con marca y por qué las personas que gestionan marca tienen que alinearse con los que dirigen producto en un momento en el que los factores diferenciadores y fidelizadores no son solo los features del producto que lances sino la percepción de valor que el usuario tenga al interactuar con él.Estos son los enlaces a los temas de los que hemos hablado:Consejos accionables de alguien que ha posicionado la marca de Airbnb, Dropbox o Thumtack antes de ser lanzada: https://firstround.com/review/what-i-learned-from-developing-branding-for-airbnb-dropbox-and-thumbtack/Tips en Content Marketing por expertas de First Round Capital y Andreessen Horowitz: https://blog.ycombinator.com/content-marketing-tips-from-experts-at-first-round-capital-and-andreessen-horowitz/PR & Marketing en First Round Review: https://firstround.com/review/pr-and-marketing/Julie (Keslik) Supan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliesupan/A weekly conversation about design process and culture: https://designdetails.fmBreaker usa Buglife para que usuarios reporten bugs y ayuden a mejorar la app. Simple captura. Integración con Slack o GitHub disponibles. https://www.buglife.com/Brand and Digital Design Handbook: https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/marketing/brand-and-digital-design/Figma: https://www.figma.comInVision: https://www.invisionapp.comNotion: https://www.notion.soPendo.io: https://www.pendo.ioAbstract: https://www.abstract.comvLex: https://vlex.esSíguenos en Twitter:Danny Prol: https://twitter.com/DannyProl/Claudio Cossio: https://twitter.com/ccossioEstamos en todas estas plataformas:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/saas-product-chat/id1435000409ListenNotes: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/saas-product-chat-daniel-prol-y-claudio-CABZRIjGVdP/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/36KIhM0DM7nwRLuZ1fVQy3Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS8zN3N0Mzg2dg%3D%3D&hl=esBreaker: https://www.breaker.audio/saas-product-chatWeb: https://saasproductchat.com/

Episode 1 - Peat The first episode of Gardenhead focuses on peat. Listen to find out what peat is and why it's used in compost, what the problems are with peat extraction and 5 things that you can do as a home gardener to resolve these problems. The episode is written, hosted and produced by Dr Fay Edwards and features appearances from Dr Flo Renou-Wilson (research scientist, University College Dublin), Craig Macadam (Conservation Director, Buglife), Chris Dean (Partnership Manager, Moors for the Future Partnership) and Jane Barker (Owner, Dalefoot Composts). Join the discussion on the Gardenhead Facebook Group, follow me on Twitter for episode updates or support the show and get access to special bonus content on Patreon. Show Notes 5 Things Home Gardeners Can Do to Address Problems with Peat 1. Buy Peat-Free Composts This Ethical Consumer/Friends of the Earth pdf has a guide to peat-free products on p.24-25. The best performers according to this guide, in terms of their impact on the environment, animals, working conditions and product sustainability are: Dalefoot Composts, Fertile Fibre and Carbon Gold GroChar 100% Peat-Free Compost. SylvaGrow by Melcourt is another 100% peat-free compost, made from bark from sustainably-managed British forests, green waste and coir. To find out more about the different ingredients used in these composts, visit the RHS web page on peat alternatives. Dalefoot Composts provide a list of stockists that will help you to find a seller of their products in your area. For Peat’s Sake also have a helpful map which shows where to find UK sellers of peat-free compost and plants. Floralive provide peat-free compost for carnivorous houseplants that, in nature, grow in peat-bogs. Their formula is called Thrive®. Their products are available at a discount for Gardenhead listeners. Listen to the episode for more. 2. Buy Peat-Free Plants Garden Writer, Nic Wilson, has compiled an extensive list of peat-free nurseries that provide plants grown without peat. Floralive also sell peat-free carnivorous houseplants. Hear more about Sean Higgs’ journey to create the peat-free medium, Thrive®, on episode 103 of Jane Perrone’s On the Ledge podcast. 3. Buy Peat-Free Biodegradable Pots Beware of biodegradable pots and growing kits that contain them. There’s no easy list here, you need to check labels to see whether they contain peat. If there is no information, they likely do. 4. Volunteer to Restore Peat Bogs The IUCN Peatland Programme map is where to look to find peatland restoration projects near you. You can then contact these projects to find out whether they need volunteers. Dartmoor National Park are looking for volunteers to conduct vegetation surveys on the bogs they’re restoring to see how well sphagnum mosses, cotton grasses and heathers are re-establishing. The RSPB had this to say about their peatland restoration projects: ‘The RSPB and United Utilities work in partnership over 4000 hectares of blanket bog in the north of the Peak District National Park, restoring it from its recently degraded state to something that will provide us all with high levels of biodiversity (including lots of birds!), cleaner water (to reduce treatment costs and customers’ bills), that will sequester carbon, reduce downstream flooding and be more resilient to fires and droughts. The RSPB and our amazing volunteers from the local community work to raise the water table by installing gully blocks and restore the plant communities by planting sphagnum moss. It’s hard work in all weathers, but if you would like to join us then please email ryan.lloyd@rspb.org.uk.’ RSPB volunteers planting sphagnum mosses © 2019 RSPB Your local Wildlife Trust may also need help restoring peatlands. Get in touch with them to see if you can help. 5. Support People Doing Right by Peat You can share this podcast to spread the word as well as follow and share the work of these...

When Bozena Jankowska started her 16-year career in finance, sustainable investing was a relatively new concept. Starting as the one and only ethical analyst at Allianz Global Investors to years later leaving as Head of Environmental, Social and Governance to pursue building her own luxury fashion brand, Bozena had seen the sustainable finance industry completely transform, in part due to her hard work. From investigating cases of cotton plants being pollinated in India by hand, by children in bonded labour, to creating 'The Ode to the Bee' collections in partnership with Buglife (using sustainably sourced REACH certified silk and wool from UK based manufacturers) you can see the link between people and the environment is very clear for Bozena. A Positive Luxury 'Brand to Trust', Bozena Jankowska's designs are certainly influenced by her time in the City, as the garments are unique, luxury women's workwear. As Bozena did with sustainable finance industry she is paving the way forward for a new kind of fashion business, one that has sustainability woven into every part of it. In this podcast we talk to Bozena about how her life-long commitment to bringing environmental and social issues to the forefront of conversation has created an award-winning luxury fashion brand. www.bozenajankowska.com www.blackneondigital.com

When Bozena Jankowska started her 16-year career in finance, sustainable investing was a relatively new concept. Starting as the one and only ethical analyst at Allianz Global Investors to years later leaving as Head of Environmental, Social and Governance to pursue building her own luxury fashion brand, Bozena had seen the sustainable finance industry completely transform, in part due to her hard work. From investigating cases of cotton plants being pollinated in India by hand, by children in bonded labour, to creating 'The Ode to the Bee' collections in partnership with Buglife (using sustainably sourced REACH certified silk and wool from UK based manufacturers) you can see the link between people and the environment is very clear for Bozena. A Positive Luxury 'Brand to Trust', Bozena Jankowska's designs are certainly influenced by her time in the City, as the garments are unique, luxury women's workwear. As Bozena did with sustainable finance industry she is paving the way forward for a new kind of fashion business, one that has sustainability woven into every part of it. In this podcast we talk to Bozena about how her life-long commitment to bringing environmental and social issues to the forefront of conversation has created an award-winning luxury fashion brand. www.bozenajankowska.com www.blackneondigital.com

Isabel Hardman finds out how urban wild flowers are saving our bugs and bees with Nick Packham from Buglife's Urban Buzz project, introduces the latest challenge, which is to find wild flowers growing on the pavement, and hears about the joy of monads (and what they are).

Mary Colwell travels to White Peak to meet Sarah Henshall, lead ecologist with Buglife and Simon Nicholas, the local Ranger for the National Trust, to discover the 350 million year old limestone that forms the walls and search for the mini beasts that live in their depths.

The State of Nature report, just published by the RSPB in collaboration with more than 20 other major conservation groups, provides alarming reading. It shows that more than half the UK’s native species are declining and a large number of those are threatened with extinction.  On this month's podcast Jane Markham talks to the RSPB's senior conservation scientist Dr Mark Eaton, one of the lead authors of the report, and Matt Shardlow, chief executive of Buglife, about the results and asks where we go from here.

Saving Species presented by Brett Westwood this week poses the question; with increasing pressures to develop our land for housing, transport and industry, is there still room for Britain's wildlife to flourish? Recently the Government set out proposals to extend development rights into the Green Belt as an aid to economic growth. Brett Westwood discovers the importance of brown-field sites on a visit to Canvey Wick in the Thames Estuary accompanied by Sarah Henshall, Brownfield Manager from the charity, Buglife. And we hear from Dr Chris Baines who discusses whether the plans to build a London to Birmingham high speed rail link could actually benefit wildlife in the longer term. Producer : Mary Colwell Presenter : Brett Westwood Editor : Julian Hector

Scratching the itch of curiosity this week is William Foster, who will be talking about the evolution of social insects and his quest for social beetles in Thailand, Claire Rind flies in the face of current car safety technologies by using knowledge of collision avoidance in locusts, Matt Shardlow discusses how man-made wastelands can be a haven for rare invertebrates, and Derek Thorne joins Ed Turner in the garden to discover how to make pitfall traps. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Scratching the itch of curiosity this week is William Foster, who will be talking about the evolution of social insects and his quest for social beetles in Thailand, Claire Rind flies in the face of current car safety technologies by using knowledge of collision avoidance in locusts, Matt Shardlow discusses how man-made wastelands can be a haven for rare invertebrates, and Derek Thorne joins Ed Turner in the garden to discover how to make pitfall traps. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists