Podcast - UK Wildlife Podcast

Presenters Victoria Hillman and Neil Phillips explore the incredible plant and animal life we have in this country, from urban Bristol to the Outer-Hebrides.

Each episode kicks off with the presenters discussing their sighting from snow buntings to red kites and giving a roundup of the latest wildlife news, before going on to look at subjects in more detail.  Either follow along each episode or dip into your wildlife interests from birds to pondlife. 

Vicki Hird talks about her book Rebugging the Planet and what we can do to encourage all types of bugs and she explains how farmers can use more environmentally friendly farming techniques.  There’s a growing interest in mushrooms and Lee Davies, fungarium curator at Kew, talks about this fascinating kingdom.  We learn how they reproduce, mycorrhiza fungi networks and their symbiotic relationship with trees, which fungi to eat and which are poisonous.  Mind boggling stuff!

There are masses of plant-focussed episodes looking in-depth at a huge range of plants including orchids, one on bluebells and wood anemones, and another on the lesser Celandine ficaria verna and its adaptations to flowering in winter.  Mike Dilger talks about his book One Thousand Shades of Green which records his quest to travel the British Isles to see 1000 plant species in a year, discussing how he got obsessed with rare or beautiful species, but also discussing how the process opened his eyes to finding weeds in urban Bristol and what you can learn about a place's history.

The presenters and guests are all extremely knowledgeable and passionate about how to make ecology and wildlife accessible.  Listening to them feels like chatting about wildlife with friends, along with the occasional rants about policy and wildlife.  An excellent eye-opening podcast for those keen to engage more nature and learn more about the wildlife around us.