Category: Podcast
Conservation and Science is a podcast about human-wildlife interactions and our relationship with nature. I talk with world-class scientists, members of environmental organisations, practical conservationists, farmers, nature writers, and last but not least, hunters and anglers. My conversations cover biodiversity, conservation, hunting and fishing, rewilding and more. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.
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Episode 91: Beaver Trust with Chris Jones
In this episode, once again, we are going to talk about ecological restoration and bringing back species that were extirpated from their native range. Our guest is Chris Jones who is the Restoration Director at Beaver Trust. During our conversation, we discuss the history of Beaver Trust, how it was found and why. Then we discuss beaver ecology and the role of beavers in the ecosystem. Chris gives us some real-life examples of benefits that beavers bring, not only to…
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Episode 90: The American Black Bear with Matt Gould
This time our guest is a wildlife biologist from across the pond. Matt Gould works for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology at New Mexico State University. Matt is also an avid hunter. This combination makes him a perfect guest for my podcast. Matt has done a lot of research and has written several papers on American black bears and that was the topic I was most interested in. However, we started our conversation by discussing birds of…
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Episode 89: Camera Trapping and Large Mammal Monitoring with Adam Francis Smith
In this instalment of the podcast, our guest is a young scientist, Adam Francis Smith, who lives in the Bavarian Forest National Park. Adam specializes in large terrestrial mammal monitoring and predator-prey interactions. He also works for the Frankfurt Zoological Society where he focuses on specific project areas in Ukraine and Belarus and where, with a team of ecologists, he tries to protect large wilderness areas. During our conversation, Adam took us on a fascinating journey to, among other places,…
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Episode 88: Rewilding Scotland with Peter Cairns
Peter Cairns is the executive director of the environmental charity Scotland: The Big Picture, the first organisation in Scotland wholly dedicated to championing rewilding. We started our conversation by discussing the controversy surrounding the term rewilding. Since rewilding (for want of a better, less controversial, term) is of great interest to me, the discussion started to flow from there. After that, we discussed a wide range of related socio-economic and environmental issues. Finally, we ended up examining individual species that…
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Episode 87: Irish Whale and Dolphin Group with Pádraig Whooley
I have wanted to record an episode about the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) and their work for quite a while now. Their excellent website, with a database where you can report sightings and strandings, was even mentioned in one of my vlogs. So today, it is my pleasure to bring you my conversation with IWDG’s Sightings Officer Pádraig Whooley. We started with discussing at length IWDG origins and their current work. After that, we dug deep into a…
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Episode 86: Hunting and Nutrition with Alan Kenny
I don’t think that anyone who has at least dipped his toes in hunting needs to be convinced of how important it is to be in good physical shape to fully enjoy the experience. Strength and endurance come in handy not only when it comes to walking long miles in search of an animal with a lot of gear on your back but also during the extraction of the carcass. A critical component of keeping yourself fit and strong is…
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Episode 85: Time nor Tide with Ben Harkin
Climate change, in one way or another, is mentioned in almost every episode of my podcast. But with the exception of episode 38, which was a recorded public talk, I have never dedicated a whole episode to this important issue. But today we’re going to jump right into this subject with Ben Harkin who wrote a book about climate change in the Irish context. Ben is a young man who decided to put to good use the extra time he…
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Episode 84: Basking Sharks with Natasha Phillips and Amy Garbett
In this episode, I had the pleasure to talk once again with scientists from SeaMonitor project. This time our guests were Dr Natasha Phillips and Dr Amy Garbett. Our conversation was focused on Basking Sharks but while at it we discussed a whole range of other subjects as well, like genetic connectivity, biotelemetry and bioinformatics. There is nothing like a conversation with scientists who are genuinely passionate about their work. If you are interested in marine biology, sharks and science…
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Episode 83: Tracking Seals with Sam L Cox
This is yet another episode of the podcast where we talk about seals. This time I hit you with a healthy dose of unbiased, evidence-based knowledge. Actually, that’s not me doing the hitting but our guest Dr Sam L Cox who is a quantitative ecologist and researcher for the SeaMonitor project. In our conversation, we discuss the behaviour and spatial ecology of harbour seals which are tracked using GPS tags glued to their head. But that’s not all, Sam has…
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Episode 82: Outdoor Therapy with Ruth Allen
The benefits of being outdoors for our mental health and wellbeing have been discussed on the podcast a few times already. But this is a subject that is always worth revisiting. Especially when my guest’s impressive resume guarantees a fresh and well-developed approach. And so in this episode, our guest is Dr Ruth Allen, an outdoor and online counselling therapist, professional development coach, and experienced consultant, trainer and facilitator. During the podcast, we discuss the importance of connecting with nature,…