The Wild Wight Stuart & Rufus Ballingall

In this months episode we have an interview with Andy Butler, Butterfly record keeper for the Island. We also speak to Kay McCrann about her recent Quay Arts exhibition: Minibeasts, Mark -making and Me.
iWatch Wildlife is all about Frogs Toads and Spawn, we have cricket sounds from Rosemary Fields in Landscape Listening and Musician Joanne Thornton has given us a Nature Soundcape.

For our 2nd episode, we have gone from a very well-known isle of wight animal species to one that isn't even officially recognized as living here.
Deer have been present on the island since the last ice age, and even though their numbers are very low Tim Brayford from Isle of Wight Deer Conservation has been carrying out a Deer survey to get a snapshot of what is happening. We speak with Tim to find out about his survey and how people can spot Deer in their local area.
iWatch Wildlife this month looks at their species of the year for 2022 the 2 Spot Ladybird
Our 2nd interview is with Phil Brook from Compassion in World Farming, about how consumers can make ethical choices in supermarkets to help improve the welfare of farm animals.
We have music from The Ohmz, and our Landscape listening this month was recorded on a windy night at Freshwater Bay at high tide.

In the first-ever episode of The Wild Wight, we just had to take a look at the most iconic mammal living on The Isle of Wight, Red Squirrels. We met up with Helen Bulter from the Wight Squirrel Project to find out about the work She does and the citizen science Squirrel Survey that allows people on the island to report Red Squirrel sightings.
Next we take a quick look at iWatch Wildlife and their Species of the Month, which we will be following throughout the series.
Our second interview is with Jon Jewett, a Woodsman and Coppicer, and we discuss the state of our woodland, the difference between a copse, woods and forests, Ash Dieback, and the concept of the Wood Wide Web.
Our performance this month comes from Kathryn Rossati who sent us a recording of her poem 'A Flash of Colour in the Trees', which was part of a #52weeksofpoetry challenge she took part in during 2021 raising money for the RSPB.
And our Landscape Listening comes from Castle Copse in East Cowes, a small but beautiful piece of woodland managed by Gift to Nature.
Links
The Wight Squirrel Project - http://www.wightsquirrels.co.uk/
iWatch Wildlife - http://iwnhas.org/recording/iwatch-wildlife/
Jon Jewett (IW Coppice Group) - https://www.iwcoppicegroup.com/
Kathryn Rosati Baron - http://www.kathrynrossati.co.uk/
Castle Copse - https://gifttonature.org.uk/discover/gurnard-and-east-cowes/castle-copse/

The WILD WIGHT is a BRAND NEW PODCAST SERIES where we take an in-depth look at some of the AMAZING ANIMALS that live here on the island & discover some of the WONDERFUL ORGANISATIONS that are working to preserve our precious and varied natural habitats.
There are interviews with experts on RED SQUIRRELS, BATS, LIZARDS, SHARKS, BIRDS OF PREY, and SEALS, features on the UNESCO BIOSPHERE, REWILDING, THE FUTURE of AGRICULTURE, OCEANS & FORESTS as CARBON SINKS, and MISSION TO ZERO the island's new policy on tackling CLIMATE CHANGE, with loads of way that you can GET INVOLVED AT HOME with CITIZEN SCIENCE projects.
On top of ALL THIS, each episode will feature MUSIC, POETRY, SPOKEN WORD, and STORYTELLING, by some of the island's best-loved performers.