Wildlife Matters The Podcast Nigel Palmer

Restore Nature Now London March and A Bronze Age Solstice day walk to Stonehenge.
Hello and welcome to this week’s Wildlife Matters Podcast.
We are fast approaching midsummer’s day—or solstice day—so we have followed a Bronze Age walk to Stonehenge on solstice morning 2023, and we would love it if you came along with us.
Our journey will transport us back over 4500 years to explore the enigmatic neolithic earthworks, the ancient king barrows, and the new king barrows. We will be captivated by the Monarch of the Plain and witness the breathtaking sunrise on solstice day, framed by the Welsh bluestones that form the iconic Stonehenge. Of course, this walk will include plenty of Wildlife and nature and one or two surprises that I hope you will enjoy.
After a long walk across an ancient mystical landscape, imagine the tranquillity of spending a mindful moment in Nature.  This week, we are in a serene woodland during the blossoming springtime, a perfect setting to unwind and connect with Nature.
But before all that, we have an exciting announcement. 
On Saturday, June 22, Wildlife Matters will attend the London Restore Nature Now march.
We invite you to join Wildlife Matters at the March to Restore Nature. And here’s the exciting part: You can be featured on the Wildlife Matters podcast! We will record a live podcast from the event, so come over and say hello. 
We look forward to marching for Nature in London next week, and it would be so empowering to meet some of you and find out why you are marching on the special podcast from the Restore Nature Now event.
After that exhilarating adventure, it’s time to kick off those walking boots and tread barefoot to the edge of the ancient woodland. 
As we settle down, take a deep breath and let the tranquillity of the springtime woodland engulf you. We invite you to enjoy a mindful moment in Nature. 
Well, I’m sure many of you will have recognised the call of one spring visitor to the UK who was in superb voice that morning - it was, of course, the cuckoo, but how many of you also heard the wonderful song of the redstart? - It’s in there, and so are the chaffinch and the chiffchaff. 
What a fantastic way to start any day with the spring song of the woodland. 
We hope to see you in London on Saturday, June 22; coach services are travelling from lots of major cities and towns around the UK; you can find more information through the Restore Nature Now website: https://www.restorenaturenow.com/travel-coaches
We are excited to meet you on the day. Please come and say hello if you see us.
We will record in the main meet-up area before the march, before marching with you, and record live along the route. We want to hear you make some noise! Once at Parliament Square, we will record the speakers and are excited to chat with as many of you as possible!
The Restore Nature Now special will be published on Wednesday, June 26, and Wildlife Matters will return on Wednesday, July 3, with the next adventure.
But for now, I’ve been your host - Nigel Palmer, and this is Wildlife Matters - signing off.

We are talking to Natalia Doran on this week’s Wildlife Matters Podcast. Natalia founded Urban Squirrels, a London-based specialist grey squirrel rescue and is also an advocate for wildlife, being on the council of Animal Aid, a trustee of Farplace Animal Rescue and the academic charity Pan-Orthodox Concern for Animals. 
The Grey Squirrel, a cherished and frequently spotted creature, especially in urban areas, is under grave threat. It is one of the most targeted wild animals, with our wildlife conservation organisations resorting to culling. Moreover, Natural England classified it as an invasive species in 2019, further jeopardising its survival.
Our relationship with squirrels in Britain has always been complicated. Our native red squirrel species is extinct, and we are protecting imported reds from European countries. 
However, the main reason reds are in trouble in Britain has nothing to do with grey squirrels; it is about the loss of suitable habitat. Remember, reds are an arboreal species of pine and coniferous forests.
In this wide-ranging episode interview, Nadia discusses many of the issues faced by Grey squirrels in Britain today and has some insightful ways that all of us can help the grey squirrels in our local areas.
I hope you found Natalia's discussion valuable today—I certainly did. 
I hope it has inspired some of you to take action, advocate, share positive stories and news about Grey Squirrels on your social media platforms, and uphold the positivity that Natalia radiates for grey squirrels in the future.
We encourage anyone who can get a squirrel aviary in their garden or on land they own. Nadia and her team at Urban Squirrels can guide you through the licensing process and may even help you obtain grants to fund the aviary and equipment you need.
The show notes include links to Urban Squirrels’ website and social media channels, but it's worth repeating the website address, as it contains all the information you need: www.urbansquirrels.co.uk.
And that’s a wrap for another Wildlife Matters Podcast. 
We will be back in two weeks’ time and will be sharing a very special adventure with a solstice theme that we know you will enjoy. Until then, keep a wild heart and an open mind.
Urban Squirrels Contact Details
Website - www.urbansquirrels.co.uk
 Social Media Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/UrbanSquirrelsRescue
 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/urban_squirrels/
Twitter/X -  https://twitter.com/squirrels_urban
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@urbansquirrels
Wildlife Matters is an independent podcast focussed on sharing the oy of nature and wildlife whilst actively working to educate, inform and eliminate the persecution of wildlife species and the pollution and destruction of natural habitats, the lack of biodiversity, and mitigate the impact of climate change.
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The Wildlife Matters Podcast is currently released on alternate Wednesdays.

Join Wildlife Matters as we spend a night with the Pine Martens
Hello, and a big warm welcome to this week's Wildlife Matters.
I’m your host, Nigel Palmer, and we have a real treat for you today.
But it’s not the Q&A you may have been expecting - that has been put back slightly while we finalise the production.
Today, we are offering a unique opportunity- a live wildlife-watching experience. And what makes it truly special? The mammal we'll be observing is a rare sight in most of the UK.
This was our first-ever attempt at capturing a live wildlife event. Much of the audio remains from that clear, chill, breezy, moonlit winter night between Christmas and New Year.
If you enjoy the Wildlife Matters Podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review, as that really helps this pod get into the ears of other wildlife and nature lovers. Thank you
You can find out more about Wildlife Matters on our website, www.wildlife-matters.org. Please follow and like our posts on the leading social media platforms.
Wildlife Matters is an independent podcast with a new adventure or interview every two weeks.
Keep your heart wild and your mind free #wildlifematters

On this week's Wildlife Matters podcast, we have a feature-length chat with Alana, the co-founder of the Wildlife Care Badge.
Wildlife Care Badge was set up by a collective of vet professionals, wildlife professionals, and wildlife rescues/rehabbers, who have united to develop some self-regulation for UK wildlife rescues/rehabbers.
We have launched a new UK Wildlife Rescue DIRECTORY/MAP that represents a list of trustworthy - PROVEN - Wildlife Rescues/Rehabbers for Vet Practices & members of the public to know they can confidently give wildlife casualties/orphans to for knowledgeable, high welfare rehabilitative care.
By joining the Wildlife Care Badge, you're not just gaining a badge. You're joining a safe, supportive, and positive community—a community that unites UK Vet Professionals and Wildlife Rescues/Rehabbers around a common goal: the thriving rights of wildlife.
To register to take the Wildlife Care Badge or for more information, please visit: https://www.wildlifecarebadge.com/

You can find Wildlife Care Badge on Facebook

Wildlife Matters - www.wildlife-matters.org

Find Wildlife Matters on Instagram. Facebook, Threads, X and now on YouTube

The Bloody Ivory Trade
We have had a very wet winter here in the UK, but now the signs of spring are all around. With its many shades of green and the bluebells currently carpeting our woodlands, the birds are nesting, and the dawn chorus is loud and genuinely a beautiful cacophony.
I’ve been leading nightingale walks in our local woodlands and following a buzzard family nesting nearby. In a future podcast, we will bring you the whole story.
Today, 24th April is #helpanimalsday. Our friends at One Voice for Animals have hosted this day since its launch in 2022.
The aim is to encourage everyone to do something to help animals. That could be volunteering at a wildlife or companion animal rescue centre, helping a local group survey reptiles and amphibians, donating to your local hedgehog rescue or something else that allows animals.
Please have a look at the One Voice for Animals website www.helpanimals.co.uk 
What will you do for animals today?
And now it is time for this week's Nature News.—————————————————————————————-
Nature News
This week’s Nature News features the funeral for nature that took place in Bath on Saturday, 20 April.

Hundreds of protesters, including broadcasters Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin, marched in a “funeral procession” for the natural world destroyed by climate change.

Some protesters dressed in red and hundreds more wearing black walked through the streets of Bath, Somerset.

The “Mourners” in the performance art piece walked to a drum beat and carried a willow funeral bier of a Mother Earth figure created by artist Anna Gillespie. Environmentalist Chris Packham wore a black tie with an Extinction Rebellion logo as he spoke to the crowd.

The protest aimed to sound “code red for nature” and highlight “the UK’s position as one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world” ahead of Earth Day last Monday.

Red Rebel Brigade members, resplendent in their red outfits and white face paint, were part of an international troupe whose members protested through performance art pieces.

Organisers said Saturday’s procession of 400 Red Rebels was the largest gathering to date and that the number was consistently increasing. Groups came from the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and across the UK for the procession, which Extinction Rebellion also organised.

Anna Gillespie said: “Unlike conventional protests, the procession will be free of banners or placards. Instead, we are relying on the intense imagery of the vast assembly of Red Rebels and the impact of the figure of Mother Nature on a funeral bier carried by mourners to get the message across

“Everyone participating has a powerful desire to express their desperate feelings of loss and fear as the natural world struggles to survive in the face of our human onslaught.”

Organisers said 43% of UK bird species were in decline, 97% of wildflower meadows had disappeared since the Second World War, and the world was entering its “sixth mass extinction event.”

Bystanders were handed an “Order of Service” containing information on climate change. Other Funerals for Nature were held simultaneously in Boston, Sydney, Gothenburg, and Lisbon.

One of the organisers, Rob Delius, said: “The intention is to send a powerful SOS message for nature by creating a visual spectacle that will shock and inspire onlookers in equal measures. 

The UK has sleepwalked into this nature crisis, and the fact that we are now one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world isn’t being talked about enough.

“We want the processions to create a talking point and move the public to demand that the Government,...

Hello and welcome to this week’s Wildlife Matters Podcast. I’m your host, Nigel Palmer.
It’s Springtime here in the UK, and nature is bursting back into life. There are so many shades of green - and every shade is so fresh and vibrant. The birds are in full song, and the buds have burst into blossom.
And we are at the start of Series Four. It has been just over two years since we launched the podcast, and it has been such a fun and exciting journey. 
We have come a long way, and with this new series four, we will evolve again. Nothing in nature is ever completely still, so we feel the drive to keep improving. 
So, for series four, we will have a Wildlife Matters main feature or A Wildlife Matters Investigates, and we will bring you lots more interviews with people working with wildlife or in nature conservation.
Wildlife Matters has been concerned about the state of our rivers for several years now and has recently collaborated with the Rivers Trust, Surfers Against Sewage and the Friends of the River Wye; I felt it was about time we did a Wildlife Matters Investigates into UK River Pollution and Ask Are our Rivers dying?
I have also had a lot of questions about myself, the Wildlife Matters organisation and the projects and Campaigns we are working on. We have decided to do our first Q&A episode, but I wanted to give you a chance to ask your question, so if you would like to ask a question, please email us at hello@wildlife-matters.org that’s hello@wildlife-matters.org before 26th April, and we will try to answer as many as we can on a Q&A episode on Wednesday 8 May.
The state of our rivers is shocking, and we have begun two projects that will use citizen science volunteers to regularly monitor the water quality of their local rivers at multiple points.
This week’s Mindful Moments is from June last year when I worked on a project in Nottinghamshire. As usual, I was wild camping in my camper van, and I like to get up and out early to nature. I took a walk along the Chesterfield Canal, and the birdsong was incredible that morning, so I recorded it to share with you.
Isn’t it wonderful to spend a minute or so in nature? I can remember that day so well. The canal runs alongside a road and eventually under a bridge. The day was warm and bright, and summer meadows smelled in the air. Retford is a beautiful town with a lot of history, and the people were very friendly. I was surveying the idle Valley Nature Reserve, which Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust runs. Do visit if you get the chance.
How many of these did you identify? Great Tit, Dunnock, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion crow, Robin and Goldfinch
Remember to send me your questions for our May Q&A, and thank you for joining me today. We appreciate every one of you.
Wildlife Matters will return in two weeks on Wednesday, 24th April, but until then, Keep on the wild side. I’ve been your host, Nigel Palmer, and this is Wildlife Matters -signing off.