Nature Magic

Today Mary is talking to Professor David Sobel as a contributor to the nature educators series within Nature Magic. David is a Professor in the Education Department at Antioch University New England. He consults and speaks widely on child development and place-based education with schools, environmental organisations and the National Park Service in the US. He has authored eight books and more tha...

Professor Temple Grandin is professor of Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University. She is a prominent proponent for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior. She is a consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior, and an autism spokesperson. She is one of the first individua...

Today Mary is talking to Professor Jan White. Jan is a leading thinker and writer on outdoor play and advocate for nature-rich outdoor provision for services for children from birth to seven. She works as an early childhood consultant across the UK, Ireland and internationally Jan has over thirty-eight years’ experience in education and has developed a deep commitment to the consistently powerful...

Today Mary is talking to New York Times bestselling author Sy Montgomery. Sy is a multi-award winning nature writer and author of 28 books including ‘The Soul of an Octopus- A surprising exploration into the wonder of consciousness.' It is a deeply touching and enlightening personal story Sy writes for adults and children, for print and broadcast, in America and overseas in an effort to reach as w...

Today Mary is talking to Dr Paddy Madden. "How far we adults have retreated from childhood" Paddy worked as a primary school teacher for three decades before becoming a lecturer in SESE education. He presently works as a Heritage in School Specialist and delivers CPD courses. He constructed the first school wildlife garden in Ireland in 1984 on which his thrice printed book Go Wild at School is ba...

Welcome to 2021 and a Happy New Year to our listeners! Today is the start of a series of Nature Magic podcasts talking to inspirational people who are dedicated to nature education. Today Mary is speaking to Michelle Lawton. Michelle founded Stretch the Imagination in 2002. Stretch is a program where children are free to explore and delve deeply into their experiences. Michelle has a passion for c...

Today Mary is talking to Brigid Barry. Brigid coordinates Farming for Nature since its inception in 2018. This was set up to encourage and inspire farmers that farm or wish to farm more for nature. Prior to this initiative, she was the manager of the landscape charity Burrenbeo Trust for 9 years, biodiversity officer for Clare County Council and a project officer on numerous conservation projects...

Today I am speaking to Melanie Croce, Melanie is the executive Director of Seal Rescue Ireland. Seal Rescue Ireland (SRI) is a charity organisation that works around the clock to rescue, rehabilitate and release native seals found sick, injured or orphaned from across the coast of Ireland. Melanie studied environmental science at Virginia tech university and went on to do environmental consulting...

Today Mary is chatting to Edward Dee. This was the hardest interview to set up as Eddie was not keen to get in front of the microphone! Eddie is the phenomenal plantsman at Burren Nature Sanctuary. A truly passionate nature lover he has been planting a forest garden at his home for the last 33 years and in 2012 became the gardener at Burren Nature Sanctuary. Eddie has single handedly developed the...

Today Mary is chatting to the inspirational Susan Kerwin. Susan is a wildlife Rehabilitater based in County Limerick with a special focus on bats. She found her love for bats when suffering from insomnia after her cancer treatment. She is founder of Bat Rehabilitation Ireland and has just opened a fully dedicated bat hospital. Happy Halloween! Connect with Susan on facebook at: https://www.faceboo...

Today Mary is chatting to the super talented, Kinvara local, Irene Graham. Irene is a writer, story editor and photographer. From 1998 to 2008 she was a full-time photographer signed to Getty Images in NY, with an image speciality in portraits, nature and architecture. In 1991 she founded The Creative Writer’s Workshop, which has become an international success in fiction and memoir writing. Irene...

Mary talks to Jenny Lloyd-Strovas about getting children off their devices and outside learning about nature. Dr. Jenny is a biologist, researcher and educator. Her passion is connecting people with nature so they become stewards of our natural resources. She does this by helping parents get their kids off screens, outdoors, and learning about nature in their own backyards while building STEM skil...

Today Mary is chatting to Raquel Noboa from Fifty Shades Greener. Raquel has worked in the Hospitality industry for the past 23 years, working in hotels around the world since the age of 17. She knows the industry well, the challenges it faces and the mind-set barriers to greening a Hospitality business. Raquel started her own green journey at Hotel Doolin, in Ireland. She was working there as the...

Mary Bermingham, cofounder of Burren Nature Sanctuary and host of the podcast Nature Magic- A positive voice for nature from Ireland- talks to Simon Cocking of Irish Tech News about the new Burren Nature Sanctuary book-Nature Magic- How you can engage everyone with biodiversity. The kindle version was best seller on launch day in many categories on Amazon including Green Business and Botany. The p...

We talk to Gordon about treating the planet as a gift, planting trees and his recent book The Breathing Burren. Gordon is a civil engineer but has spent most of his working life as a freelance environmental author, artist and educator. He has had 17 exhibitions featuring his nature artwork, has contributed to many magazines and has published 9 books: The Birds at Lough Beg, The Guide to the birds...

Today I am talking to Sean McCormack. Sean is a life long naturalist, a vet by profession and a self-confessed nature nerd. He studied Animal Science at Agricultural College in Essex followed by Veterinary Medicine as a graduate in Dublin at UCD. Having been involved in wildlife conservation in various volunteer capacities over the years, Sean set up his own local conservation organisation where h...

Patrick McCormack is an organic farmer from the Burren, Co Clare, in the West of Ireland. If you are lucky you can join one of his occasional guided walks and learn about the history, biodiversity and culture of this special landscape. Patrick is one of the strongest voices in Ireland speaking for nature and a return for sustainable land management. He also lives, with Cheryl his wife and family,...

Gonçalo Santos is a 27-year-old chemist and amateur botanist from Portugal. His passion for plants started in 2014 when he created a garden from wasteland around his apartment block. It now counts over 500 native species and is enjoyed by all his neighbours! He is living in Dublin since 2018 and since then has been recording Irish wildflowers. Recommended books A field guide to the Orchids of Euro...

Catherine talks about the INCASE project, (Irish Natural Capital Accounting for Sustainable Environments) her love of bogs and her new novel The Easter Snow. Dr Catherine Farrell is an ecologist, specialising in restoration ecology and how to revive degraded natural systems. Catherine has worked on wetland and woodland systems across Ireland and internationally, with a particular focus on how to b...

Laura talks about lessons from lockdown, being nice to spiders and the intelligence of plants. As well as being a nature lover, Laura is a celebrity psychic, a business coach, an author of 7 books, a chart topping podcaster, an actor, model, singer and a movie award judge! Laura invited me as a guest on to her health podcast ‘Healing Powers’ on the subject of the healing power of nature and then e...

Professor Jane Stout talks about her love for ants and solitary bees and her role in setting up the All Ireland Pollinator Plan. Jane is a professor in Botany in the School of Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin. She leads the Plant-Animal Interactions research group and is Ireland’s leading expert on bees and pollination ecology. She is co-founder of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, and de...

Eamon talks about snorkelling and kayaking in Inishbofin, writers and poets that inspired him, finding nature along the River Dodder and connecting to the natural world in his allotment. Eamon served as Minister for Communications Energy and Natural Resources from 2007-2011 and since then has been the leader of the Green Party in Ireland. With the European Green Deal announced this week with a €20...

Pádraic talks about loving the Humpback Whale and the controversial concept of reintroducing Wolves to the Island of Ireland. Pádraic is an ecologist and also the Campaigns Officer with the Irish Wildlife Trust. The Trust aims to conserve wildlife and the habitats they depend on throughout Ireland while encouraging a greater understanding and appreciation of the natural world and the need to prote...

Joshua talks about being ‘a plant obsessive’ and taking over his mother's back garden at an early age to grow wildflowers. Joshua is a 24 year old botanist with a BSc in Ecology and a passion for plants that is irresistible. His work since gaining his first-class degree in 2017 includes founding and coordinating the North West Rare plants initiative. The NWRPI is a conservation programme based in...

Noeleen talks about the tricks plants play, her love of moss and its importance in controlling flooding. She speaks about being deeply connected to the ancient spiritual landscape of Ireland, her efforts to conserve plant species and combat 'plant blindness.' She is currently Conservation Botanist at the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin, where she is working on launching the new Natio...