Sean's Wild Life

Alas, we have reached the final episode of season five of Sean's Wild Life podcast. And perhaps the final episode of the podcast entirely as I'm hanging up my podcast boots for the time being, So it seemed fitting to invite back our first ever guest to be our final one. Jules Howard is a zoologist, author, science communicator and broadcaster with a nifty perspective on the natural world. His late...

I caught up with naturalist, writer, wilding ecologist and TikToker extraordinaire Pete Cooper to indulge in his passion for the smaller, less glamorous species reintroductions happening in the UK at present. We delved into making Glow Worm porridge (that's made for Glow Worms, not with Glow Worms by the way!), the success of our Ealing Harvest Mouse reintroduction project which Pete has helped fa...

Prepare for LOLZ. I caught up with my pal Chantelle, CBeebies presenter of teeny Tiny Creatures, Great North Wood project officer for London Wildlife Trust and Future Advisor for former podcast guests Heal Rewilding. I would say we had a great chat but truth is we laughed our way through lots of topics. But on a serious note we did explore why there is a lack of diversity in the nature and conserv...

I caught up with Gareth Steel, vet and author of new book 'Never Work With Animals' which lifts the lid on what it's really like being a vet. We discuss why he wrote the book, some of the stories it contains and how the perception Vs reality of the job often differ when it comes to the general public. Not many know the fact that veterinary medicine has the highest rate of suicide of any profession...

In this episode we're moving away from wildlife and nature conservation to a serious animal welfare issue I face in my career as a vet, exploring the issues of flat faced or brachycephalic dog breeds. I'm joined by two incredibly knowledgeable guests, Alison Skipper and Dr Rowena Packer. Alison is a vet studying a PhD in the history of pedigree dog breeding and welfare. Rowena is a companion anima...

It's a podcast crossover episode this time as I meet with fellow podcaster Ryan Dalton, host of the excellent nature podcast 'Into the Wild' (https://intothewild.podbean.com/). I brought Ryan to a top secret location last Spring to find adders, Britain's only venomous reptile as he'd only recently seen his first one and wanted to see more. I visit this site each year and told him I'd guarantee him...

Chatting with marine biologist and fish ecologist Professor Steve Simpson from the University of Bristol about ocean health, his incredible research on rebuilding coral reefs using sound technology, using the underwater soundscape to monitor ecosystem change and the mission he set me and the team of Changing Planet: Britain's Wildest to record the longest ocean sound transect ever completed in UK...

On a trip home to Ireland I took a wander with my Dad on Christmas Eve on his friend, Anthony Mooney's farm, where biodiversity is treated with just as much importance as beef production. Anthony tells us about the habitat features he's brought back to the landscape, how his haymaking approach benefits wildlife more than intensive silage production, his recent re-wetting experiment of one of his f...

An enjoyable ramble in nature with the lovely Lorraine Kelly and equally gorgeous Angus, her Border Terrier. Did you know that Lorraine is a closet bird nerd? Well she is, and we chat all about her travels and relationship with nature, animals and enthusiasm for birds. Angus keeps us on our toes throughout, and we encounter a few little surprises along the way. Come join us on a gorgeous walk by t...

I had a long overdue chat with zoologist, wildlife TV presenter and conservationist Megan McCubbin to talk about her career journey and how the pandemic impacted not only her path but that of many others when it comes to nature appreciation. We discuss the role of social media in bringing like minded young conservationists and environmentalists together, but also the downsides of social media and...

Biologist, presenter, public speaker, voiceover artist, writer and mother, Gillian Burke has a lot to say. So it was a delight to have a proper chat about her upbringing and career journey to date, her hopes for our planet and humanity as well as the challenges we are facing. Perhaps best know for her presenting role on BBC Springwatch and the spin off Autumn and Winterwatch shows, we talk about h...

I catch up with Nina Constable to chat about her wildlife film making career and qualifications, what inspires her, some of her previous projects and what she's working on next. Nina's work is both visually beautiful and inspiring in its storytelling style. Of course we chat about beavers, a favourite topic of this podcast, hence the release of this episode in the same week as International Beaver...

I showed Elliot Newton of Citizen Zoo and now Biodiversity Officer for Kingston Council around Ealing for the first time. Elliot is leading a community led water vole reintroduction project in Kingston on the Hogsmill River, a very special chalk fed stream where water voles used to thrive but have undergone a local extinction. Water Vole reintroduction is something that I've been scoping out as a...

I talk to a veterinary colleague, Laura Higham, who I admire hugely for her work in the field of 'One Health' and sustainability within the veterinary profession. We discuss the unique role of veterinary professionals working at the intersection between animal health, public health of humans and our impacts on environmental health too. Laura set up Vet Sustain and also works for the Food Animal In...

I've followed Kate MacRae (aka @WildlifeKate) on Twitter for years, enjoying her live video streams and webcams on various wildlife in stunning, up close and personal detail. So it was great to chat and share our mutual passion for observing wildlife and how you can always learn amazing new behaviours or insights into even our common or garden species. With a background in environmental education,...

I caught up with Harvey Tweats, a 17 year old conservationist and cofounder of Celtic Reptile and Amphibian with his friend Tom. Celtic are an operation keeping and breeding various European species for the purposes of conservation, education and some cases rewilding or reintroduction of long extinct species. The guys' story recently featured in The Guardian and despite broadly receiving positivit...

I speak with Matthew and Charis Watkinson about their off grid life in the Welsh countryside, and what prompted them to turn their back on the trappings of modern life for as remote and self sufficient an existence as they could. Having recently featured on Ben Fogle's 'New Lives in the Wild' on Channel 5, the pair have been overwhelmed with the interest in the life and enterprise they have create...

I was delighted to speak with Kit Stoner, CEO of the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) about one of my favourite groups of animals, bats! Often misunderstood and vilified, bats are a fascinating and extremely important group of animals globally. And in a year where bats have received somewhat of a bad rep and perhaps unwarranted blame for the Covid-19 pandemic, we settle the score on this and many othe...

After a long time talking about it, I pay a visit to Ben Andrews' organic farm in rural Herefordshire to get the scoop on organic Vs conventional agriculture, countryside stewardship especially farmers' roles and how we can produce food in a nature friendly way that isn't as harmful to the climate and environment. We also get into a meaty discussion about veganism and food trends, dissect the glut...

A fascinating, hilarious and inspiring conversation with Derek Gow, an ecologist, reintroduction specialist, farmer and author of 'Bringing Back the Beaver'. Derek is well known for speaking out on the frustrations of our current systems and organisations in place to protect our natural landscapes and biodiversity. Or should that be to regulate our natural landscapes and attempts to restore biodiv...

I sat down to chat about this controversial and often emotive topic with the President of the British Veterinary Association, James Russell and CEO of the Badger Trust, Dominic Dyer. We explored the issues surrounding the eradication of bovine TB, a disease of cattle which also affects wildlife species, most notably the badger. And we tackle the logic, pros and cons of the government's badger cull...

I chat to Conor Gallagher, founder of AllotMe.co.uk, a brand new online platform linking wannabe food growers with local landowners to start using urban spaces for food production. Think of it as the AirBnB for gardeners and food growers! We discuss the importance of connecting with our food systems, urban agriculture, the demand for and shortage of allotment space in urban areas and new technolog...

I chat to the hilarious (and self described eccentric) Hugh Warwick chatting all things prickle pig on the eve of the release of his latest book, The Hedgehog Book. An ecologist, author and passionate hedgehog advocate, Hugh is spokesperson for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and possibly the world's only hedgehog stand up comic! On a serious note, we discuss the reasons for the hedgehog...

I chat to David Hetherington, author of 'The Lynx and Us' and arguably the UK's foremost expert on Lynx and its proposed reintroduction to Britain. We discuss the issues of land management, the need for reafforestation and peatland restoration in Scotland to combat climate change and the overpopulation of deer and controversially for some, sheep. The lack of any apex predators means an imbalanced...

In this episode I talk about unwanted wildlife, the vilified and unwelcome guests to these shores with Jack Baddams, naturalist, ornithologist and wildlife researcher at the BBC Natural History Unit. We discuss the narratives that dominate talk of non native and invasive species, and the discrepancies and at times hypocrisy of how we view certain species against others. Jack share his recent thoug...