Talk on the Wild Side

🎙️ New Episode: A Walk Through Time at Downe Bank 🌿🦋 Join Talk on the Wild Side as Rob Smith meets Kent Wildlife Trust Warden Paul Glanfield at the breathtaking Downe Bank Nature Reserve in Bromley! Once a favourite retreat of Charles Darwin, this rare chalk grassland is now under consideration as a World Heritage Site, and for good reason. Discover the vibrant biodiversity of this historic site...

Welcome to a brand-new season of Talk on the Wild Side ! 🌿 In this feel-good season opener, our roving presenter Rob Smith hits the road to catch up with Bethany , Wild Road Verge Officer at Kent Wildlife Trust . 🚗🌾 Together, they explore how the charity, alongside an incredible team of volunteers, is creating vital spaces for nature right next to some of Kent’s busiest roads. Get ready for ins...

In this exciting episode of Talk on the Wild Side , Rob heads to the stunning Pegwell Bay to chat with Adrian Pierssene from National Grid about their ambitious Sea Link Project. This multi-million-pound initiative aims to supercharge the Grid's renewable energy capabilities by connecting Kent and Suffolk with an underwater cable. But there’s a twist—plans for a massive converter station at Minste...

A run down and overgrown medieval churchyard in Sandwich has been restored to a beautiful wildlife haven by a group of local volunteers. In this amazing story, you'll hear from the people who brought this churchyard back to life and find out what they discovered when they peeled the ivy back from the tombstones. It takes a community of passionate people to make a difference and you can really...

Iain Tolhurst NBE is a pioneering organic farmer and owner of Tolhurst Organic Farms. This farm has made quite a name for itself because it is able to feed 350 families on 14 acres of what is classified as poor quality agricultural land up to now, without any government subsidies. He manages this land with minimal external inputs to the farm. This means no chemical fertiliser or pesticides. He als...

Once heard purring in every corner of Marden, the turtle dove is now under threat; both in Africa where it spends its winters, and here in the UK where it spends its summers. What happens when a passionate community of wildlife lovers decide to take action to bring this evocative bird back to its former glory? In this episode you will hear from farmers, ornithologists, scientists and community res...

Bugs Matter is a national citizen science survey aiming to create a picture of insect decline in the UK by looking at the windscreen phenomenon. You may not remember this but there was once a time when our windscreens were covered in bug splats. Where have all the insects gone? And what could their demise mean for the rest of us!? Rob Smith interviews Dr Lawrence Ball of Kent Wildlife Trust to fin...

Rob Smith visits Moat Farm in Kent to figure out where the nightingales went and how farmer Michael Bax has been on a mission to bring them back. Learn all about nightingales, where they are found and how habitat is being created for them. Spoiler, you may even get to hear the exquisite night-time song of a nightingale in action! The common nightingale or Luscinia megarhynchos are rather plain bir...

Meet Charlie Burrell, Co-Owner of the Knepp Estate and Chair of Rewilding Britain. Some 20 years ago, Charlie and his wife Isabella Tree decided they needed to take a different approach on their 3,500 acres of land. Their story is famous but where are they now and where do they hope the future is going? You'll have to listen to find out! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Rob Smith as he walks around Scotney Castle and Gardens learning about how the team here are managing the land for nature whilst welcoming 180,000 visitors a year. Rob meets Rebecca Rees, General Manager, Senior Gardener, Andrea Bennet and Richard Newman, Head Ranger to focus on different areas of the estate and learn how they're managed with nature in mind. Scotney manages 788 acres of land...

The Government has made legally-binding commitments to end nature declines and they've mandated local councils to propose actions and priorities for their areas through a Local Nature Recovery Strategy. Rob Smith speaks to Liz Milne who is developing the LNRS in Kent (called 'Making Space for Nature') and Emma Loder-Symonds of Nonnington Farms who is already Making Space for Nature on her 3000 acr...

In this episode of Talk on the Wild Side, we explore the wetlands. First, we visit Elmley Nature Reserve, a private estate owned and managed by Gareth Fulton and his family. The reserve has been managed for nature since the 80's and is now an eco-tourism spot with luxurious private accommodation that brings people close to nature that wouldn't ordinarily visit. Rob also speaks to a volunteer about...

🦭The 7th episode of Talk on the Wild Side touches on a very important topic. The Sea Link cable National Grid are proposing will run through Sandwich and Pegwell Bay with a converter set to take up 13ha of Minster Marshes. Rob talks to the Kent Wildlife Trust team about what the risks are and what we can do about it. 🏘️Also in this episode, Rob talks to Sustainability Director of Thakeham Group a...

We're choughed to bring you our 6th episode of Talk on the Wild Side, featuring the reintroduction of the red-billed chough to the Kent countryside thanks to a partnership with Kent Wildlife Trust, Wildwood Trust and English Heritage. We speak to Liz Corry, Chough Release Supervisor at Wildwood Trust who knows the first chough to be reintroduced very well and treats Rob to the spectacle of watchin...

Rob Smith heads to Brightlingsea Marina in Essex to talk oysters with Matt Uttley, Restoration Project Manager at Blue Marine Foundation. He discovers the difference between our native oyster and the Pacific oyster and why Matt is on a mission to boost the population numbers of our native oyster, the European flat oyster ( Ostrea edulis ) with a number of partners forming a group known as ENORI. H...

As the Autumnal months set in, we return for the 4th instalment of Kent Wildlife Trust's podcast; Talk on the Wild Side. In this episode, we head to RSPB Northward Hill Nature Reserve on the Hoo Peninsula to hear from Area Manager Alan Johnson about the site's incredible journey of transformation and its value for wading birds such as lapwings and redshanks. Rob talks to Paul Hadaway, Director of...

Join us as we head deep into the Natural History Museum to private access areas where scientists are lurking. We meet Piotr Cuber, Senior Molecular Microbiologist at the Natural Museum to discuss soil science, in particular at West Blean and Thornden Woods, where Piotr and his team are looking to find out how the soil there will change as a result of the bison presence. In this episode, we also sp...

As part of our second installment of Talk on the Wild Side, Rob visits GrowUp Farms in Sandwich; an unassuming building where the future of farming is being successfully implemented. Rob will be talking with GrowUp's impact director, Gillon Dobie, discussing this cutting edge of agriculture. Nearer the start of the programme, Rob visits our private Ham Fen reserve to learn about its beaver populat...

In the first ever episode of Talk on the Wild Side, hosted by Rob Smith, you'll hear from Kent Wildlife Trust CEO, Evan Bowen-Jones, you'll join Rob on safari as he takes a tour of Oare Marshes with Area Warden Nadia Ward and you'll hear from Martin Richmond-Coggan of Green Farm. A regenerative farmer who teaches us about the value of mob grazing. Links: Evan Bowen-Jones LinkedIn: https://www.link...

Kent Wildlife Trust have teamed up with Rob Smith, previously co-anchor on the BBC South East Today news programme, to bring you an audio feast. This brand-new podcast will lift you out of your eco-anxiety and give you a tour of the heroes and heroines bringing nature back from the brink. Rob will visit farms, nature reserves, councils, labs, gardens, schools and businesses who are making a differ...