The Wildlife Community Podcast

Why do hedgehogs hibernate when other mammals don't? And how can we help them to snore safely in our gardens? This episode, we speak to hedgehog-rescuer extraordinaire, Mary Hinton, who has been running the Help A Hedgehog Hospital in south Gloucestershire for ten years now. And this winter all of her cages and pods are filled with sick and injured hogs and those too small to hibernate safely this winter. Find out how to make your garden welcoming for hedgehogs now and come the spring. And what to do if you do see a hoggy wandering about in the winter.

Dan Rouse is a famed ornithologist, wildlife presenter and author. We encouraged her away from the South Wales Coast, and her binoculars, to talk to us all about how to attract birds to our own gardens.
We learn the secrets of her daily wildlife-friendly gardening routine, what she's noticed most about lockdown and birdlife in Wales, and how and why she's helping farmers to encourage owls onto their farmland.
Find out more about our Wildlife Community podcast on our website.

Do bees need our help? Surely the solitary bee is happy on its own? We delve into the secretive world of these fascinating pollinators who are a gardener’s best friend. You can find out more about the podcast on our website. In this episode, Paul and Helen speak to a professor of pollination, Jeff Ollerton, to get more of the science behind the solitary bee. And find out from bee-mad Jean Vernon, how we can make our gardens as bee-friendly as possible, including the top ten plants for attracting solitary bees.

Helen is jealous of Paul’s hedgehog babies! And we interview Fay Vass, the chief executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society on how to turn our gardens into hedgehog havens. Find out more on our website.
Our first episode of The Wildlife Community podcast is all about Britain’s favourite wild animal, the hedgehog. To celebrate Hedgehog Awareness Week, we want to dive into the stats and facts behind why this much-loved creature has recently landed itself on the Red List for endangered species. And what we can all do to try and encourage and care for hedgehogs in our own gardens and green spaces.

Helen is joined by butterfly expert and National Trust conservationist, Matthew Oates, on the trail of His Imperial Majesty - a butterfly with the morals of a Tolkien orc apparently! Purple Emperor Butterflies are little known and little talked about, but they’ve attracted a cult following for their allusiveness, rarity and iridescent beauty which they flaunt with vanity. Helen meets superfan and author, Matthew Oates, in Gloucestershire’s Lower Woods on the hunt for the Purple Emperor Butterfly. A good news story for British wildlife. “The males have the morals of some of Tolkien’s orcs! You wouldn’t want your sister or daughter to go out with a bloke with the morals of a purple emperor butterfly!” Find out more about Matthew Oates on our website.