A Wilder Life

This is the second episode of a 2 part series about wild food and foraging, in which I continue interviewing expert foragers Emily Fawcett and Charlie Loram about the wonders of wild food and foraging. In this episode we explore ideas about integrating wild food harvesting into small scale farming and food production practices.. We look at wild food preparation and preservation too, and I sample some wild food cuisine. We also ask if it is possible to live off an entirely wild food diet, something that Emily and Charlie have been practically researching themselves recently through their participation in The Wild Biome project.

This is the first episode of a 2 part series about wild food and foraging, in which I interview foraging experts Emily Fawcett and Charlie Loram. In this episode, we find out about the “Wild Practice Programme that Charlie and Emily run. We look at what plants and wild food can teach us about relationship, and the concept of ‘reciprocity’, and we discuss how foraging can bring us into a deeper understanding and a deeper sense of belonging to our local environments. We also explore some intriguing facts and ideas about the social and political history of bilberries and acorns as a food source, whilst asking what we can learn from this for the future….

A soundscape from Rewilding Coombeshead in Devon: White Storks, Turtle Doves (and Goldfinches) and Marsh Frogs..These sounds would once have been common in the UK, are now extremely rare….but hopefully these are sounds that will become commonplace once again due to the epic species reintroduction work of people like Derek Gow and his team at Coombeshead Rewilding; where they breed Beavers, Wild Cats, White Storks, Watervoles, Harvest Mice, Glow Worms, Mole Crickets, Adders, Black Grouse, Turtle Doves and Red Backed Shrike for species reintroduction projects around the UK

In this episode, I explore the beech forests of Southern Sweden, and I go in search of the sound of howling wolves, which prompts me to take a little dive into the controversial and often divisive topic of wolf culling and wolf conservation in Sweden and Europe. Like many of my wilder life podcast episodes, this one is part travelogue story, with field recordings from my adventures, and also part topical investigation and discussion. If you find yourself wondering what my sources are for the information I present here, you can find links to them on the show’s website, at www.awilderlife.uk/links.

The delicate and delightful churring of Turtle Doves at Rewilding Coombeshead, in Devon, June 1st 2024.... recorded on 1st June of 2024. With just over 2,000 breeding pairs in the UK, a decline of 99% since the 1960's - Rewilding Coombeshead's Turtle Dove breeding and release programme is a vital step in conserving our biodiversity. Read less

I captured this beautiful sound last year on the Isle of Rum, during my Scottish Rewilding odyssey....I have plenty more material from that trip, and some really interesting stories to tell... hopefully I'll get around to it soon!

A little taster of episodes still to come, and an update on future plans for the show.

Part two of 'Deep Listening in the Wild', is narrated and produced by Sonic Artist Jamie House, as he brings his perspective on how the practice of deep listening with modern technologies help us to deepen and enhance our perception and understanding of the more than human world.

In this episode I join Sonic Artist Jaimie House in an abandoned naval fort in the suburbs of Plymouth, and experience 'deep listening' to the 'more than human world'

Podcast host Chris Smith shares a personal story about nature connection and looks at the value of nature for mental health and wellbeing.

Rewilding in the Apennines Pt 3 In this episode we dive a little deeper into the challenges of Rewilding in Italy. Podcast host Chris Smith interviews Rewilding Apennines team members Fabrizio Cordeschei and Ilaria Goria and discusses issues of human-wildlife coexistence and finds out more about the work of the organisation.

In this Episode we go in search of the the Marsican Brown Bear. We will learn about the lives and ecology of this rare sub species of Grizzly Bear, go walking in the Selva Moricento (a UNESCO world heritage forest) and explore what it feels like to be out there alone, deep in Bear country!

Stories from my time volunteering with Rewilding Apennines & discovering the wildlife of Central Italy.

A brief introduction to the series

In a Devon woodland (UK) at 5pm, a song thrush sings it's heart out for the glory of springtime. It's April and the woodland is alive with birdsong