Wildlife Matters podcast at 50! - A Celebration

Hello and welcome to this week’s Wildlife Matters Podcast. I’m your host, Nigel Palmer.

In today’s Bonus episode, we will look back over our first 50, yes, 5-0 episodes, that is, four complete series, and chat through some of the highlights and challenges. We will celebrate the fantastic wildlife and some of the incredible people we have spoken to and discuss what it’s been like to start a podcast and build a community from scratch.

It's time to review our first four series and this 52nd episode of the Wildlife Matters podcast.

It feels strange reflecting on my work and passion in public, and perhaps that is one of the reasons I preferred to review our first fifty episodes rather than do a stand-alone Q&A that many of you asked for. 

Wildlife Matters journey started with a lifelong love of wildlife and an appreciation of nature and the natural world we share with wild animals. 

It also comes from the deeply held belief that we are all animals and a massive aversion to those who take pleasure in hunting or persecuting them for their fur and body parts, testing medications and inflicting diseases on them, or forcing them to perform for our entertainment.

REFLECTING ON THE JOURNEY

When I started this podcast, I had a vision. I dreamt of creating a community of wildlife and nature lovers where we could talk about 

and celebrate Wildlife and the wonders of the natural world. 

I wanted to share stories, inspire, and help each other grow. 

I never imagined we’d reach this incredible milestone. 

It is not only 52 episodes or four series but, as you will find out as we go along, I am so proud to have created a passionate and engaged community that will take action and like to celebrate wildlife and the natural world. 

We will use our collective voice now to benefit wildlife and the natural world, continue to share each other's stories and grow into a genuine force for good.

It’s been a journey filled with ups and downs, moments of doubt, but most importantly, moments of pure joy. 

We’ve had some incredible conversations with inspiring guests, and I’m so grateful to each of them for being such a vital part of our journey. 

In Series Five, we will bring you more conversations with people working with or for wildlife and nature.

Why Wildlife Matters?

From the beginning, the goal was to build a community based on mutual love and appreciation of wildlife and nature, sharing stories and experiences to engage, motivate and inspire others to follow their passions and beliefs to help wildlife and nature in their unique way.

Wildlife Matters was born from a passion and a lifelong love for wildlife and the natural world. 

With over 30 years of experience working for wildlife and conservation charities in the UK, Africa, and Asia, I have gained invaluable insights into species protection, conservation, and habitat management.

We have a profound love for plants and trees and all aspects of Nature, including habitats, Oceans and rivers, but our absolute passion is wildlife species.

In addition, our practical experience in Woodland Management and Horticulture has given us the tools to make a difference in the fight to protect our natural world.

We have hands-on experience working with sick and injured animals on the frontline in a busy wildlife rescue. 

For over forty years, I have, along with many others, taken direct action against hunters and anyone who persecutes wildlife for so-called sport.

Our knowledge and experience are as diverse and varied as they are broad.

British wildlife is not only beautiful and unique but also fascinating and varied. 

While our mammals may not be the largest, they possess unique qualities and live in many habitats, including the beautiful bat species - the UK’s only flying mammal.

Our birdlife is abundant, and many new species from Southern Europe have joined us in recent years. 

Our bird passion lies in raptors, owls, and corvids. Still, we remember our reptiles, amphibians, and insects as the foundation of biodiverse habitats, leading fascinating lives in unique places.

Wildlife Matters Community

Wildlife Matters is dedicated to building a community of nature and wildlife enthusiasts. We believe that a podcast is the best way to achieve this.

Our podcast serves as the beating heart of our community. 

It will explore the successes, problems, and challenges facing wildlife and the natural world every week.

It also provides an instant way to connect with our audience and respond to situations as they happen.

We use our platform to share stories, adventures and experiences in Nature, as well as to look at incredible wildlife and share some of its secrets.

We will also give as many wildlife groups a platform and a voice to inform others of their work or campaigns. 

Of course, we will continue to advocate and urge the British government to fulfil its wildlife commitments.

Wildlife Matters in Action.

Our primary goals are to achieve a complete ban on blood hunting with packs of dogs, end the ineffective badger culls, and driven grouse shooting whilst we work to eliminate wildlife crime, which has become a significant problem in most parts of the UK in recent years.

We also aim to establish a space for grassroots organisations and individuals working on local wildlife or habitat projects to collaborate in campaigning for change.

We are passionate about being a platform for direct action groups that work tirelessly to prevent blood hunters and those who intentionally harm or destroy our wildlife and natural habitats.

Our community is always open to hearing about any wildlife issues you want us to cover. 

Do you run a wildlife project or group and wish to raise awareness of your work in our community? Please get in touch. We will leave our contact details in the show notes.

We aim to share information with those discovering how fantastic wildlife and nature can be while entertaining those with more knowledge and experience.

BUILDING A COMMUNITY

We plan to launch a Facebook group to help us share and connect. 

Right now, our community is mainly based in the UK, but we have regular listeners worldwide, so let’s have a shout-out and a round of applause for our community in the US.

Hi to those in Australia and New Zealand, India, and Hola to everyone in Brazil and Mexico. We are proud to have so many listeners in South America.

Closer to home in Europe, Let’s say hi to our friends in Germany, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Greece—our top five European countries—and everyone else in Europe.

Community means everything to us. So, thanks go to you for listening to our humble little podcast wherever and however you listen. You are always welcome. 

Your support, feedback, and enthusiasm do mean the world to me. 

For those who’ve been with me since episode one, you all deserve a special mention. 

You’ve stuck with me through episodes where the audio was just “shittastic,” and the production was non-existent, but you stayed with me. 

Our first episode, An Introduction to Wildlife Matters, a ten-minute podcast outlining my dreams and hopes for the podcast, has been downloaded over 20,000 times—that is bloody incredible!

To everyone who listens - Thank you for being on this journey with me.

LESSONS LEARNED

Running a podcast is a lot of work. I research, write, record and produce the podcast myself. It takes around 16-20 hours per episode, not including the time I spend planning my stories and travelling around the UK to create the adventures to share with you.

I have always tried to keep things natural, transparent, and honest. That’s why we have never had paid sponsors or adverts on the podcast.

But It has been challenging at times. 

When I started, I was nervous and unsure of the future, but I knew one thing: I wanted to create a space for people to celebrate and enjoy the beauty and endless fascination of wildlife and nature—and that’s precisely what we’ve done. 

You wouldn’t believe the steep learning curve of technical challenges, from building and writing a website that could take the podcast from an RSS feed to learning SEO and audio editing.

Recently, I’ve been working on I-movie as I learn to edit the videos I’ve been making -on my own for the last few months. The video production learning curve has been relentless, from setting up camera shots to getting a B roll and learning to fly a drone.

Add to that the setting up of donation platforms and shops that will hopefully one day fund the costs of making the podcast—which has been entirely self-financed—and learning Canva to make our social media even more appealing!

There have been moments of self-doubt, moments of questioning my sanity, whether my finances will hold out, and whether my freelancing will pay the bills next month—yes, I still work up to four days a week to pay the bills—but we’ve persevered. 

We have driven the Wildlife Matters podcast into the top 10 Nature podcasts.

EXPERT INSIGHTS AND REAL STORIES

Throughout this journey, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to some amazing people, such as Lucy Steele from Wild Things Rescue, a general wildlife rescue based in Lincolnshire, Debra from Hedgepigs, a dedicated hedgehog rescue in Nottingham and Natalia from London-based Urban Squirrels - a dedicated grey squirrel rescue and the excellent Mya, currently studying wildlife at college who is dedicated to Amphibians and Reptiles and runs the toad patrols for the Notts A&R group. 

Many of these chats were made possible by partnering with One for Voice Animals and their founder, Val Green, with whom we also chatted in series three.

These conversations have added a new dimension to the podcast, and I love connecting with people. 

We will chat with many more fantastic folk who run their rescues and are part of the One Voice for Animals network that Val set up to support small, independent animal rescues in the UK. Please visit their website, www.helpanimals.co.uk

This podcast has allowed me to connect with others working to help wildlife and nature.

After nearly thirty years of working for wildlife, I look forward to speaking to many people with whom I have shared that incredible journey in future episodes. To all my wildlife friends, I will be coming to talk to you soon!

ENGAGING WITH OUR COMMUNITY

One of the most rewarding parts of the podcast has been the opportunity to highlight some of the many issues that are important to us all, such as ending hunting with packs of dogs and the cruel and ineffective badger culls.

We have produced several episodes on both subjects, with The Truth about Fox Hunting and Why the British Government Still Killing Badgers being the most listened-to.

Wildlife species have always been a passion of mine. We have looked at Badgers and Foxes through Spring and Winter and have upcoming summer and autumn episodes for both species.

Along with the beautiful badgers and fabulous foxes, our episodes on the humble hedgehog have proved popular. I was delighted when the episode An Introduction to British Bats, published in Jun this year, reached over 8,500 downloads. 

One of our earliest episodes was In Defence of the Grey Squirrel - an in-depth look at how squirrels have been persecuted for decades and how some of our wildlife organisations are killing grey squirrels they claim to protect reds - which is complete rubbish. 

That is our third most listened-to episode and one I am incredibly proud of—but not the early audio quality and production. I would very much like to revisit it with improved audio and output.

Of course, all species are equal, so we don’t only highlight mammals; we have also looked at Frogs, stag beetles, and wild honey bees, not to mention many wildflowers, fungi and trees.

I am pleased that our recent adventure to discover some of Britain's rarest woodland wildflowers has made it to our most listened-to episode list today.

Another episode I am proud of from this year, Why Are Our Rivers Dying, examines river pollution from agricultural runoff to raw human sewage discharges. I was able to chat about how we are helping volunteers test water quality in rivers.

That work has moved on, and I am excited to bring you a new episode looking at the impact of pollution on Britain’s chalk streams, one of the rarest forms of river habitats, as most chalk streams in the world are here in the UK.

I have experimented with bringing you a range of content, from Wildlife Matters Investigates, where we work with direct action groups or go undercover to expose wildlife persecution or cruelty, to our more serene walk-and-talk days exploring some incredible wildlife habitats and places.

In the new year, we will bring you a new series called Britain’s Wildest Cities, which looks at urban wildlife. We have had some great adventures this summer and are excited to share them.

The most surprising but rewarding episode was when I tried storytelling in the traditional sense by telling folk stories. 

The first one was last October when I shared the Story of Mabon - a traditional folk tale about King Arthur. To my amazement, it is our fourth most listened-to episode.

I was so motivated by your response that I decided to develop my storytelling, which I began online during the lockdowns. I have launched a separate podcast called the Nature StoryTeller, which is dedicated to sharing folklore stories from nature. 

You will find it on all good podcast platforms, and it has its website, www.naturestoryteller.org

My storytelling has moved on rapidly in the last year. I was proud and surprised to win a Newcomer of the Year award -at my age! - and completed a five-night tour in the spring to launch myself into the world of storytelling.

I have written my own stories - such as A Pheasant Called Francis and the Puzzle Hall with its clear anti-fox hunting theme at six festivals this year and will be publishing my first folklore storybook in 2025. Exciting times, and sincere thanks for your early support, which led me to enjoy being creative and sharing stories.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

I hope that Wildlife Matters is more than a podcast. I want it to feel like a family, a community.  So, let’s keep the conversation going. Please Share your wildlife and nature experiences with me, ask questions, and leave comments. 

Together, we can make this journey even more informative and exciting.

LOOKING AHEAD

As we celebrate 50 episodes and the end of Series Four, I’m filled with gratitude. 

We’ve covered many topics, learned so much, and built an incredible community. 

I’m excited about the future. Series Five begins in two weeks and will take us through the autumn and winter seasons with more exciting topics, new guests, and exciting stories to share.

I want to thank my family and friends for your unwavering support. 

And a big Thank you to the amazing guests who have shared their knowledge and experiences with us so far.

But Most importantly, thank you, dear listeners. I couldn’t have done this without you.

So here’s to the journey we’ve been on, the lessons we’ve learned, and the community we’ve built. See you for Series Five very soon. 

Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey.

So for the 50th time I’ve been your host, Nigel Palmer, and this is Wildlife Matters signing off.