In Conservation...

Giving children access to nature and wild spaces in their early years—and beyond—is vitally important, and, unfortunately, not something that can be taken for granted in our busy and modern lives. We chat to Debbie McKenzie, Communities & Education Manager at Paxton Pits Environmental Education Centre, about just how crucial it is. And, in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the centre, we also hear from other people involved about what it is that makes this place, and its people so special.

From hellcats to belligerence to sheer determination: Dr Hilary Allison, Chair of Trustees for the Wildlife Trust BCN, introduces us to some of the brilliant women she's come across in her extensive research on the subject of women in conservation. All of them have done great, and varied, things for the conservation movement, but their roles have often been downplayed, forgotten, or simply written off over the course of history—and even in some contemporary contexts, too. This episode celebrates International Women's Day on 8 March 2026, and we discuss some of the barriers that women in conservation still face today, and how we might overcome them—as well as why diversity of all kinds is vital to any thriving organisation.

In the last of the current series of podcasts, join Chief Exec of the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants Brian Eversham as he discusses how wildlife, and the Wildlife Trust, has fared over the last year (and more) - and what challenges the climate crisis is posing. Plus, as a naturalist and ecologist, find out what wildlife he is enjoying the most at the moment, and how he manages to stay positive in the face of what can sometimes feel like relentlessly bad news for our wildlife and our planet.

From four very different perspectives, we hear about how nature has helped members of our Young People's Forum with their own mental health challenges, and how important it is for young people in general to have access to nature. It's a moving and eye-opening episode, and we are so grateful to Kaitlyn, Anidunnu, Charlie and Harvey for their openness and honesty in sharing their stories.

This episode is all about bats. Senior Monitoring and Research Officer Gwen Hitchcock knows all about these miraculous mammals through her work recording them, and we find out what it is the Wildlife Trust does do to keep tabs on them - and what amazing creatures they really are - whilst scouting for sites for monitoring them at Strawberry Hill. Find out what links jazz hands, wet slaps and inbuilt ear defenders... hint: it's bats. Amazing!

Find out how we're getting communities involved with wildlife and wild places in Luton with our Communities and Education Manager Matt Sutcliffe. We explore the principles of keeping young people interested and engaged through some of their most difficult teenage years of educational and social change, and discuss just how important it is that people have access to nature and green spaces. Join us to delve deeper into some of our most challenging and rewarding work.

Join host Sophie Baker as she chats to Monitoring & Research Officer at the Great Fen, Henry Stanier, about the wildlife that can be found colonising, and recolonising, our huge wetland restoration project in Cambridgeshire. There are dragons galore - of the amphibious and invertebrate variety - and a whole host of other species, many of which are regularly monitored by our dedicated team.

Cutting back our glorious meadows full of wildflowers in summer often looks brutal. Join podcast host Sophie Baker on a tour of Trumpington Meadows in Cambridge with Senior Ranger Rebecca Green and find out why we do it, how we determine when to do it - and what amazing wildlife you can find at a meadow near you this summer, before or after the hay cut.

Senior Reserves Manager Matt Hamilton takes podcast host Sophie Baker on a tour of Wistow Wood, an ancient woodland of the Fen Edge in Cambridgeshire full of weird and wonderful coppice stools, the problems of ash dieback and a lot of innovation and experimentation for how best to ensure the resilience of these irreplaceable habitats.

Join Corporate Partnerships Manager, and keen birder, Nathan Long for a nearly-dawn chorus in Cambridgeshire with podcast host Sophie Baker to celebrate International Dawn Chorus Day, which this year (2025) takes place on Sunday 4th May. Whether you want to be inspired to get out and listen to the birds, or would rather someone else did it for you.. (I don't blame you!)... this podcast covers a wonderful walk around a Cambridgeshire reserve, taking in the birds and chatting about what it is that makes the cacophony of birdsong in the early morning so magical to human ears.

The new episode of In Conservation features the lawnmowers! Whether its cows, sheep or even pigs, the Trust has a whole host of animals that are deployed to take care of our grasslands and make them the best they can be for the wildlife that thrives there. Senior livestock officer Thomas Baker gives us the lowdown on what they do for wildlife, just what it takes to look after them, and a glimpse into the future plans for this area of work in our three counties. Mouflon, anyone?

Podcast host Sophie Baker gets a front row seat to the historic release of eight beavers to the Wildlife Trust BCN's Nene Wetlands nature reserve in Northamptonshire. Go behind-the-scenes with Conservation Manager Matt Johnson for the release itself, hear a selection of excited people who were there to see it, and catch up with Nene Wetlands Senior Ranger Pete Bray and Nene Valley Projects Officer Ben Casey to hear how the beavers have been getting on.

Podcast host Sophie Baker chats to Great Fen Project Manager Lorna Parker and Communities & Education Manager Alison Chaves about our huge landscape-scale Peatland Progress project from the point of view of the people who use and appreciate it, and learns how we’re connecting people to this amazing place.

Take a tour of Strawberry Hill and learn more about the history and development of this rewilded farm in the heart of the nature-depleted Bedfordshire countryside - and our plans for this fantastic place for wildlife and for people. Conservation Officer Chantelle Warriner takes podcast host Sophie Baker around the Wildlife Trust BCN's newest nature reserve.

Join podcast host Sophie Baker and Community Conservation Officer Iain Webb on a wildlife safari around the wilds of Madingley Road Park and Ride in Cambridge. You might be surprised by what they find... and how it could inspire you to make a difference for wildlife on your own patch.

Join podcast host Sophie Baker as she and Senior Reserves Officer Mischa Cross open a moth trap at Pitsford Water nature reserve in Northamptonshire, where moths have been monitored every day for over 25 years. Find out what this means for the reserve, and delve into the wonderful world of moth names, as well as discovering just how cute they are!