One thing that comes up time and again on A Life More Wild is access to nature. Something that many of us take for granted was, to a lot of our guests, a complex social and cultural issue that had shaped their lives and work. On this Quick Stroll, we hear from Mya Rose-Craig, Lira Valencia and Ollie Olanipekun of Flock Together, on the challenges they faced from the traditional culture of the outdoors and how they each went about changing it.

Dwayne Fields moved to London from Jamaica when he was just a child. The contrast between the two places was almost too much for him to handle until a chance encounter gave him hope, a sense of belonging and eventually a purpose that would see him becoming the UK’s Chief Scout.

Join Dwayne now in Nene Park, a place that holds fond memories for him, as he looks back on an incredible journey that took him from Hackney to the North Pole, and forwards to a future inspiring the next generation to love the natural world.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.

It’s time to step back outside. A Life More Wild returns for season 5, when we’ll be taking a walk with more fascinating people and chatting about their connection to nature.

Episode one will be out on 20th March and we’ll be bringing you a calm stroll and a chat every month for the rest of the year.

Ollie Olanipekun first met Nadeem Parera on Instagram, where they bonded over a love of birds. Realising how rare it was to see people of colour engaged with nature in the UK, they formed a walking group. One terrible flyer and a few years of enormous effort later, Flock Together has branches around the world, providing people with a place to meet and common ground.

Join Ollie and Nadeem now, on the site of the very first Flock Together walk, as they discuss how their different backgrounds gave them the same mission, how mad it is to see a heron beat up a rat and whether or not they might one day get to name a new bird species.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.

When James Wong first visited Kew Gardens, he asked his mum if this was what heaven looked like. The ethnobotanist, born and raised in Singapore, can barely remember a time when he wasn’t fascinated by plants, a love which has led him around the world, onto TV and into a flat that looks like a jungle.

Join James now, in Kew Gardens, as he talks about integrating plant life into our own lives, the leaf that inspired a generation of builders and how he ruins films for his friends.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.

Venetia La Manna loves clothes, but knows more than most about the evils of fashion. For years, she’s been campaigning to change one of the most unregulated industries in the world - fighting over production and underpayment of garment workers around the world.

Join Venetia now on a walk through the Heavens, near Stroud, where a community-driven success story perfectly demonstrates her belief in the power of collective action to have a global impact.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.

When she was 16, Lise Wortley read a book by the explorer Alexandra David-Neel, who had undertaken a 14-year journey through Asia. The idea of it stayed with her until ten years later, when she was searching for a way to improve her mental health. It dawned on her that David-Neel and other female adventurers like Nan Shepherd and Henriette D’Angeville, were far less well-known than their male counterparts. She set out to change that, by the incredible method of recreating their journeys, in the clothing they wore at the time. 

Join Lise now in the Cairngorms, to hear her stories of spending a month walking in the tweeds and poncho tent that Nan shepherd wore, travelling in David-Neel’s yak wool coat and preparing for an ascent of Mont Blanc in Henriette D’angeville’s tiny shoes.

Lise is an ambassador for Passenger Clothing a responsible outdoor clothing brand with a mission to inspire meaningful escapism. This summer we’ve been working with them on a few different exciting projects including a series of videos with some of this season’s podcast guests. We’ve also teamed up to create a pop-up holiday bus in the Lake District. Thank you to them for sponsoring this podcast episode.

https://www.passenger-clothing.com/

https://www.canopyandstars.co.uk/britain/england/cumbria/hinterlandes/little-firs-from-passenger

https://www.instagram.com/woman_with_altitude/

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten. 

Gaz Oakley was an intensely energetic, sporty person, who pursued fitness by loading up on carbs and protein, and hitting the gym. He was also a chef, so it’s fair to say his life was quite intense. When health problems made him go looking for dietary solutions, he began a journey that would end with him becoming a champion of plant-based eating, rediscovering his love of the land and trying to bring the simple joy of food to as many people as possible.

Join him and the chickens on his farm in Wales, as he talks about what growing your own food can give you, how simple it is to get started and why you shouldn’t be too hasty with your naming choices.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten. 

Athena Mellor never dreamed of writing a guidebook, but the knowledge of a lifetime hiking, a passion handed down by her father and grandfather was just too extensive to stay in her head. Now a successful writer and YouTuber, she’s making sure her daughter will follow in the family footsteps.

Join her on a walk through Langdale, as she talks about taking chances, making books and how important the right gear is, especially when you’re walking with kids.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten. 

When she dropped out of the sky in front of Russian hunters in the Arctic, Sasha Dench wasn't quite sure how she'd be received. She was on a mission to understand and halt the decline in the numbers of the Bewick Swan by following their epic migration route from the Arctic to the UK on a paramotor.

Join her on a walk from her favourite training field down through some woods to Fernworthy reservoir on a typically wet and wild Dartmoor day.