The Wilder Nottinghamshire Podcast

This episode focusses on bumblebees and honeybees and features contributions from Linda Harrison, a recorder with Bumblebee Conservation Trust and entomologist Dr Linda Birkin.

Learn why bees shiver and why honeybees ‘dance’. You’ll also discover more about the mysterious goings on inside a honeybee hive, why a colony might swarm and how beekeepers keep their colonies in good order in the face of a wide range of threats.  

Dr Birkin also highlights the difficulties posed to wild bees by our changing climate with issues such as ‘false springs’ – and highlights how you can play your part in supporting these vital pollinators by planting a wide range of pollinating plants and taking extra care with garden chemicals.  

Rob and guests also discuss the threat posed to bees, particularly honeybees, by invasive non-native Asian hornets sometimes known as yellow-legged hornets – and the role that ‘citizen science’ is playing in tracking their spread.   

Gardens cover at least four times the area of designated nature reserves in the UK and together offer huge potential to support nature recovery - as well as being great spaces for us to connect with nature and nurture our own wellbeing. 

In this episode, our host, Rob Carlye, who has created his own wildlife garden on the edge of Bestwood Country Park, is joined by garden designer Andy Callow - talking about the opportunities the nation's gardens offer for nature, the challenges of gardening sustainably and the rewards on offer when you welcome wildlife into your garden.

Andy Callow is a respected and well connected garden designer who has long championed sustainable and organic approaches. Andy is also Chair of Nottingham Organic Gardeners. 

Discover more about one of the most overlooked and misunderstood creatures and the work of Nottinghamshire Bat Group - including monitoring and innovative conservation work to help boost bat populations across the county. 

Our Wilder Nottinghamshire Podcast host Rob's fascination with bats and his initial contact with Nottinghamshire Bat Group led to the installation of 18 bat boxes around his wildlife garden. This episode gave him a chance to find out more about these amazing adaptable animals and the varied work of the group's volunteers. 

The Wilder Nottinghamshire Podcast has been created to counter the doom and gloom that is often a feature of environmental reporting. 

Each month, the podcast will feature the people and projects that are taking positive action for nature across Nottinghamshire -highlighting the huge range of different ways people are supporting nature recovery and the passion for wildlife that gives hope for the future. 

In our latest episode, our host Rob Carlyle is joined by Lorna Griffiths and Michael Walker of Nottinghamshire Dormouse Group to find out more about the work of the volunteers taking the lead on boosting dormice populations in Nottinghamshire - a true conservation success story. You’ll hear about which habit gave rise to this endearing mammal’s name;  the difference between hibernation and torpor; how dormice are using a very surprising route to expand their territory. 

Lorna and Michael explain the importance of keeping wildlife records and regular monitoring and how you you can get involved - and might event help find as yet undiscovered dormice populations - and the important role played by cookies and flapjack in fueling conservation efforts! 

For further details about efforts to restore nature across Nottinghamshire visit www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/wilder-nottinghamshire

The Wilder Nottinghamshire Podcast has been created to counter the doom and gloom that is often a feature of environmental reporting. 

Each month, the podcast will feature the people and projects that are taking positive action for nature across Nottinghamshire -highlighting the huge range of different ways people are supporting nature recovery and the passion for wildlife that gives hope for the future. 

In this episode, you'll discover more about efforts to monitor and expand the population of hazel dormice in Nottinghamshire - a species once deemed extinct in our county. Hear the excitement as our host, Rob Carlyle, sees his first dormouse and find out the difference between a 'pinkie' and a 'chubster'! 

Our podcast team

In the spirit of the Wilder Nottinghamshire Network, the podcast is a team effort, brought to you by presenter Rob Carlyle, a long-term member of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and sustainable gardening blogger; David Heathcote, our audio editor, with decades of broadcast experience in TV and Radio – with Erin McDaid, the Trust’s Communications, Campaigns & Advocacy Lead providing a guiding hand.

Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

Our very first Wilder Nottinghamshire Podcast promo by Prof Sara Goodacre