World Curlew Day - April 21

On April 20th 2019: interview for the Today Programme on World Curlew Day.

@WCDApril21

@curlewcalls

In January 2020, I established a new charity: Curlew Action.

This will support all the work on Curlew conservation as well as promoting natural history education from primary through to university level. Please donate and support what I do. Thank you.

Two podcasts from Lush’s War on Wildlife project, one on Curlew, the other on the GCSE in Natural History

THIS IS AN ARCHIVE OF MY OLD WEBSITE ENTITLED CURLEW MEDIA - IT IS NO LONGER UPDATED BUT KEPT AS AN ARCHIVE OF MATERIAL AND RESOURCES THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

Explore this site to find out about my work to save curlews, articles, radio, TV and internet productions, campaign for a GCSE in Natural History, my books, talks and my blog.

I am a producer and writer interested in all aspects of the natural world. I am particularly drawn to the complex and shifting interface between wildlife and society, where the most inspiring and difficult issues lie.

Curlew Action is a new charity I set up to fundraise for projects to support conservation and nature in education. Please donate to help us. Thank you.

In March 2021 I was appointed Chair of the Curlew Recovery Partnership England, a DEFRA supported roundtable of organisations charged with recovering curlews, their landscapes and associated wildlife.

I am leading the campaign for a GCSE in Natural History and recently provided the text for Professor Dasgupta’s review on the contribution nature makes to global economics. You can read the full report here.

The education section of the Dasgupta Review is taken directly from my submission, the full text is available here.

Here is a video extract from the formal launch of the Dasgupta Review in February 2021.

AWARDS

2019 - WWT Marsh Award for Wetland Conservation, held at the WWT London Wetland Centre

2018 - David Bellamy Education Trust Award.

2017 - BTO Dilys Breese Medal for outstanding Communication in Science.

2009 - Sony Radio Academy Gold Award for best internet programme

2007 - Garden Writers Guild Award for best radio programme

RECENT ARTICLES

The Guardian - April 2020 Article on the GCSE in Natural History,

The Tablet - May 2020, Listen to the Singing Planet.

Red 67, A book on endangered birds in the UK, February 2020, Curlew

Countryman Magazine - April 2020, Re-wild the Child

Shooting Times, February 2020, Exam for Life

The Tablet, July 2019, on climate change.

The Tablet, The Cry of the Earth, May 2019

BBC Wildlife Magazine, March 2019, on a GCSE in Natural History

Shooting Times - The Winds of Change, Feb 2019

Birdwatch Magazine on Curlew decline, Feb 2019

Countryman Magazine - The Nature of Creativity, Feb 2019. As we lose nature are we losing a primary source of inspiration?

Shooting Times - End Game for Curlew. July 2018

Country Life - For the Greater Good, July 2018

The Tablet - Bringers of Wild Joy, May 2018

The Guardian - The Bloody Truth About Conservation, 28 May 2018 - are we honest about how culling for conservation?

The Guardian - A Forestry Boom is Turning Ireland into an Ecological Dead Zone, 10 October 2018 - The relentless spread of sitka plantations

British Wildlife - Curlews in Crisis, October 2017
 

BOOKS

In 2016, I walked 500 miles across Ireland and the UK to find out more about the relentless decline of one of our most loved birds, the Curlew. Curlew Moon (Harper Collins 2018) describes the journey and what I discovered.

In 2017, I walked the spectacular John Muir Trail - 230 miles through the Sierra Nevada mountains in California - a solo backpacking trip of a life time. I wanted to understand more about my conservation hero - John Muir, get close to his heart and inspiration. I wrote the only British biography, which was published by Lion Hudson in 2014.

I am delighted to announce Beak, Tooth and Claw, Living with predators in Britain, will be published on April 29th, 2021