Wildlife Matters is a new podcast dedicated to raising awareness about wildlife conservation and the urgent need to address the climate crisis. Host Nigel Palmer, a seasoned wildlife campaigner with over 20 years of experience, shares his passion for the natural world and the critical issues facing it today.

The podcast aims to stop the persecution of wild animals and advocate for stronger wildlife protection laws in the UK. Listeners can expect insightful interviews with conservationists, discussions on local wildlife initiatives, and opportunities to engage with the community.

Through this platform, Nigel hopes to inspire action and promote harmony between humans and nature, emphasizing that every creature has a right to thrive on our planet.

Wildlife Matters is a brand new podcast for wildlife lovers in the UK and worldwide. We want to share our passion for wildlife and the natural world. Come on in and discover the wonders of nature. 

Come with us as we look at the fascinating wildlife and dive into rewilding, biodiversity, acidic oceans and climate change. 

We also look at some issues that devastate wildlife, like Fox hunting, Badger culling and wildlife crime here in the UK.

We take a quick look into the issues that affect wildlife in the news or should be and take a deep breath and enjoy our mindful moment, a soothing sound from nature in every episode.

The first episode of the Wildlife Matters podcast is a heartfelt invitation to listeners to participate in the fight for wildlife conservation and environmental stewardship.

Nigel Palmer articulates a clear vision for the podcast as a platform for sharing knowledge, promoting activism, and creating a community dedicated to the cause of wildlife. Throughout the episode, he reflects on his personal journey and the experiences that have shaped his understanding of wildlife issues. Palmer stresses the importance of community action and the need for collective efforts to combat the ongoing threats to wildlife, such as habitat destruction and illegal hunting practices. He introduces exciting upcoming features, including a segment focused on local wildlife walks and discussions of notable species, designed to engage listeners and deepen their connection to the natural world. This episode is not just an introduction; it establishes a framework for ongoing dialogue about the future of wildlife in the UK and beyond, inviting everyone to contribute to the conservation effort.

Takeaways:

• Nigel Palmer emphasizes the importance of community action to protect wildlife and natural habitats.
• The Wildlife Matters foundation aims to combat animal persecution and support local conservation efforts.
• Climate change is a major crisis that requires immediate action to safeguard the planet's future.
• Palmer's podcast will feature interviews with wildlife experts to share their insights and experiences.
• The podcast will include segments on nature walks and species of the week to engage listeners.
• Wildlife Matters seeks to raise awareness and promote legislation against wildlife crime and hunting practices.

Links referenced in this episode:

• www.wildlifematters.org

Hello and welcome to the first edition of the Wildlife Matters podcast, a brand new podcast for wildlife lovers here in the UK and all around the world.

My name is Nigel Palmer and I'm your host.

I'm a wildlife campaigner, blogger, vlogger, speaker, podcaster and author.

I have over 20 years hands on, frontline experience working for leading wildlife charities.

But I feel that now is the time to follow my passions and to speak out in support of wildlife and the natural world.

That's why I set up the Wildlife Matters foundation to work with grassroots groups and organisations that are working to protect wildlife from persecution and to stop the terrible damage we are doing daily to our natural world.

We only have this planet and there's no way off.

So why are we so hell bent on destroying it and almost every species that we share it with?

We'll tell you more about that next.

So why does wildlife matter?

Well, I guess that's a really personal question, but for me, it's born from a lifelong passion of being outdoors and enjoying nature, be that flora or fauna, and looking at it and learning and just being in awe of what is our natural world and what an amazing ecosystem and the biodiversity within it.

But before I go further, I want to address the elephant in the room, so to speak.

It seems to me an odd time to be launching a brand new podcast when there are so many things happening in our world, and in particular within Ukraine.

We send our love, our support to the people of the Ukraine, and we will do whatever we can to help you.

But we do believe that now is the right time.

There's a major crisis in our world and it's called climate change.

We are actually destroying our planet and we need to do something about it, and we need to do that now.

I have a very clear vision for the future of wildlife matters, and that is to actively campaign to stop the persecution and suffering of wild animals that are either hunted, shot or reared for their fur or other body parts.

We want to proactively lobby the UK government to strengthen the Hunting act, to end the badger cold, and to stop the persecution of raptors and native wildlife on our grouse smooths around the UK.

Finally, we want to ensure that wildlife crime stays in the past.

Some of the things that are coming back in this country, such as badger baiting, are disgusting.

They've been outlawed for well over 150 years.

But somehow that and hunting animals with packs of dogs seem to be prevalent in our landscape today, and we can't tolerate that.

We need to stop the cruelty and persecution of animals and then I want to share with you some of my passion and understanding born from these 20 years of experience, and share the just the sheer joy of being out in nature, be that walking in the countryside, working with specific species and how we can help them, how we can improve habitats, how we can encourage people to get biodiversity back into their own gardens, but also in their own communities.

I do see wildlife matters as a community that will grow.

And as we grow, our voice will get louder and louder and eventually the politicians will be listening to us because we will be on the moral right side of things and we will ensure that we get effective legislation to stamp out of the horrors of the hunting and all the other vile things that people do to animals, and to ensure that we protect the planet, our natural resources, and that we can live basically in harmony with our planet.

And that all creatures, humans and animals, have a right to be on this planet and have a right to live their lives naturally, to raise their young and to find food, to forage and basically live as natural life.

So in addition to that, we also have a background where woodlands are.

Woodland management has been my passion for many years, but rewilding in general, I think is vital to the future here in the UK and in other countries around the world.

And we will be looking into more of these sort of things and seeing how we can act together, help and make changes.

Wildlife matters isn't just a campaigning organization.

I really want it to make effective and long lasting change that improves the life of wild animals and improves the countryside, the environment and the biodiversity of our, of our local habitats.

For you, for me, for our children and for the future, we'll talk about more more about that next.

And welcome back.

I'd like to just take a moment to tell you a little bit about where I see the podcast going into the future.

So, in addition to a weekly news summary where we'll be looking at the things that are making the news around the world and in the UK on nature and wildlife, I want to introduce a platform for you guys to have your.

It's called anything goes, and I'd really like to invite people on to come and speak about what they're doing, what they're actually proactively out there doing for wildlife, whether that's campaigning, whether that's direct action, whether that's a local conservation project or species protection, or just something a local community getting together to work for the benefit of wildlife and the natural world.

We'd really love to hear from you and you can contact us.

We'll leave you our contact details at the end of the podcast, but do get in touch via the website.

A big part of the podcast, I think, will be interviews and with a lot of experience in the wildlife charity sector, there's an awful lot of people that I really would like you to hear what they're doing, how they're working.

There's charities who do so much important work in this country and all around the world, and I want to speak to them, whether they're in animal rescue, animal protection, conservation, rewilding, various projects.

So I'm hoping to bring you a series of interviews with some interesting people, hopefully those that you're not hearing on podcasts all the time, just to bring a new and fresh perspective to what we're doing.

And our final regular feature will be a nature walk or a species of the week.

So I'm inviting you to join me on one of my nature walks, either in the local area or I plan to come out around the country and visit reserves and other places of interest.

And if anybody's got any, anything they'd like to share with us, places where you think we should come and visit and do a podcast from.

Then again, please do get in contact.

We have a whole host of these already in the bag to talk to you about.

And when we're not nature walking, we're going to have a species of the week.

So we're going to just go into some fun and fascinating facts about some of british wildlife and try and keep it seasonal, try and keep it relevant, and I hope that you'll get a lot of pleasure and enjoyment and learn something from listening to us.

So that's where I see the podcast going.

If there is anything else that you think we should be including or any other sections, then please do let us know.

We're open.

Ideas.

It's a brand new platform and it's a voice for wildlife, wherever it may be.

Firstly, I'd really like to thank you for your time in listening through this far of the first ever episode of the Wildlife Matters podcast.

We're hoping for next month to be a weekly podcast that will be available wherever you get your podcast from, be that Apple spotted or any other major podcast platform.

And you'll also be able to find more about us or get in contact with us at our website, which is www.

Dot wildlife matters.org.

we'd love to have some feedback on this first edition.

Love to hear your comments and also anything that you, you know, you might be doing that you want to share with us, that would be great.

Just get in, in touch with us through the website, but until we speak again, which I hope is really soon.

My name is Nigel Palmer, and this is wildlife matters signing off.