Category Archives: Radio and television nature programmes

Chris Packham in Malta

The mass slaughter of migrating birds in Malta casts a shadow over every spring. Top UK television nature presenter Chris Packham is using his high public profile to draw attention to the horror, shamefully permitted within the European Union. Fed up with the lack of response from established media, he’s turned to alternative communication channels. He’s in Malta at the moment, and will be posting a nightly video diary on YouTube at 9.00 pm (UK time) between April 21-26. Get more details about his mission and how you can contribute on his website and updates on twitter.

Wild places of Essex

In this intriguing documentary, based on his book The Wild Places, Robert Macfarlane warns us not to write off over-developed and over-populated Britain in the quest for wilderness.  Wild nature is there under our noses, in the most unexpected of places, and Macfarlane helps us focus on it, just as his friend Roger Deakin opened his own eyes.

Essex was chosen as an apparently unlikely location to commune with nature. Condensing a year of exploration, the film shows startling beauty among sewage works and dual carriageways. The contrast is beguiling: a peregrine falcon soaring past Tilbury Power Station is the angelic and the toxic closing-up against one another. Continue reading Wild places of Essex

The house and garden of Roger Deakin

Anyone who has enjoyed reading Roger Deakin’s books, especially Waterlog and Notes from Walnut Tree Farm, will love listening to these radio programmes that he recorded for the BBC.  Produced by Sara Blunt, the 25 minute-long programmes capture Deakin’s unusual home and garden, and the man who lived there.  The producer deliberately chose not to use an interviewer, instead allowing Deakin to draw you into his world with his own words. Continue reading The house and garden of Roger Deakin

Isle of Man nature

Nature - Series 3: 6. Calf of Man

BBC radio 4 has a couple of rather nice documentaries on the Isle of Man on demand at the moment. The first one pays a visit to the Calf of Man, a  rugged island to the south of the Isle of Man to look at Manx Shearwaters. The second is on the plan by the The Isle of Man government to designate an area of their coastline as a marine nature reserve, protecting invaluable habitats and species. Enjoy.