Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Podomatic

Live on all platforms NOW

In this episode Jessica Townsend and co-host Tom Stallard are joined by Dr. Charlie Gardner, a conservationist and researcher based at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent.

We begin with a reading from author Jay Griffiths of her piece ‘Letter to an Endling,’ read at the Tufton Street Writers Rebel event in September 2019.

Then Jessica interviews Dr. Gardner, who lived in Madagascar for 10 years helping to establish new protected areas but now focuses primarily on the intersection of the climate and ecological crisis. He has been a member of Extinction Rebellion since early 2019 and is active with both Scientists for Extinction Rebellion and Scientists Rebellion. He was also an expert contributor to the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill.

The episode looks at present-day ecological realities and what will happen if we don’t urgently change our approach to nature in the near future. In the interview, Dr. Gardner refers to a paper in the magazine Nature (which is unfortunately paywalled).

This is the first episode on biodiversity before Biodiversity COP, which takes place 17-30 May 2021 in Kunming, China. We hope to have a further episode next month about the Dasgupta Review commission by the UK Government.

Producer and presenter – Jessica Townsend

Producer and editor – Tom Stallard

Additional editing – Bill Leuty