Giving children access to nature and wild spaces in their early years—and beyond—is vitally important, and, unfortunately, not something that can be taken for granted in our busy and modern lives. We chat to Debbie McKenzie, Communities & Education Manager at Paxton Pits Environmental Education Centre, about just how crucial it is. And, in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the centre, we also hear from other people involved about what it is that makes this place, and its people so special.

From hellcats to belligerence to sheer determination: Dr Hilary Allison, Chair of Trustees for the Wildlife Trust BCN, introduces us to some of the brilliant women she's come across in her extensive research on the subject of women in conservation. All of them have done great, and varied, things for the conservation movement, but their roles have often been downplayed, forgotten, or simply written off over the course of history—and even in some contemporary contexts, too. This episode celebrates International Women's Day on 8 March 2026, and we discuss some of the barriers that women in conservation still face today, and how we might overcome them—as well as why diversity of all kinds is vital to any thriving organisation.

In the last of the current series of podcasts, join Chief Exec of the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants Brian Eversham as he discusses how wildlife, and the Wildlife Trust, has fared over the last year (and more) - and what challenges the climate crisis is posing. Plus, as a naturalist and ecologist, find out what wildlife he is enjoying the most at the moment, and how he manages to stay positive in the face of what can sometimes feel like relentlessly bad news for our wildlife and our planet.