Episode 6

Simon, John and Margaret’s theme for today’s podcast is “Bees, bugs, ponds and water-bowls.” The FFON (www.ffon.co.uk) team discuss Sean Wensley’s timely blog “Growing close to nature during lockdown” and one specific quote, which caught the attention of a number of people on twitter: “I join, passionately and emphatically, all those who want our post-Covid 19 regeneration to be undertaken with biodiversity and a greened economy at its heart.” It won’t come as a surprise to hear that Simon, John and Margaret agree completely with the blog’s sentiments.

Margaret has been busy collecting feedback from podcast listeners around the world and shares an interesting tale involving garter snakes crossing the road.

John and Margaret focus on the tiny creatures, on land and in the water, that arguably rule our world…and explain what we can do to help them. They also share their thoughts on a close up slow motion video from Lucy King of a bee landing on a ‘Practically perfect poppy.‘

The team also discuss garden birds and their reliance on water and mention the world famous bird food company www.haiths.com (Simon’s the Associate Director of Haith’s).

Talk of ponds reminded Simon of the Maxwell Knight Symposium (2018) and he discussed a piece written about a pond from Maxwell Knight’s unpublished manuscript The Frightened Face of Nature – where the inspiration for the FFON project name heralds – which the team re-enacted at the Symposium, and on the podcast agreed how sad it is that many a village pond has been lost forever.

To complete the podcast, the team give their take-home messages and Simon explains the team invitation to young nature enthusiasts, which can be found here.

  • “John and Margaret Cooper. Two Armchair Naturalists who sometimes take their “armchair” out into the field”
  • “John and Margaret Cooper. Two Armchair Naturalists who sometimes take their “armchair” out into the field”
  • Simon H King

Recorded Friday 19th June at 19.00.

Podcast edited by Edward King.