Open Country

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Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of Britain

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

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Open Country: Wilder London

Wilder London

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Wilder London

Wildlife biologist and film-maker Dan O’Neill discovers the wild side of London.

Wildlife biologist and film-maker Dan O’Neill is on a mission to discover how diverse communities with ambitious plans are working to put nature first in the capital.

Dan O’Neill is a wildlife expert and biologist. He’s also the first openly gay wildlife presenter. In this Open Country he’s in London to discover what ‘rewilding’ means for the capital. 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched the ‘Rewild London Fund’ to help make London a leader in urban rewilding, from restoring rivers to reintroducing species currently absent from the capital. One of them is the beaver and at Paradise Fields in Ealing, just down the road from the busy Greenford tube station, a family of five beavers have just been introduced to their new home by conservationist and vet Dr Sean McCormack. Together they will transform a gritty urban wasteland into a wildlife haven with ecosystem benefits for residents' wellbeing and flood defences. 

The beavers are just one example of the huge growth in biodiversity in the city. As Dan travels from Ealing in the West to the east of the city at The Paddocks in Tottenham Hale, he discovers that there is also growing diversity in the conservation community. He meets LGQBT conservationist Izzy Knight who shares his passion for everything wild and celebrates the ‘Queer Nature’ festival at Kew, before heading back to Ealing to see whether he can spot those elusive beavers in their new home.

Produced by Helen Lennard

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