Life in a Nutshell

Nature is full of countless small and minutely detailed things, most of which go completely unnoticed by humans. Everything illustrated in this talk, whether the scales on a butterfly’s wing, a caterpillar or even a slime mould, would fit comfortably inside a nutshell and most can be found within a mile or two of your chair, just waiting to be spotted.

The Island of Crabs

For millions of years Christmas Island, a remote speck in the Indian Ocean beyond Java, has remained beyond the reach of the mammals which dominate most other parts of the world. Instead it is ruled by a staggering number and variety of crabs, which occupy virtually every habitat on the island. This talk looks at the crabs and other wildlife of Christmas Island, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth, and follows the spectacular but hazardous mass migration from the forests to the sea that the crabs must undertake each year in order to complete their life cycle.

Borneo

The tropical rainforests of Borneo are among the richest habitats on Earth, home to orang-utans, headhunting tribes (now semi-retired) and a wealth of colourful insects and other wildlife. Here we meet some of them, discover the threats that they face and see how their future will depend on us.

A World Apart: Australia

Isolated from the rest of the world for millions of years, Australia is rich in unique creatures (many of them uniquely poisonous!) in habitats ranging from tropical rainforest to desert. Here we follow the journey that plants and animals have made from the coral seas to the dry interior, introduce some of the characters and look at how they survive in some of the harshest environments on Earth.

Volcanoes and Dragons

Indonesia, a three-thousand-mile chain of over 13,000 volcanic islands strung between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, boasts the world’s largest living lizard, the Komodo Dragon. It can weigh up to 30 stone, reaches nine feet in length and is capable of bringing down a person, but it is confined to just a handful of small islands. Here we visit the Dragon’s islands and meet some of the other animals and plants with which it shares its home.

The Changing Wildlife of the Chilterns

From coral seas, through Ice Ages, tundra and forest to the farmland of today we travel through a hundred million years to trace the origins of the Chiltern landscape and the wildlife that it supports, and speculate about what the future might hold.

The Ridgeway

Stretching over 80 miles from Ivinghoe to Avebury and over 5,000 years from the Stone Age to the present day, the Ridgeway can claim to be the oldest road in Europe. This talk offers a blister-free walk along this ancient chalkland track, describing both its prehistory and the rich wildlife that it supports today.

The Lost Forest of Bernwood

It has existed for over a thousand years and its very name conjures up images of the wildwood, but few people know where or what is was. Yet much of its ancient landscape and wildlife still survives, if you know where to look. Here we explore what it was like to live in the Forest in mediaeval times and look at some of the plants and animals that would have been familiar to forest people.

The Glow-worm

We take an insect’s-eye journey through the life of this fascinating creature, from egg to adult, looking at how it hunts, how it defends itself and of course how (and why) it produces its magical light, as well as giving tips on how to see one for yourself.

The World of Insects

Insects are the most diverse group of creatures that have ever existed on Earth, with at least five million species and new ones being discovered every day. For every one of us there are a billion of them. This talk looks at how 400 million years of evolution have allowed the insects to become so successful, how they live and why so many other species depend on them.

The World of Fungi

Not only colourful, beautiful and edible (apart from the ones that are deadly poisonous!), fungi are the ultimate recyclers, without which most of the world’s habitats would soon collapse. This talk explores the diversity of the fungal kingdom and how their often bizarre lives affect ours.

The World of Plants

By converting sunlight into the food and oxygen upon which animals depend, they form the basis of virtually all life on Earth, but there is much more to plants than that. This talk traces their life cycle from seed to flower, looking at how they grow, travel, breed and feed (including some that prey on animals), as well as the partnerships that they form with animals, each other and us.

Wetland Wildlife

A tour of the plants and animals to be found in ponds, lakes and streams, looking at the ways in which, from land-loving ancestors, they have become so beautifully adapted to life beside and beneath the water.

Woodland Wildlife

Following the lives of the inhabitants of a typical English wood through the cycles that take place in the course of a day, a year and a lifetime.

Trees and People

From our earliest ancestors we have always depended on trees in countless ways. This talk looks at why we need them still and why - now more than ever - they need our help.

Making Space for Wildlife

With so much ancient habitat disappearing from our countryside each year, even the smallest garden can provide a vital home for wild plants and animals. We look at a range of simple ways to make a garden more attractive for wildlife (and more interesting for us), including garden design, choosing the right plants, building a pond, establishing a wildflower meadow and managing your garden in a wildlife-friendly way.

Animal Architecture

A tour of the ingenious and often strange structures that animals build for themselves, from humble hermit cells to teeming cities with thousands of inhabitants and all mod cons.

Natural Signals

A look at the many and varied languages that animals and plants have invented to communicate with each other: what they say and how they say it, including courtship, intimidation and downright lying!

The Seasons

A walk through a year in the British countryside (bring warm clothing!).