Here you can read more about Nature’s a Hoot, and access resources, photos and extra insights from our eleventh episode for part two with special guest, Springwatch presenter, zoologist, photographer and all-round wildlife enthusiast Megan McCubbin!
Listen now to the Nature’s a Hoot eleventh episode Writing for Nature. Don’t forget to subscribe!
Catch up with Hannah and Tom as they delve into more wildlife topics and chat to Megan McCubbin about what it was like to write a book alongside Chris Packham and then publish it during a global pandemic.
Tom is extremely happy with his wildflower patch as you can see below! Gardens are so important for wildlife and even relatively small ones like Tom’s can be havens for nature, especially pollinators. Our very own patch at the Trust, Reg’s Wildflower Meadow, is absolutely singing with life at the moment, definitely worth a visit to the Trust for a nature fix. Butterflies, moths, bees, birds and even foxes captured late in the evening by James. You can even adopt your own plot and become a Guardian of the Meadow!
After another defeat in Most Beautiful Insect, Hannah is determined to bring it back with Most Impressive Plant! After much pondering, Hannah went for the majestic Baobab tree, also sometimes called the Upside Down tree. The Baobab has a huge fissured trunk, which is actually numerous trunks fused together. They are an important food plant for many animals, including monkeys, elephants and people. It is also frequently used by numerous bird species to nest and roost, and by bees to build their hives. It is also a favourite sleeping spot for leopards as it has huge flat branches.
Tom’s pick this week is the Giant Water Lily. They are the largest water lily in the world and their huge leaves can reach incredible 3m in diameter, and can hold the weight of a person! They are found in South America and are white when they first bloom with a scent like pineapple. Their flowering cycle is very impressive, they open up at night, but this only happens once over two days, by the second night they are no longer white but are purple and have lost their scent, so the window for pollinators is extremely small.
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We had a brilliant chat with Megan, and she was so generous with her time that we decided to split the interview into two parts.
We talk about her book Back to Nature, written with Chris Packham, and how they combined their two very different writing styles so perfectly. We hear what Megan’s hopes were for her debut book, and her vision that people would feel empowered to make a difference. Listen to find out more!
You can follow Megan on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We also have signed copies of Back to Nature available in our Gift Shop!
Don’t forget to subscribe! You can find Nature’s a Hoot on all the usual podcast platforms including Spotify, Google and Apple Podcasts.
