The Lodge Cast

River Buffers & the Giant Sponge - with Arlin Rickard OBE

Were you ever aware of the long lost story of The Great British Wetland? Introducing your storyteller: Arlin Rickard OBE.  Founder of the West Country Rivers Trust and later The Rivers Trust organisation, now their Chief Policy Advisor - Arlin is a leader of freshwater in his own league - leading the movement for over 25 years. 

A key contributor in Beaver Trust's upcoming documentary about river buffers On The Edge, Arlin tells us how rivers should be highly connected, dynamic, multi-faceted systems, instead of reservoirs of pollutants. He explains how simple measures like river buffers could restore our rivers to ecological health, and crucially improve community and agricultural resilience to incidences of climate-induced flooding, drought and pollution. 

Also coming up: a  #FactOff challenge and Eva puts Emma and Sophie's global river knowledge to the test.

Need we say more? Dive on in! 

Are you a beaver believer? We want to hear from you: Beaver Trust. 

Want more beaver? Please subscribe and leave us a lovely little review, so we can bring the joy of beavers to more ears! 

Hosted by Sophie Pavelle and Eva Bishop. 

Produced and edited by Emma Brisdion.

 

Putting Nature in the Driving Seat - with Isabella Tree

Not many people have the guts to leave farming and pioneer a newer, wilder, potentially riskier approach to land management. But then farmer and conservationist, Charlie Burrell and his wife, Isabella Tree are not many people. Talking to Sophie and Eva from one of the most talked-about estates in the UK, and no doubt in a room not too far from nesting stalks, author and landowner Isabella Tree shares the inspirational story of Knepp Castle Estate - and shows us that we can dare to hope for a wilder future. 

To buy Issy's award-winning book Wilding, click here. 

To visit the glorious Knepp for yourself, click here. 

Also coming up: a  #FactOff challenge and Sophie struggles with the alphabet in her quiz.

Need we say more? Dive on in! 

Are you a beaver believer? We want to hear from you: Beaver Trust. 

Want more beaver? Please subscribe and leave us a lovely little review, so we can bring the joy of beavers to more ears! 

Hosted by Sophie Pavelle and Eva Bishop. 

Produced and edited by Emma Brisdion.

Beaver Hats & Beaver History - with Ben Goldfarb

To kick off a brand new series, Team Lodge Cast at Beaver Trust couldn't think of a more apt person to help with this than Ben Goldfarb. 

Award-winning environment writer, and author of the book, Eager; the secret life of beavers and why they matter - Ben is in a league of his own when it comes to helping us understand beavers and our surprisingly entwined history with them in the USA and UK. Ben unpacks the fascinating social and ecological nuance surrounding their reintroduction, and offers valuable lessons learned from their more established presence in the USA.

Also coming up: a brand new #FactOff challenge and producer Emma comes out of her box with a juicy QUIZ.

Need we say more? Dive on in! 

Are you a beaver believer? We want to hear from you: Beaver Trust. 

Want more beaver? Please subscribe and leave us a lovely little review, so we can bring the joy of beavers to more ears! 

Hosted by Sophie Pavelle and Eva Bishop. 

Produced and edited by Emma Brisdion.

 

 

A Taste of SERIES 3!

Well ahoy there listeners! The Lodge Cast is back with a beaver bang for a shiny SERIES THREE of brain prodding chats with you all! 

Given the um, state of things, this series focusses on the theme of HOPE - be it hope for nature, the climate, or personally. From BBC broadcasters to award-winning authors and rewilding pioneers, we couldn't be more excited with the range of incredible guests we have in store for you, or the fact that we are now going to be coming to you WEEKLY - bringing six special conversations, quizzes and (ofc) #FactOffs to your ears every Tuesday for the next six weeks! 

So - do subscribe to be the first to listen, share with your friends and join us as we welcome beavers back to our rivers and explore the state of nature in the UK.

#TheLodgeCast

Hosted by Sophie Pavelle and Eva Bishop.

Produced and edited by Emma Brisdion.

Find out more about Beaver Trust's work here.

A Christmas Cracker - with Iolo Williams

Join Eva and Sophie for a final time (honestly) for 2021 in a jolly round up of the year, and one last chat with an amazing guest!

Together we'll reminisce the best bits of Season 2 with our amazing guests including Dr Amir Khan and Gillian Burke. 

And we also have a wonderful, happy time with the inimitable Iolo Williams, Welsh naturalist and broadcaster. Tune in for an honest, inspiring chat about his life and career, from spending 14 years working for the RSPB, to wildlife guiding and being a beloved face of The Watches on BBC Two. 

Iolo also shares his top tips for how to make your home a home for nature, how to respond to the innate connection to nature we all possess. We also discover a mutual obsession with CAKE...that #mustbemoist. Need we elaborate?! 

Listen out for the genuine finale of the #FactOff and a hilarious QUIZ with a twist....!

Follow Iolo's work and check out his guiding tours: https://iolowilliams.co.uk 

Are you a beaver believer? We want to hear from you: Beaver Trust. 

Want more beaver? Listen again to Season 1 and 2 and please leave us a lovely little review, and tell us what you want to hear from SEASON 3 in 2022!

Hosted by Sophie Pavelle and Eva Bishop. 

Produced and edited by Emma Brisdion.

Want to DOUBLE your love for beavers this Christmas?!

Hello Lodgecasters! 

Tis the season to be jolly, and we have the perfect way for your to channel your ever-growing love and interest for beavers. 

Beaver Trust have joined the The Big Give Christmas Challenge!

It means any donations made to Beaver Trust until midday on Tuesday 7th December (ie. tomorrow!) will be *DOUBLED*!

We’ve been working hard bringing beavers back to Britain, helping communities to learn and live alongside beavers again and restoring the riparian habitats along our rivers.

All to help us tackle the climate and biodiversity crises!

But, we can’t continue our work without your support. Please consider giving what you can here to help give beavers a brighter future in Britain, and obviously, make sure you and your friends have subscribed to #TheLodgecast....we have a Christmas surprise dropping for you VERY soon! 

Hosted by Sophie Pavelle and Eva Bishop. 

Produced and edited by Emma Brisdion.

 

Do beavers help fish? With Beaver Dundee (aka: Rob Needham)

OK listeners - we have a confession. We're coming to the end of Season 2 of The Lodge Cast and we're only just talking about the elephant (or fish?) in the room: do beavers help or hinder fish?

However, it's never too late. And good timing too, as a fascinating new piece of research has recently been published by scientist, Rob Needham, as part of his PhD with the University of Southampton.

As well as being Restoration Coordinator at Beaver Trust, Rob's landmark study investigates the response of brown trout to beavers being reintroduced in the UK - and the results are very encouraging: beavers can be very good news for fish populations.

Join Eva and Sophie for a final time this season, as they explore just how fish and beavers might be able to coexist on the river once again. How would this work? And what concerns are there? 

Listen out for the finale of the #FactOff and one final QUIZ!

Are you a beaver believer? We want to hear from you: Beaver Trust. 

Want more beaver? Please leave us a lovely little review, and tell us what you want to hear from SEASON 3 in 2022!

Hosted by Sophie Pavelle and Eva Bishop. 

Produced and edited by Emma Brisdion.

 

Traffic Light Trees & Beaver Bakeries - with David Oakes

Leading up to the UN's 26th Climate Summit in Glasgow (COP26), Sophie and guest co-presenter Emma Brisdion (the producer is multi-skilled!) look up - and delve into the astonishing world of trees. 

To help them on their quest to find out just why we need trees and woodland, and how they're under threat, they chat to actor, fellow podcaster, environmentalist and total tree nerd, David Oakes. Fresh off the set of an upcoming viking Netflix series, Sophie and Emma pick David's brains on why trees are so fundamental - not just for ecosystem health and climate resilience - but also for preserving human culture and society. 

Also coming up: Emma debuts a corker of a fact in the #FactOff and tests Sophie in a bit of a QUIZ.

Need we say more? Dive on in! 

Are you a beaver believer? We want to hear from you: Beaver Trust. 

Want more beaver? Please leave us a lovely little review, so we can bring the joy of beavers to more ears! 

Hosted this week by Sophie Pavelle and Emma Brisdion. 

Produced and edited by Emma Brisdion.

 

 

Fighting Fire with Beavers - with Dr Emily Fairfax

Against the backdrop of blazing landscapes and record-breaking global heatwaves in 2021, Sophie and Eva want answers.

This month, they chat to ecohydrologist, assistant professor and science communicator, Dr Emily Fairfax from California - who is leading groundbreaking research into how beaver wetlands can act as natural firebreaks. 

Also coming up: Sophie surprises in the #FactOff and Eva devises a bit of a QUIZ.

Need we say more? Dive on in! 

Are you a beaver believer? We want to hear from you: Beaver Trust. 

Want more beaver? Please leave us a lovely little review, so we can bring the joy of beavers to more ears! 

Hosted by Sophie Pavelle and Eva Bishop. 

Produced and edited by Emma Brisdion.

 

 

Finding Answers in Farming - with Richard Bramley

75% of the UK is set aside for agriculture - and yet we continue to overlook its role in offering effective and positive solutions to environmental degradation and climate change. 

So how can conservationists best support farmers through the demands of farming the land in the next decade? How can collaboration improve ecosystem and community resilience to climate change? 

This episode, we speak to the inspirational and thought-provoking Richard Bramley. As well as being an award-winning arable farmer with a 570-acre farm in Yorkshire, Richard chairs the National Farmers Union (NFU) Environmental Forum, which meets to discuss and champion environmental issues and policy in farming.

Also this month: there's a competitive #FactOff, and Sophie sees how well Eva knows her safari animals in a very special quiz...

Enjoy! 

Are you a beaver believer? We want to hear from you: Beaver Trust. 

Want more beaver? Please leave us a lovely little review, so we can bring the joy of beavers to more ears! 

Hosted by Sophie Pavelle and Eva Bishop. 

Produced and edited by Emma Brisdion.