The Birds of Ireland, Jim Wilson with photography by Mark Carmody – Today Mary is talking to Jim Wilson and Mark Carmody. Jim Wilson in a wildlife writer, broadcaster, tour leader and former chairman of Birdwatch Ireland.  Mark Carmody has a PhD in biochemistry and works as a European Patent Attorney. He is an award winning wildlife photographer. They have published a brand-new edition of this birdwatching field guide by leading experts (and uncle-nephew duo!) Jim Wilson and Mark Carmody...

Today Mary is talking to Anna Murphy. Anna moved to Kinvara in 2001 and raised her three children here, and works in the village. Her main passion is environmental activism, and she has been  involved in Plastic Free Kinvara, Kinvara Climate Action, the Ballindereen Kinvara Tree gang and now Rights of Nature Galway. Activism gives me hope and can help with eco anxiety. " We need to re-imagine our relationship with Nature, and protect it  for this and future generations  to head off a looming...

Mary Bermingham wraps up the year with a short report on 2023 at The Burren Nature Sanctuary and a poem inspired by native Irish Trees. The Song of Ogham.

Today Mary is talking to Victoria Beeler. Victoria is a butterfly enthusiast and enjoys gardening, wildlife, nature, and learning. She and her family have helped with the Smith-Gilbert Gardens butterfly exhibit in Kennesaw, Georgia, U.S.A., and with releasing butterflies there. They have raised Monarchs—from eggs, to caterpillars, to chrysalis, and to emerging butterflies—in an outdoor butterfly garden habitat at home near Atlanta for the first time last fall and then released them into the...

Today Mary is talking to Galway based artist Lorraine Fletcher. Lorraine's wildlife-inspired prints and giftware showcase the beauty and strength in animals through colour. Her studio is based here at The Burren Nature Sanctuary where there are endless inspirational views and wildlife.The paintings are a combination of vivid colours and focus on the subject, with the grey backgrounds the focus is on the animal. Expressions and compositions are important in Lorraine’s work, with an importance...

Today Mary is talking to Isabella Tree. Isabella is an award-winning journalist and author, and lives with her husband, the conservationist Charlie Burrell, in the middle of a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex. She is author of six non-fiction books. Her book Wilding, the story of the ambitious journey she and Charlie undertook to rewild their farm, has sold over 300,000 copies worldwide and been translated into 8 languages. It won the Richard Jefferies prize for nature writing, was...

Today Mary is talking to Eoghan Daltun. Eoghan is a sculpture conservator, a High Nature Value farmer and, above all, a rewilder. Originally from Dublin, since 2009 he has lived with his two sons, Liam and Seánie, on their 73-acre farm near Eyeries on the Beara Peninsula, West Cork. He released his hugely successful and award winning book late last year. An Irish Atlantic Rainforest winner of the An Post Irish Book Award winner, 2022 'The stories are absorbing, the writing charismatic and...

Today Mary is talking to Richard Nairn. Richard is an ecologist and writer. His latest book is Wild Waters which is the third title in a trilogy which includes Wild Woods and Wild Shores. He is a lifetime naturalist who has worked as a nature reserve warden and was the first National Director of Birdwatch Ireland. He lives on a small farm in County Wicklow. Wild waters by Richard Nairn and published by Gill books is now available to purchase in book shops and online. Contact Richard Nairn...

Today Mary is talking to Ambrose and Brid, master wood turners. We talk about the craft and the philosophy behind the creative arts. Ambrose began woodturning in 1993, he is interested in craft education His belief is that stated by W.B. Yeats “Education is not filling a pail, but lighting a fire”.His articles have been published by the former International Woodturning Centre in Philadelphia USA (now Centre for Wood Art).Ambrose believes that craft is the bridge between technology and art....

Today Mary is talking to Jethro Sheen. Jethro runs a stone carving business, Sheenstoneworks in Gort, South county Galway. He grew up in the countryside on a mountain with stunning views out over the Burren in County Clare. As children he had a very active outdoors lifestyle that was very close to nature on a day to day basis and also with hiking, camping and caving adventures both near and far. He started working with stone at around aged 14, and at aged 22 after a few years abroad started...

Today Mary is talking to Emma Jane Rushworth. We are very excited that Emma is in the process of making a giant dragonfly for Burren Nature Sanctuary as part of our new interpretive trail. Emma has been making wire sculptures since 2015. Her Love For Wildlife And The Great Outdoors Shines Through In Her Work. She Works Continually On Commissioned Pieces In Her Workshop In Greystones County Wicklow Ireland. She Has Worked On A Number Of Projects This Year 2021 Including A Very Special...

Welcome to the 2023 season of Nature Magic. It is hard to believe we are on episode 68 and have spoken to all those incredible nature advocates. This year we are changing it up a bit, we are focusing on crafts as a medium to connect people to nature. This series was sparked from a new project that is in progress at Burren Nature Sanctuary. We obtained a Leaser grant towards some audio artworks to help interpret the biodiversity of the Burren around the walks. The three sculptures are a 7...

A thank you to all our wonderful guests this year and a Christmas gift The Song of Wandering Aengus by William Butler Yeats

Today Mary is talking to Minister Malcolm Noonan. He is a TD representing the Carlow Kilkenny Constituency and was appointed Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform in July 2020. First elected to Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council in 2004, he has served sixteen years in local government and was Mayor of Kilkenny in 2009; the first Green Party Mayor in the City’s long history. He served for a short time as Irish Delegate on the EU Committee of the Regions and...

Today Mary is talking to Matthew Parkinson. Matthew is Director of Slow Cabins Ireland - a slow tourism focused accommodation start up. A Tyrone native who now calls Galway home, Slow Cabins was developed in Ireland through lockdown in conjunction with their Belgium sister business. Slow Cabins Ireland places off-grid cabins in hidden gem locations around Ireland, hoping to persuade people to take a short break here rather than flying away to far flung destinations abroad. Core to their...

Today Mary is talking to Jack O’Donovan Trá. Jack is the Communications Officer at Fair Seas. Jack is blending the art of good comms with marine science to bring the message of ocean protection to a wide audience in an engaging and impactful way. Jack is a marine biologist by training and moved into comms and campaigns in 2018, and has since worked with many large international environmental coalitions and campaigns across Europe. Recommended books Thirty two words for field By: Manchan...

Today Mary is talking to Laura Kate (LK) Howells. LK designs and delivers environmental education programs inspired by nature, led by creativity, driven by solutions, and based on the notion that small actions done by many can make a big difference through her business Essentially Eco. This year she was 1 of 15 out of 166 applicants that received the Creative Ireland Climate Action Fund for her project Stories of Change. Stories of Change is a storytelling project that tells the tales of...

Today Mary is talking to Neil Campbell, an ecologist living in Galway and helping Dr Colin Kelleher from the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin with the National Native seed bank project Neil has Masters and undergraduate degrees in Botany and Plant Sciences from NUI Galway He is interested in preserving and improving biodiversity and natural habitats with an interest in native Irish plants. Contact Neil Campbell at [email protected] Contact Dr Colin Kelleher at...

Today Mary is talking to Gavin Pretor-Pinney. Gavin is founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, which has over 58,000 members in 120 countries. He is the author of the internationally bestselling Cloudspotter’s Guide and Cloud Collector’s Handbook as well as A Cloud A Day. Gavin is a winner of the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. He is a TED Global speaker with over 1.3 million views. He has presented television documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 and is a Visiting Fellow...

Today Mary is talking to Doug Allan. Doug is an Award-winning natural history photographer, documentary filmmaker, diver, author and public speaker. Doug’s photographic awards include eight Emmys, five BAFTAs and five Wildscreen Pandas. In his 35 years of filming he’s been involved with more than 65 films, freelancing for the BBC, Discovery, National Geographic and others. He was principal cameraman on many prestigious award-winning programmes, making over 25 trips to the Antarctic and more...

Ruth Hanniffy is a Conservation Biologist with Vincent Wildlife Trust. For the past 17 years, she has worked across disciplines including geomorphology, river restoration, freshwater fisheries, terrestrial mammal conservation, innovative survey techniques and the relationship between people and nature. Her current areas of research are on mustelids and bats, particularly the lesser horseshoe bat, pine marten and Irish stoat, with previous research on small mammals, water vole, otter and...

After various requests this week's episode is a brief description of The Burren Nature Sanctuary; it's vision and mission. Mary paints a picture of the home of Nature Magic to help people place the podcast in the landscape that it is broadcasting from. Visit the website www.burrennaturesanctuary.ie to find out more Or email Mary at [email protected]

Today Mary is talking to Dr Stephen Newton. senior Seabird Conservation Officer Stephen is responsible for managing the long-term conservation projects at Rockabill (Roseate Terns), Kilcoole (Little Terns) and a variety of other seabird monitoring and research initiatives, including the FAME and MarPAMM programmes which have focused on deploying loggers on seabirds to identify key feeding areas and migration strategies. Away from seabirds, Stephen has coordinated surveys of Choughs, upland...

Today Mary is speaking to Éanna Ní Lamhna.Éanna is an Irish biologist, environmental consultant, radio and television presenter, author and educator. She is one of the best-known public figures in Ireland in the area of nature and the environment. Her books include Talking Wild, Wild and Wonderful and Straight Talking Wild. Her latest book Our Wild World From the birds and bees to our boglands and the ice caps is available from O Brien Press Contact Mary Bermingham...