Today Mary gives a brief outline of her experience at the National Biodiversity Conference in Dublin Castle that took place over two days in June 2022. Act Now For Nature https://www.biodiversityconference.ie/

Féidhlim Harty is an environmental consultant and writer. His company, FH Wetland Systems, established in 1996, offers designs and guidance on waterway repair and rewilding, eco-friendly wastewater treatment, and holistic landuse management for catchment protection and regeneration. His recent books include Towards Zero Waste and Permaculture Guide to Reed Beds. www.wetlandsystems.ie

Today Mary is talking to Harrison Gardner. Harrison is a builder, teacher and co-founder of Common Knowledge, the non-profit social enterprise focused on sharing skills for a sustainable life. He has 15 years experience designing and managing the construction of conventional, sustainable and alternative buildings worldwide. His current focus is on facilitating the creation of community spaces whilst teaching the core construction principles and techniques needed to build more efficient,...

Today Mary is talking to Janet Jones. Janet applies brain science to the training of horses and riders. She earned her Ph.D. from UCLA and taught the neuroscience of perception, language, memory, and thought for 23 years. Janet trained horses at a large stable early in her career, and later ran a successful horse training business of her own. She has schooled hundreds of green or difficult horses and competed in hunter, jumper, halter, reining, and western pleasure disciplines. Her 2020 book...

Today Mary is talking to John Carrig. John set up The Barn Owl project in January 2019 to help with conservation of Barn Owls in Ireland. Johnis a published wildlife photographer and has been involved in wildlife conservation and rescue for many years. The project team consists of a number of wildlife experts covering conservation rescue and rehabilitation of Barn Owls in Ireland. Find John on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Barnowlprojectireland Or on his website at...

Today Mary is talking to Elaine Butler. Elaine runs the website Living Lightly in Ireland. This website is a sustainable living guide with all the information needed to live a greener life; from where to shop, to what to cook. She has been featured in the Irish Times, The Irish Independent, and on Radio 1, RTE and Virgin Media. https://livinglightlyinireland.com For second hand clothes try Depop https://www.depop.com/

Welcome back to Nature Magic after our winter hibernation! Today Mary is talking to Lisa Tully. Lisa is professional animal healer & communicator She has an international practice working with all kinds of species. Lisa travelled to Mongolia to study shamanic healing for animals. During her studies she learnt to identify the root causes behind any mental, emotional, physical or spiritual challenges animal companions may be facing & she creates holistic programs to heal them. With...

The nature magic podcast is taking a short break - We wish you all a very happy holidays and for the final episode of 2021 Today Mary is reading a short story that she wrote based on real life events. Thank you for all the support spreading a positive voice for nature from Ireland- See you in 2022! Contact Mary Bermingham at [email protected] Check out Burren Nature Sanctuary at www.burrennaturesanctuary.ie Support the Nature Magic Podcast...

Today Mary is talking to Conor Ruane. Conor is a Community Water Officer with the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) covering Galway and South Roscommon. Conor works with voluntary groups to support projects focusing on the protection of rivers, lakes, coastal, and groundwater. Conor previously worked as a freshwater ecologist carrying out ecological surveys and river restoration works. More Information on LAWPRO; https://lawaters.ie/ The Draft River Basin Management Plan;...

Today Mary is talking to Nancy Striniste, as part of our mini series of nature educators. Nancy has a lot of amazing advice to offer. She is Director of East Coast Programs for Green Schoolyards America; and founder and principal designer at EarlySpace. Nancy has a unique background as both a landscape designer and an early childhood educator and she has worked with schools, childcare centers, municipalities and organizations across America to create beautiful, sustainably designed natural...

Today Mary is speaking to Wildlife warrior Matilda. Matilda moved from Australia to Ireland a couple of years ago. Matilda is a conservationist and activist and we became aquainted two years ago when she was running a fundraiser for wildlife aged 6 She is part of the Australian zoo wildlife warrior programme. The vision of the programme is that people, wildlife and habitat survive and prosper without being detrimental to the existence of each other. Their mission is to be the most...

Today Mary is talking to Nikita Zimov, director of Pleistocene park. Nikita is a Russian scientist at the cutting edge of the fight against climate change. Nikita and his father Sergey have been resurrecting an Ice Age biome since 1998. Pleistocene Park is a major initiative that includes an attempt to restore the mammoth steppe ecosystem, which was dominant in the Arctic in the late Pleistocene era. The initiative requires replacement of the current unproductive northern ecosystems by...

Today Mary is talking to Professor Martin Bunzl. Martin taught Philosophy at Rutgers University in New Jersey for 40 years Much of his work has revolved around the nature of scientific knowledge and in his new book Thinking While Walking reflections on the pacific quest trail….. He delves into difficult topics such as these. •Millions of trees along the trail are being destroyed by beetles. If we have a duty of respect to nature, why does that respect not extend to the beetles? •We have...

Today Mary is talking to Joe Slattery. Joe is an Experienced Addiction counsellor and coordinator of the NorthStar Family Support Project, a community based project in Limerick , Joe is a specialist in-dealing with issues of substance abuse with adolescents and their families. Joe is the Irish network coordinator and advanced certified in the EAGALA model of Equine Assisted Counselling and CEO of JS Equine Assisted Therapies. Joe is a public speaker/educator in the area of drug abuse...

Today Mary is talking to Randal Plunkett, 21st Baron of Dunsany Castle, in County Meath. The Plunkett family motto is: Make Haste Slowly and through Randal’s dedication to rewild the estate he is at the forefront of the battle to fight the biodiversity crisis. The ancient slow growing trees are the backbone to the project that leaves 750 acres to nature. A charismatic figure, Randal is a film director and movie maker and as he said himself ‘a bit of a goth’ His latest movie: The Green...

Today Mary is talking to Kushal Jayakumar and Anees Ali from the Ecology department of Christ Junior College, Bangalore on their new podcast Geeks in Suits. Geeks in Suits are on a quest to unravel the journeys of experts in various fields with an enquiry on Physis-Nomos! We talk about the biodiversity crisis, species on the edge of extinction and the healing power of nature. Contact Geeks in Suits at [email protected] Contact Mary at [email protected] Check...

Today Mary is talking to Dr Karen L. Bacon. Karen is a plant ecologist and palaeoecologist based in Botany & Plant Sciences at the National University of Ireland, Galway. She completed her PhD in plant palaeoecology in 2012 in University College Dublin. After spending several years in the UK, she returned to Ireland in 2019. Dr Bacon’s interests span palaeobotany to modern plant ecology and incorporates elements of plant biology, geology and chemistry. She is particularly interested in...

Today Mary is talking to Aga Grandowicz. Aga is a multi-award winning art director, graphic designer and wildlife illustrator. Aga studied graphic design, graphic art, fine arts and traditional photography in ASP Gdansk (Academy of Fine Arts Gdansk) and Shortly after completing her masters in 2003, with the highest honours, she set up her graphic design practice and started working for a large variety of Polish businesses. In 2006, in search of adventure and inspiration, Aga has moved to...

Today Mary is talking to Gearoid McEvoy, a 21-year-old Irish Wildlife Biology graduate and the founder of Reforest Nation that has just hit it's goal of planting 50,000 trees in Ireland. Burren Nature Sanctuary has partnered with Reforest nation to plant 1000 trees this Autumn. Their new goal is 1 million trees planted- listen in to the amazing story of how one young person started Reforest nation in lockdown during a global pandemic. A message from Gearóid... I have a passion for all...

Today Mary is talking to Conor W. O’Brien. Conor is a wildlife writer and photographer, with a lifelong interest in the natural world. His work has been published in Ireland’s Own, Irish Wildlife magazine and Wings, the official publication of Birdwatch Ireland, in which he wrote about Ireland’s extinct birds. Conor’s first book, Ireland Through Birds: Journeys in Search of a Wild Nation, was nominated for Best Irish Published Book of the Year at the 2019 An Post Irish Book Awards. He is a...

Today Mary is talking to Dr Joseph Bruchac, proud Nulhegan Abeneki citizen and respected elder of his tribe. For over forty years Joseph Bruchac has been creating literature and music that reflects his indigenous heritage and traditions. He is the author of more than 170 books for children and adults. His best selling Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children series, with its remarkable integration of science and folklore, continues to receive...

Today Mary is talking to Dan Donoher Animal Manager of Wildlife Rehabilitation Ireland’s brand new Wildlife Hospital. Dan is amongst a group of admirable people who this year started the first Wildlife hospital in Ireland. The emergency facility is in Garlow Cross, County Meath in an adapted barn and stables. Dan worked previously at the wildlife unit in Kildare Animal Foundation. He is an advanced oiled wildlife responder and assistant Instructor on WRI wildlife courses. He is WRI...

Today Mary is talking to Ramiro D. Crego. Ramiro is a conservation biologist from Argentina, living on the farm at Burren Nature Sanctuary with his wife Nora and their rescue cat, Alba and currently working remotely as a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, USA. Ramiro has been studying birds and mammals inhabiting semi-arid grasslands of Argentina and Kenya, and temperate forests in southern Chile. In his studies, Ramiro investigates how our human...

Today Mary is talking to Janie Chodosh, author of 'The Elephant Doctor of India'. She is an undergraduate at the University of Michigan and majored in biology, ecology, natural resources management, creative writing, and poetry. After college, she moved to Yosemite National Park where she worked as a naturalist and educator and learned to rock climb and backcountry ski. For her thesis as a graduate student in the University of Montana's environmental studies she traveled to a rural...

Today Mary is talking to Dr. Claire Warden. Claire is an advocate for outdoor learning. Among many achievemnts she is Founder of Living Classrooms, the International Association of Nature Pedagogy and the Mindstretchers Academy. Claire is also director of the wonderful Auchlone Nature Kindergarten in Scotland where children spend 80% of their day outside. She received the international award 'Exceptional Master Leader' for her work on the Floorbooks Approach and she has written many other...