Curious About Nature and Communities

Rachel interviews Alex Dommett, the Community Engagement Officer for My Wild City for Avon Wildlife Trust. They discuss the importance of community involvement in nature conservation and share their mutual passion for the natural world. Alex shares her personal journey into community engagement work and the mission of My Wild City to improve local wildlife sites. The conversation also covers fun bug facts, bug hunting activities for families, and the need for changes in governance and land management to support biodiversity.

Alex Dommett/My Wild City Website: https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/mywildcity

Curious About Nature is hosted by Buttercup Learning Founder, Rachel Mills.

Website: https://buttercuplearning.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buttercup_hello/

Email: info@buttercuplearning.com

Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you're listening to this.

Curious About Nature is a nature show for families, home educators and teachers from the team behind Buttercup Learning and the UK's only nature prints with augmented reality.

There's a new episode every month where guests discuss nature and ways we can connect our families and communities to nature.

What we discussed in the episode

The journey into community engagement work (00:01:16) Alex shares their non-traditional route into community engagement work and how they discovered their passion for nature conservation.

Introduction to the My Wild City project (00:02:26) Alex explains the goals and activities of the My Wild City project, which aims to improve local wildlife sites and connect communities to nature in Bristol.

Citizen science and getting involved (00:05:47) Alex discusses citizen science and how families can participate in projects like the Big Garden Birdwatch and the City Nature Challenge to contribute to scientific research and conservation efforts.

Ladybird Hatching (00:11:29) Alex discussed a three-year-old finding a newly hatched ladybird without spots and discovering that ladybirds hatch without spots.

Bug Facts (00:11:46) Alex shares interesting bug facts, such as snails having 14,000 teeth and glow worms turning snails into milkshakes.

Bug Hunting Activities (00:13:08) Alex makes some suggestions for bug hunting activities, including searching for butterflies, looking for bees, and exploring damp places for beetles and woodlice.