Wilder Podcast
Co-hosted by Chloe and Tom, founders of the Grange Project, the podcast explores a simple but urgent question: what does it really take to create more space for wilder nature?
We speak with experts who are passionate about understanding, protecting and restoring the natural world, to the benefit of us all. Whether that's a leading figure in nature recovery, a charity founder or an activist, we explore their stories in a way that's accessible to all.
Alongside expert voices, we also share our own journey at the Grange Project. We're learning by doing, without formal backgrounds in ecology or conservation, navigating the uncertainty that comes with trying to rewild land.
Whether you're deeply embedded in environmental work, quietly nature-curious, or wondering how you might play a part in a sustainable future, the Wilder Podcast aims to inform, inspire and offer an honest account of our attempt at systemic change.
Join our growing audience with over 28,000 likeminded listeners.
Latest Episode
Right to Roam - Who Is the Countryside Actually For? With Jon Moses
Listen on your favourite platform
All Episodes
58 episodes and counting
Right to Roam - Who Is the Countryside Actually For? With Jon Moses
Jon Moses lives five minutes from the River Monnow. He had lived beside it for twenty years and barely knew it, because almost none of it could legally be reached. In the first lockdown he pretended for a day that he lived in Scotland, and walked up it anyway. That walk is the whole argument of ...
Wildfires - What's Actually Burning, and What Can Be Done
A mountain has been burning 13 miles from the Grange Project for two weeks. Wales has just gone into drought after receiving 8% of its average July rainfall, the driest July in 190 years. Just under 22,000 hectares have burnt across the UK so far this year, more than the whole of 2022, with most ...
Together for Good - The Power of Community Climate Action
Helen Meech is Executive Director of the Climate Coalition, the UK's largest group of organisations dedicated to action on people, climate and nature. Over 130 member organisations, from the National Trust to Oxfam to Save the Children, plus a network of around 3,500 community organisers across t...
The Psychology of Species Reintroductions with Pete Cairns
Episode summaryWe see Pete Cairns as rewilding royalty. Thirty years in the conservation conversation, co-founder and former CEO of SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, and now host of the new podcast At the Edge. In this episode Tom and Chloe sit down with Pete to dig into the one thing every species rein...
Who Really Wins and Loses in the Food System? With Sue Pritchard
The invisible forces shaping what you eat, why they stay hidden, and what it actually takes to change them. Sue Pritchard is CEO of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FFCC) and a farmer just down the road from us in Monmouthshire. In this episode she lays out exactly how the modern fo...
Three Years In: The Honest Truth About Rewilding 80 Acres
No guest this week. Just Tom and Chloe with a drink, a lot to catch up on, and roughly an hour to get through it all. It's been 18 months since the last proper project update and quite a lot has happened. 4,000 trees planted. A tiny forest that nearly died twice and is now over six feet tall. A ...
WTF is the Polycrisis and why should I care?
In this conversation, we update you on two big milestones for the Grange Project, the launch of the Welsh Rewilding Alliance and our OECM recognition, before sitting down with Professor Mike Berners‑Lee. We ask Mike to explain the polycrisis: how climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, fo...
The Future of Rewilding in Cymru (Wales) - Tir Natur
Chloe and Tom speak with Gwenni Jenkins-Jones and Eben Muse from Tir Natur, a Welsh rewilding charity working to establish Wales’s largest rewilding site. The conversation explores the unique challenges and opportunities for rewilding in Wales and why this moment represents a turning point for na...
Regenerative Agriculture Changing How We Grow Food
Tom and Chloe sit down with Clare from https://plantonfarm.co.uk/ to explore what regenerative agriculture really means. Drawing on Claire’s journey from the conventional food industry into regenerative farming, the conversation explores why our current food system is under strain and how worki...
Wilder Purbeck - Connecting a Community to the "Super National Nature Reserve"
In this pre‑Christmas episode, hosts Chloe and Tom sit down with Tom Clark and Alex Brocklesby from the National Trust at Purbeck. Purbeck is one of the UK’s most biodiverse areas, yet many residents remain disconnected from the nature on their doorstep. Tom and Alex explain how varied geology; ...
Monmouth Floods Discussion
Guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-johnstone/ e – Founder of https://wearenaturebased.co.uk/ Host: Tom Constable (co‑founder of The Grange Project) Episode overviewIn this special episode, Tom Constable talks to flood‑management expert Tom Johnstone about the catastrophic flooding that re...
Healing in the Wild with Jo Robert, CEO Wilderness Foundation UK
In episode 46 of The Wilder Podcast, hosts Chloe and Tom explore how wild places heal people and ecosystems. Their guest is Jo Roberts, CEO of the Wilderness Foundation UK. Jo shares how her childhood in South Africa fostered a deep respect for wilderness, how trauma influenced her career path,...
Community Land Stewardship with Chris Blake
This week on the https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/wilder-podcast , we sit down with Chris Blake to explore how communities can steward land through collaboration, long-term vision and trust between local people and public bodies. We also share https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/ updates (bumper ap...
The Quiet Revolution of Growing Your Own with Gaz Oakley
In this episode, Tom and Chloe sit down with chef-turned-homesteader Gaz Oakley to explore his remarkable journey from the high-pressure kitchens of Cardiff and London to a more grounded life growing food and foraging in the Welsh hills. With 1.8 million YouTube followers, five cookbooks, and a d...
From Loss to Life - Ben Goldsmith & Natural Capital
In this episode of the Wilder Podcast, we sit down with Ben Goldsmith, financier, conservationist, and passionate rewilding advocate, to explore the deeply personal and global dimensions of nature restoration. Ben shares how the tragic loss of his daughter, Iris, became the catalyst for rewildin...
Restorative Practices for a Wilder World
In this episode of the Wilder Podcast, Chloe and Tom discuss the recent opening of the Grange Hub and explore two significant restorative practices: Natural Flood Management (NFM) and Nature Guardianship. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-johnstone/ from https://www.linkedin.com/company/we-are-n...
The Lost Art of Nature Connection
Summary In this episode of The Wilder Podcast, hosts Chloe and Tom explore the concept of nature connection, discussing its importance for mental health and wellbeing, the barriers that prevent it, and the pathways to rekindling our relationship with the natural world. They explore the significa...
Rivers in Crisis – A Conversation with James Wallace
What happens when we treat our rivers like sewers, ignore regulation, and allow polluters to profit from destruction? In this milestone 40th episode of The Wilder Podcast, we sit down with James Wallace, CEO of River Action, for one of our most eye-opening conversations yet. Beyond the outrage, t...
The Act That Could Change the World
In this episode we speak with the inspirational Jane Davidson, the former government minister who proposed the groundbreaking Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. We discuss how the Act came to be, the influence the legislation has had and why Wales is now being watched by countries around the wo...
Thrivalism with Tony Juniper CBE
Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, shares with us a powerful thesis: we cannot fight the climate and ecological crisis without first addressing social inequality. Not content with just highlighting these connections, Tony describes the system change necessary to move us all forward; the new ...
Taking Rewilding Mainstream with Alister Scott of the Global Rewilding Alliance
In this joyful episode to celebrate World Rewilding Day, we take a big picture view as Alister addresses key questions such as ‘what does a rewilded world look like’, ‘how do we get there’ and ‘what are the benefits?’ Amongst a range of topics, we discuss climate stabilisation, eco distress and e...
"It's the how, not the cow" with Grazing Management
Join us round the farmhouse kitchen as we chat with Emily and Alex, the co-founders of Grazing Management. Over a cup of tea, and some excellent fruit cake, we discuss what conservation grazing is, why it’s so important for biodiversity and how they are managing to make it into a successful busin...
In Business For Nature: Project Updates and Make it Wild
What does it take to turn a family passion into a powerful force for nature? In this episode of two halves, we start with an update about The Grange Project, including the last 6 months of physical interventions, our evolving business structure, and the latest developments at The Grange Distiller...
Going Off Grid: Tiny Homes, Big Solutions
If you’ve ever contemplated heading to the hills in your own off-grid escape, this is the episode for you. Craftsman builder Simon Whitfield of the Tiny Home Company covers the key ingredients necessary to create your own self-built home, as well as philosophy underpinning the ‘tiny living’ lifes...
An Agriwilding Evolution with Matt Swarbrick
Matt Swarbrick, a farmer in North West Wales, shares with us the journey of Henbant. Using the principles of holistic decision making and agriwilding, they’ve created a thriving ecosystem that enables them to produce delicious nutrient dense food and magical spaces for both people and nature. Enj...
How to Build a Regenerative Nation with North Star Transition
How do you make a nation regenerative? What does it take to transform the Wye and Usk catchments? Jyothi Banerjee and North Star Transition are asking some of the most complex questions of our time, with three clear objectives: to propose a plan which is transformative, locally owned and investab...
A European Adventure with James Shooter
We journey across Europe with James Shooter, host of the rewild podcast. From inspirational community led rewilding projects, to the trial and tribulations of road tripping, sit back and enjoy his story-telling skills. On that theme, we end the episode with a discussion about the role of communic...
Tor to Shore - Landscape Level Recovery
There is a vision in Cornwall, one of large scale nature recovery from land to sea. In this episode we hear the story and the vision of ‘Tor to Shore’, eloquently described by Matt Walpole, CEO of Cornwall Wildlife Trust. We discuss unexpected challenges (looking at you beavers), the importance o...
Failure and Success: 12 Months of Rewilding at the Grange Project
For both new and regular listeners, we cover everything you need to know about the Grange Project one year in. Whether you’re interested in the physical changes, how we intend to finance the project or our vision for nature education, we hope you find value in our enthusiasm! **Sign up for the n...
People and Technology in Rewilding with Simon Roper
In this interview with Simon Roper, we debate the problems and possibilities of technology in rewilding, covering everything from the latest innovations to whether technology ever could, or should, replace boots in the ground. Whether you’re a self described technology geek or living a low tech l...
Future Farms with Our Food 1200
In the context of carbon emissions related to imported foods, increasing food insecurity, pollution from intensive farming and corporate monopolies, maybe it's time we reimagined the future of farming in the UK? https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncanfisher/ eloquently describes how https://www.lin...
What have the Wildlife Trusts ever done for us?
James Hitchcock, CEO of Radnorshire Wildlife Trust, takes us on a big picture journey in this week’s episode. Covering a range of topics including the role of the Wildlife Trusts, the relationship between Wales and rewilding and the conception of his dream project, Wilder Pentwyn Farm. ********...
Finding Your Tribe with Rewilding Training
The foundations of this rich episode are a conversation with Laura Fairs, the Lead Facilitator and Co-Creator of the https://embercombe.org/ Rewilding Training. We discuss the history of the training, the key subjects covered in the training and the importance of inclusivity and diversity. It w...
Keystone Species - Beavers
Why do beavers create dams? How do they enhance the ecosystem around them? What is getting in the way of their return? As a Project Officer with the Welsh Beaver Project, Alicia Leow-Dyke is the perfect guest to introduce us to the beaver and their importance within the British Landscape. *****...
There will be Leaves on the Mountain Again with Rob Penn
Rob graciously takes us back to woodland basics in this fascinating episode as we consider the role of trees in addressing the climate and ecological crises. We discuss the unique opportunities presented by the Welsh uplands, the (successful) efforts of bracken to take over the world and the inno...
Rewilding London with Citizen Zoo
Are you one of the 84.4% of the population that live in an urban setting? In this episode, Elliot and Digby from Citizen Zoo tell us about rewilding projects across London, including the reintroductions of water voles and beavers. We hear about some of the unexpected impacts of these projects, th...
Save the Curlew, Save the World with Mary Colwell
In this inspirational conversation, we start off with the story of the curlew and end up discussing the importance of ‘nature literacy’. Mary’s creativity, passion and determination shine through as we hear about her historic campaign for the curlew, driving forward the natural history GCSE and h...
Heal Rewilding - New Spaces for Nature with Jan Stannard
Join the journey of Heal Rewilding as we hear about the mission of the charity, the acquisition of their first site and progress a year later. Jan Stannard, Founder Trustee and Acting CEO, clearly describes the many decisions made by the charity over the last year and the importance of new spaces...
Eat food, not too much, mostly plants with Frank Holleman
In this delightful chat with Frank, we start to make sense of why our relationship to food is so critical for the climate. We explore a range of topics including the scary impact of food waste, the challenge of our meat and dairy consumption and the role of social tipping points. As well as the s...
Rewilding in Semi-Urban Environments with Stephen Mason
As the majority of the UK population lives within an urban environment, it’s critical that ‘wilder nature’ is not the privilege of the rural landscape. Stephen Mason, Community Parks Officer at Cheltenham Borough Council, shares practical examples of what rewilding can look like in a semi-urban c...
(re)Wild the Boar with Chantal Lyons
Chantal’s passion for the wild boar exudes throughout this interview as we discuss the role the boar plays in habitat-regeneration, the challenge they present for their human neighbours and how they might just be rewilding us? Following the success of her recently published book ‘Groundbreakers -...
Growing for the future with Green Up Farm
Toni, co-founder of Green Up Farm, takes us through everything you need to know about indoor hydroponic vertical farming: from what you need to get started, routes to market and the challenges of being zero waste. We loved this episode for Toni’s transparency and the strength of the values which ...
Generation Wilder
The UK’s ecological health is in the bottom 10% on earth and over 80% of UK young people are eager to take action to help the environment, but only 1 in 5 believe they are being listened to on environmental issues. Jack and Noah share the story of Youngwilders, which exists to turn these statisti...
The Moments that Shaped Us
As we look forward into 2024, Tom and Chloe have reflected on the Wilder Podcast back catalogue and selected six moments which particularly resonated from them. Whether you’re a regular listener who’d enjoy a reminder, or a new recruit who’s interested in what the Wilder Podcast is all about, we ...
Can we even 'REWILD' in the UK?!
Is rewilding in the UK even possible? Why are terms important? What is rewilding anyway? In this episode we are joined by academic expert in rewilding, Dr Stephen Carver, as we discuss the role of human intervention, our desire for an ‘outcome’ and the challenges of rewilding in the UK. Our Gu...
DIY Nature Reserve
Covering everything from the scientific theory of rewilding (diversity, disturbance and distribution!) to the art of tree planting on his very own nature reserve, the inspirational communicator that is mailto:chris@lifeto.land will leave you both enthused and resourced to enhance biodiversity i...
What is COP 28 and why should we care?
As one of the key mechanisms of international action to address climate change, this episode covers everything you need to know about the COP: why it exists, what happens during the COP, the critiques of the process and what we should look out for at COP 28. ‘We can’t really afford not to engage ...
Landscape of Hope: Lynbreck Croft
Sharing the wisdom generated over recent years of wilder farming on a 150 acre croft in the Cairngorms, Lyn Cassell’s reflects on the importance of connection to the land, holistic living and the principles of wilder regenerative farming. We leave inspired and full of admiration for the pioneerin...
Building the Ultimate Mosaic: A Grange Project Update
We’re now 6 months in, and it seems like as good a time as any for a different type of episode. In a slightly shorter conversation than usual, thanks to Tom’s tenacious editing, we reflect on the progress of the Grange Project to date. Conversations touch on what we’ve appreciated (doughnuts in t...
Crushing Rocks for the Climate: Enhanced Weathering with Ben Westcott
How do you permanently remove billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide, utilising natural processes and of benefit to the land owner? Ben Westcott speaks to us about UNDO; an innovative company deploying the latest technology to speed up enhanced rock weathering, a geological process that locks away ...
Into the Wildlands with Alasdair Cameron
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alasdair-cameron-60185726/ , Founder and Executive Director of Somerset Wildlands, passionately discussed the concept of rewilding, its distinctions from conservation and restoration, and the pressing need for more wild land in this country. Alasdair emphasises the ben...
Restoring the Wild: Rewilding Britain with Prof Alastair Driver
This episode was the culmination of a wonderful day with Alastair Driver, the Director of Rewilding Britain and a very wise man. Alastair talks with us about the history and vision of the charity, the challenges within the current government system (as well as the potential solutions) and some of...
Growing Change: Julia Hailes MBE on Peat, Wilding and Biodiversity
In this episode, we are delighted to share that we have not one, but two fantastic guests. Firstly, we're joined by Benedict Macdonald, CEO of Restore, to share the announcement of our partnership, his reflections on the Grange Project and the exciting concept of ‘reflowering’. However, the episo...
Biodiversity: The Silent Crisis with Prof Tom Crowther
In this episode we interview Professor Tom Crowther, renowned ecologist at the forefront of biodiversity research. Tom paints a vivid picture of biodiversity loss, aptly termed the 'silent crisis,' and sheds light on its intrinsic link to human existence and the human activities that are contribu...
The Rising Tide of Climate (in)Security With Lt Gen Richard Nugee
In this episode, we discuss Tom's evolution to a 'reluctant eco-warrior' and co-founder of the Grange Project. We were then privileged to be joined by Lt Gen Richard Nugee who introduced us to the Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach report he authored about the importance of a cl...
Our Warming World: Mark Lynas on Climate Change and the Power of Accountability
In this episode, Chloe introduces herself and her personal journey to the Grange Project. Tom and Chloe then interview Mark Lynas (British author and environmental activist) about the current realities of our climate crisis - the fact that we're unlikely to maintain global warming to 1.5 degrees ...
The Grange Project: Restoring Nature on Our 80 Acre Farm
In this episode, Chloe and Tom introduce everyone to the Wilder podcast and what listeners may expect from the first three foundational episodes, they also talk about how they ended up rewilding an 80-acre farm in Wales, the purposes of the Grange Project and how to ensure it’s financially sustai...
Meet the 'Wilder' Podcast: Your Gateway to Rewilding and Sustainable Living
Welcome to the trailer episode of the Wilder podcast, where your hosts Tom and Chloe introduce themselves, the podcast, and what to expect from future episodes. [00:00:26] Tom and Chloe are a husband-and-wife duo, parents of three, and are ready to embark on their exciting new adventure with the...
Never Miss an Episode
Subscribe & review: If you enjoyed the podcast, follow us on your preferred podcast app and leave a rating. It helps others discover the show.
Join the conversation: Share your thoughts or questions on social media and tag @WilderPodcast. What experiences have inspired your connection to nature?