Nature's Top 40
Nature’s Top 40 counts down to the UK’s number one wildlife spectacle. Wildlife experts ranked suggestions from the public to compile the UK’s Top 40.
Obsessive naturalist
- I've been an obsessive naturalist since childhood. I'm equally happy on my hands and knees identifying British orchids or surveying the Ecuadorian Cloud Forests for tropical Hummingbirds. Â
- Having graduated with a Master's degree in Ecology, my obsession with the tropics began with my thesis studying moths in the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest. This first trip led to a period of over five years surveying the forests of Vietnam, Tanzania and Peru.
- After having spent long periods in the back-of-beyond and accumulated along the way an impressive array of diseases such as malaria and leishmaniasis, I needed to recuperate. I decided to return back to Britain to reacquaint myself with my first passion, British wildlife.
- Moving sideways from conservation to natural history television, I presented two natural history specials and a six part series for Channel 5, which were transmitted between 2000 and 2002.
- Following this I worked at the world famous ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Natural History Unit in Bristol. Projects included working as an on-screen contributor for Britain Goes Wild, the Springwatch Squad Reporter for Springwatch with Bill Oddie and as presenter for Wild Underground on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 4.
- I also contributed to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ 2's Nature's Calendar and Hands on Nature as well as to a number of items for the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ1 programme Inside Out.
From botany to birds
- Even when pushed, I struggle to stick my neck out as to whether I prefer birding or botanising. My knowledge of flowers and plants is considered to be pretty exhaustive and has even amazed his fellow presenters during the making of Nature's Top 40!
- I also confess that I've recently been trying to see every single species of Dragonfly in Britain and only have a couple to go!
- My ideal Saturday is spending the day visiting a new nature reserve, back in time to hear the football scores and rounding off the day with a couple of pints of Guinness!
- I look forward to sharing my passion for the natural world with you on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Nature's Top 40 on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two. Also look out for the book of the series which I wrote...
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