I am an outdoorsman, podcaster and speaker. I talk and write about the natural environment, biodiversity, conservation, hunting and fishing, rewilding and more. I am particularly interested in wildlife and human-wildlife interactions. I enjoy reading scientific papers on those subjects as much as being outdoors weathering the elements and getting first-hand experiences.
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Rewilding, Resilience and the Conversations We Keep Avoiding
Published 8 days ago • 5 min read
Conservation and Science
It has been longer than usual since the last issue of the newsletter. This is due to releasing two podcast episodes in consecutive weeks and not wanting to send the newsletter out of sync with the releases. You might think I could have switched to a weekly newsletter, something I have mentioned on a few occasions already. My current commitments, however, made this impractical, and so you are getting this issue with not one but two episodes and a book recommendation for good measure.
Starting with this week's episode, I am delighted to once again bring you my conversation with Peter Cairns. The last time I had an opportunity to talk with Peter was five years ago and a lot has changed since. It was great to catch up with him again. We had a nice long chat before I hit the record button and continued to chat away for a considerable time after we stopped recording. The main reason for inviting Peter again was that he started his own podcast titled 'At the Edge: Conversations from the human-wildlife faultline'. So, the podcaster-to-podcaster talk took a significant portion of our off-the-record chat.
The other episode I'm inviting you to listen to today is the second instalment of the series with Transition Kerry, where I follow their Community Climate Adaptation and Resilience Programme. Careful listeners and readers might notice that since the first episode, the word 'resilience' was added to the programme's name to better reflect its aims. This time, I spoke with participants of the programme and it was very encouraging to hear from young people coming from farming and angling backgrounds. Precisely the kind of people we need participation from in this type of programme. They not only bring fresh perspectives but also ensure that learnings and practices will be carried into the future.
I am closing this newsletter with an announcement of a new book. It's just a heads-up as the book is going to be released on the 7th of May. I learned about it too close to the release date to make an episode in time, but hey, if the book delivers, I might try and record an episode about it anyway!
Enjoy this week's newsletter.
Rewilding At the Edge
What has shifted in rewilding over the past five years? Why do recovery of species like lynx, beavers and wolves trigger reactions that go far beyond the animals themselves? And what is the real obstacle to bringing lynx back to Scotland, the ecology, the bureaucracy, or something much harder to name? In this episode, our returning guest is Peter Cairns, co-founder and former Executive Director of SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, board member of Trees for Life, public voice for the Lynx to Scotland partnership, wildlife photographer, and now host of the new podcast 'At the Edge'. Peter last appeared on the show back in 2021, and many things have shifted on the ground since then. More beavers, more red kites, more sea eagles and habitat restoration that has grown significantly. Peter argues that the conversation around land use is also maturing, even when daily progress feels like wading through treacle.
Our conversation moves through the long road of the Lynx to Scotland project: years of education, consultation and community engagement sessions, all building towards a licence application that will ultimately land on a politician's desk. Peter is honest about the sticking points around livestock predation and what level of impact society is prepared to support and compensate. We get into the cultural chasm between rural and urban Scotland and why a lynx or a beaver rarely represents just an animal. For many people, these species symbolise change, loss of control over the landscape and the imposition of urban values on rural communities. We also discuss the illegal release of four lynx in the Cairngorms and Peter's measured view on what that incident says about an over-bureaucratic system and what the government would be wise to learn from it.
In the second half of our conversation, Peter shares why he started 'At the Edge', a podcast designed to host the difficult conversations sitting on what he calls the human-wildlife faultline. We talk about social media as an accelerator of polarisation, the impossibility of shouting people into agreement and the Finding Common Ground initiative that is quietly reshaping how deer management is discussed in Scotland. We also get into wildlife photography and the rise of what Peter calls the 'Instagram trophy hunter', along with his concerns about ecotourism becoming too central to rewilding's economic case. Towards the end, Peter offers a thoughtful, almost stoic answer to my ‘crystal ball’ question, focusing on what each of us can actually control in our own physical, community and philosophical space. It's a generous and quietly hopeful conversation, and I think you'll get a lot from it.
What makes farmers reluctant to talk about climate change, even though they see its effects first-hand? Can a trip to the Arctic change how you look at a small river in Kerry? And why might 'community first, environment second' be the right way round? These are some of the questions we explore in the second episode of the series following the Community Climate Adaptation and Resilience Programme in Kerry. This episode is a progress check on how the programme is unfolding, with Catríona Fallon from Transition Kerry giving an overview of the sessions run so far, covering community mapping, nature-based solutions and food. We also hear from three participants, each bringing a different background and reason for signing up. For the full context of the programme, have a listen to episode 218 where it all started.
Our conversation brings in Kieran Cotter, Project Officer of the Knocknagoshel Environmental and Angling Association, who is also known for restoring his grandmother's 200-year-old cottage on RTÉ's Great House Revival. Chris Barrett, a professional photographer and PRO of the same angling association, has taken part in two Arctic expeditions and saw glacial melt, plastic pollution and dead fulmars in otherwise pristine environments. Mary Murphy, who wrote and produced a children's television series on climate and sustainability, recently joined the steering group for a Sustainable Energy Community in Kenmare that is currently tendering an energy masterplan. Each of them talks about what drew them to the programme and what they hope to bring back to their own communities. Kieran and Chris also share how the angling club is being used as a vehicle for environmental work on the River Owveg, a tributary of the Feale, where fish stocks have dropped sharply within their lifetime.
A thread running through our chat is the idea of adaptation as a positive project rather than a doom-and-gloom one. The participants talk about the difficulty of communicating climate issues with farmers, the value of humour in those conversations and the Rob Hopkins idea of 'falling in love with the future' that the group can work towards. We also touch on practical ideas being shared across the programme, from community energy masterplans and shared solar installations to an anaerobic digester on Cape Clear that turns food waste into cooking gas and fertiliser. The next sessions take the group to the Maharees Conservation Association and to the Fenit Wild Mind festival, where Transition Kerry will host a skills share tent. I'll be following up with more participants once this phase of the programme wraps up in June.
Cal Flynn's book 'Islands of Abandonment' was nothing short of eye-opening on how resilient nature can be and how the future of some ecosystems, at least, might look. It took me on a journey somewhere between ecological restoration and novel ecosystems, with a dash of post-apocalyptic vibe. As I commented back then, with a slight adaptation of a well-known quote: the book gives hope. Not the hope we need but the hope we deserve.
So when I learned that Cal's latest book 'The Savage Landscape: How We Made the Wilderness' is about to be released, I immediately pre-ordered it. Now, mind you, this is not a recommendation but merely a heads-up about the new release. If you are reading this newsletter, chances are that you have read 'Islands of Abandonment' or at least heard me riffing about it. In either case, my expectations are high!
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I am an outdoorsman, podcaster and speaker. I talk and write about the natural environment, biodiversity, conservation, hunting and fishing, rewilding and more. I am particularly interested in wildlife and human-wildlife interactions. I enjoy reading scientific papers on those subjects as much as being outdoors weathering the elements and getting first-hand experiences.
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