Episode Seven - The Pink Pigeon. Featuring Louise Whale

Welcome to part 2 of the first two-parter of the podcast! This episode concludes my favourite conservation success story of the Black Footed Ferret and concludes Series 1 of Turn On The Light! My special guest Soraya Abdel-Hadi speaks to us further about her experiences, diversity in the outdoors, ways to help conserve our planet, and generally shares words of wisdom. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and Twitter @sorayaearth and our first person to follow on Pinterest under that same username - sorayaearth. There is also of course Soraya's own lovely website where you can delve into her world through blogs, photography and her sustainable art - https://www.soraya.earth/. As always, you can find the podcast on Instagram @turnonthelight_pod, on Twitter @savingspecies and you can contact me for any reason at all at [email protected]. Please don't forget to rate, review and subscribe, it's the best way to spread the word 😊😊

This exciting episode is part 1 of 2! That's right, we have a two-parter episode to round off Season 1 of Turn On The Light! Which also means this is the penultimate episode!! I had to save my favourite conservation success story for the crescendo of the season... A fuzzy little carnivore that was one declared extinct in the wild.. not once, but twice! It is of course the adorable face of intensive, successful captive breeding, the Black Footed Ferret. My special guest this week has many strings to her bow and is always striving to use all of her skills towards the preservation and protection of nature. Soraya Abdel-Hadi is the ultimate advocate of taking a holistic approach to protecting and conserving our planet. She is currently the Operations Manager for eXXpedition: a community interest company that organises all-female sails with a focus on plastics and toxins in the ocean. When she is not working hard at that, she has her fingers in many others pies, including free-lance writing, her blog, her beautiful net-positive artwork, travel, and generally being an ambassador for the outdoors. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and Twitter @sorayaearth and our first person to follow on Pinterest under that same username - sorayaearth. There is also of course Soraya's own lovely website where you can delve into her world through blogs, photography and her sustainable art - https://www.soraya.earth/. As always, you can find the podcast on Instagram @turnonthelight_pod, on Twitter @savingspecies and you can contact me for any reason at all at [email protected]. Please don't forget to rate, review and subscribe, it's the best way to spread the word 😊😊

This week we pop over to southern Europe to hear the fall, and crucially, rise of the Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus). Mass effort from the Spanish government and 20 organisations working in tandem, meant that this gorgeous cat was prevented from becoming the first wild feline species to go extinct since the saver tooth tiger! Carrying on the kitty theme, we speak to AJ Muheim who is an animal caretaker at The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minnesota. This is a safe haven for those big cats who find themselves in need of rescue and who would no longer be able to live life in the wild. Sanctuaries like this play key roles in animal welfare and in raising awareness of the wildlife trade and thereby conservation. The sanctuary can be found at https://www.wildcatsanctuary.org/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wildcatsanctuary/. As always the podcast can be found @turnonthelight_pod on Instagram, @savingspecies on Twitter and you can contact me at [email protected] for any reason at all 😊

Today we dive back into island life in Mauritius with a tale of survival from the Echo Parakeet. We again hear of the triumphs of the remarkable Professor Carl Jones in the implementation of a bird recovery programme for these bright and bold parrots. Our special guest for today is Bianca, aka Binky, Young. Based in Jamaica, Binky takes us through her crucial work with the Sandals Foundation across 7 countries in the Caribbean, ensuring the future of the islands and the wonderful marine worlds that surround them. You can follow this work on Instagram and Twitter @sandalsfdn, on Facebook at Sandals Foundation and check out their website at sandalsfoundation.org. The good news stories of today's episodes can be explored more here - https://www.durrell.org/wildlife/news/first-baby-aye-aye-hand-reared-jersey-zoo/ Here - https://www.lemurreserve.org/exciting-lemur-infant-news/ And here - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/10/wild-bison-to-return-to-uk-kent

This week we are back in the ocean, this time with the charismatic furry fellow, the sea otter. After intense hunting of these dudes for their wonderful fur, they have managed to bounce back with assistance from novel conservation programmes. We speak with Leoni Dickerhoff in the interview portion of today's episode. She is the founder of The Sirene Project, providing womxn ocean lovers with a platform to tell their stories, connect with other like-minded people and to generally spread awareness of the wonder of the ocean and the need to conserve it. You can find this wonderful community on Instagram @thesireneproject and on the website thesireneproject.com. Christina Mittermeier (Leoni's fave ocean inspiration!) can be found on Instagram @mitty and Sea Legacy project, founded by Christina and her partner, can be found @sealegacy. And for those who would like to check it out, here is a link to the octopus changing colour as it dreams!! - https://youtu.be/0vKCLJZbytU

We delve into the watery world of the sea turtle, describing all 7 species and optimism for their future. We speak to Ella Garrud about her love for the ocean and current work protecting it! Find her @ellashadow on Instagram, art work on Etsy here https://www.etsy.com/shop/EllaGarrudShop and her website is - https://ellagarrudartdesign.wordpress.com/ You can find the film Eye of the Pangolin here - https://youtu.be/7oFalhPrdUs Don't forget you can find the podcast @turnonthelight_pod on Twitter @savingspecies and you can contact via email at [email protected]

As @winterbeckles says on his Twitter, "Science is better when perspectives are diverse." This is a small list of diverse perspectives to get stuck into - @greengirlleah💚 @bellzisbirding💚 @blackafinstem 💚 @hood__naturalist💚 @heron_hearth💚 @climatediva💚 @scie.co💚 @danniwashington💚 @eliestories💚 @outtochelsea 💚 @science.uncovered - this is Esther Odekunkle PhD who you can find on Twitter @EstOdek and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DrEsther💚@sciencewithtyus💚 @thewildlifehost also on Twitter @thewildlifehost and their website is thewildlifehost.com💚 @jasonwardny Birds of North America can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZVnnAt5_5lbqaQNNg-LEPwdRbj_nf5hU💚 @lilpotoo💚 @xochitlclare💚 @lbtheadventurer💚 @gillians_voice💚@jamesleeeeinthewild💚 @sorayaearth💚 @wildinthecityuk Also on Twitter @wildinthecity1 and their website is wildinthecity.org.uk💚 @afro_herper💚 @raewynngrant💚 @zookeeperjawnie💚 @wills_birdbrain💚 @junglejordan23💚 @gabbybird121💚 @imanislifeabroad💚 @blackgirlbirding💚 @blackgirlsbird💚 @seanhill73💚 @natureunderyournose💚 @chazmingo💚 @nadialovestocreate💚@naturallywild__💚 @curlgirlkris💚 @she_colorsnature💚 @tykeejames @nassaugrouper242💚 Here is the link to the Leah Thomas article on intersectional environmentalism - https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/environmental-justice As always I can be found @turnonthelight_pod on Instagram, @savingspecies on Twitter and at [email protected] on email.

This week we travel to the steppes of Central Asia to learn about the journey of Przewalski's Horse from extinction in the wild, to thriving reintroduced populations today. In the second half we are joined by Adam Cook, a passionate young conservationist, already with many tales to tell! You can find Adam on Instagram @adam_talkswild, on Twitter @AdamTalkswild and on Facebook at Adam_talkswild. As always you can find the podcast @turnonthelight_pod, on Twitter @savingspecies and you can email me at [email protected]

This time we delve into the tiny world of the Southern Corroboree Frog. This colourful fellow seems to be running out of time... Thank God for the conservationist and organisations working hard to ensure that doesn't happen. We are joined by Tristan Dewick, my bird loving, conservation-minded, delightful old friend. You can find the photography project I spoke about @newbig5project on Instagram and view the Orca footage on IGTV here - https://www.instagram.com/tv/CAPx217gY2q/?igshid=1vljxjojhz1mt

This week tells the miraculous tale of the flamboyant little fellow, the Pink Pigeon. We travel back to the island of Mauritius and reconnect with the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust to understand more about their leap back from the cliff edge. I am also joined by Louise Whale, telling us of her experiences, educating us on survey techniques and offering wise words of reassurance to budding conservationists. You can find her @louises_wildlife on Instagram! You can find the show @turnonthelight_pod and on Twitter @savingspecies. Email me at [email protected]