Brett Westwood - One of the UK's BEST Naturalists - A Full Interview

[@jorisbuitenweg441]

This is such a lovely interview with Brett Westwood. He has been an inspiration to us and we love his radio programmes and his books.

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi there! Me too, I could listen to Brett for hours on end, and I mean hours... even this interview didn't seem long enough, however epic! Hopefully more to come from Brett and I'm so glad you enjoyed this - best wishes, Joel

[@mayfair10]

What a glorious interview! Thank you both.

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

I enjoyed every second of this interview, and believe me I could have listened to Brett for days on end. I hope to be going to visit him next year and bringing another interview, but outside in the wider area next time with lots of other interesting aspects. Thanks so much for this kind comment, really appreciated on a Monday night after a hard day at work in the rain :) Best wishes, Joel

[@christianadams9114]

For me it was such a joy to of created a sizable block planting of Bird's Foot attached to my main perennial meadow, with the intention of attracting the common blue, only to then of had a small colony take up residence last summer. There were three females that'd come and were laying numerous pale dusty blue eggs, as well as two males that took up permanent residence within the meadow. They're now my favourite butterfly as they hang around most of the time. I counted around 40 or so eggs, so hopefully there'll be more this summer.

[@chrisb4504]

Fascinating to listen to Brett I’ve already looked him up on bbc sounds so I got something to listen to while I work as a floor layer. Thanks for sharing

[@jsol5076]

What a lovely interview. Brett is my favourite radio/TV naturalist. I reckon I could natter to him for hours. I'd take him on a wander round my local patch so that he could point out all the things that I have never noticed.

[@keithroberts42]

What a lovely man. His knowledge and enthusiasm is endless and contagious. Another inspiring interview. The Betteshanger park was a former coal mine slag tip, which has been left to nature for the last 30 years and is now a nesting site for turtle doves. I hope the campaign to stop development plans are successful.

[@twotonenavy]

This is fantastic, Joel. Another great interview! I’ll add to my comment as I go (warning: may be a long comment). I don’t know how you find time to keep up with all the social media. I find myself forced to take breaks every now and then. I can easily become overwhelming. The salvia is a lovely native plant in North America (it’s an annual for me though, because our winters are too cold). The long tubular flowers attract hummingbirds. I plant a variety called “black and blue”, and ruby throated hummingbirds absolutely love it (provided the bumblebees don’t rob all the nectar first 😂). I’d love to hear an update on the timber harvest that happened in Bourne Woods. The discussion on restoring brush and wildlife habitat is fantastic. I have recently read Isabella Tree’s “Rewilding”, and she touched on so many of the things you discussed. (Side note: I would LOVE to see an interview with her! Another great interview would be Douglass Tallamy, here in the States.) The timing of these videos is wonderful as well. Seeing all the green and flowers. Hearing the birds (so many songs unknown to me). It’s warming for the soul in the bleak of winter, when everything is brown, dead, or dormant, or covered in snow. Thank you again, for all you do, Joel. As always, you are an inspiration. Your passion for nature is contagious.

[@chascox8806]

Great broadcaster! 100% genuine enthusiast.

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

He really is Chas, it was so good to interview Brett :)

[@chascox8806]

@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Great interview, Joe. I was at junior school with Brett. I have also been obsessed with birds...but I can no longer remember all the latin names for plants! LOL!

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

@@chascox8806 Brilliant! Drop me a line at [e-mail] and I'll be happy to put you in touch - best wishes, Joel

[@kevinking7860]

Superb interview learnt loads In the process of putting in pond no 2 Joined conservation group Record moths planted a wildflower border also left front lawn unmown Brilliant thank you for the inspiration Kev Dorset 👍👍👍

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Thanks so much Kev - apologies that it's taking a while to respond to comments but I am working my way back through notifications. So glad that you enjoyed this, Brett is a fantastic guy and his knowledge.... Love what you are doing and thank you for the support, it really is appreciated - best wishes, Joel

[@SisterDogmata]

Hey Joel! Great interview as always, you know some amazing and inspiring people! What a garden! Everything I dream of achieving one day. Best wishes.

[@janestringer7225]

Great interview - very interesting 😊

[@kevinpowell7948]

Wow Joel brilliant interview, learned so much,thank you, and thank you Brett so inspiring 🍻

[@brownfamily3218]

Hi Joel. I've not commented for ages but I have been keeping up with you. I've scanned through this video and it is amazing. I will watch it in full as soon as I can. Our daughter has been home for a few weeks after working in Lapland in November/December. We have now taken her to Great Yarmouth to work at a holiday camp until October. I'm looking forward to going over for a couple of holidays this summer. We have not been to that coast for at least 20 years! There is going to be so much to see. On our drive over we saw lots of birds including lapwing and red kite and a muntjac deer grazing at the side of the road. I enjoyed your video on hedge plants. I have got all but two of them in my garden 🙂

[@Aesroc]

Thoroughly enjoyed this interview. It’s that moment when somebody talks about their passion, and the enthusiasm just shines through. Also enjoyed the fact, we all get that feeling when certain insects / animals show up in our garden, and it’s validation that we can make a difference and we’re doing things the right way.

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Thanks for this Marc, perfectly put! It was a long, but very justified interview, I really could talk to Brett for days on end :) Best wishes, Joel

[@karinvanspaendonk9917]

Very long... and you know what, I watched it twice 😀

[@charlotteseden9303]

I would love to have the knowledge of both of you. Great interview.

[@AndrewNoFiction]

Watched the whole thing. This was incredible. Thank you for putting it up.

[@elizabethwoodhouse9461]

Made it to the very last leopard slug, lol. Had to watch this in stages as I can't sit still for 2 hours but enthralled. As an avid radio 4 listener I recognised his voice from tweet of the day. He has a voice which sounds like a softer version of Alan Titchmarsh. This video got me thinking about how to create the smallest pond ever. I only have small garden.

[@dedrumdebass07]

Would love to see an update on this pond, I’m looking to put a similar sized pond in my garden.

[@karenmitchell2331]

I really enjoyed this interview I am so pleased that I found it albeit a year on. Thank you both. 🙂

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

I'm glad you found it too Karen! Beauty of YT is that the interviews are there for good now 😃 I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Iolo Williams, it's not far back on the channel at all, but he has a great story about Brett that you might enjoy hearing! Best wishes, and thanks so much for your encouragement - Joel

[@karenmitchell2331]

@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Yes I will take a look. Thank you 🙂

[@simonwhite5535]

Just wonderful , heart-warming ❤😊❤. Thankyou.

[@spencersanderson1894]

Not even halfway through the interview and I am thoroughly enjoying it!

[@jasminebambury5841]

Wow sounds like a great radio program. Must check it out. Thanks Joel.

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

You'll enjoy it Jasmine - if you just search Brett Westwood on BBC Sounds they will be there, I could listen to Brett for hours in case you didn't guess already! Best wishes, Joel

[@jasminebambury5841]

@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton - Thanks Joel, keep up the good work. ☆

[@Tuppyandizzy]

What a mind boggling video and what a Man . This to be completely honest is my favourite video on your channel now . I wish i could seed up time and absorb all the information again and again . Thank you, Mr Westwood and ofcourse Joel.

[@willowgrove631]

What a fantastic interview! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to this - Brett’s garden is a joy to behold 😊

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

SO glad you enjoyed this! I know the interviews are longer than most but these guys really do have some interesting things to relay, and Brett has such a wonderful personality to go with it. I will ensure he sees this - best wishes, Joel

[@titiaswildlifecottagegarden]

Lovely to listen to Brett and his wisdom, even though I never heard of him before. I watched the video in parts, during a crazy week of preparation for selling our house. A week ago we viewed a house with a big garden all around in a small village close to my previous city. We were't seriously looking for a house, just orientating. This house was the second to view and we immediately knew: this is our forever home. Long story short: we made an offer, it got accepted, we contacted our mortgage counselor, our realtor for selling our current house and now all the papers are final, bizar🤯🫣😍 The garden has a lot of grass, a tall tree, green hedges and a strip of forest along the outside perimeter of the property. One of the first things I put in the garden is a wildlife pond of course🥰🤩 And of course some plants I will bring with me from my current garden. This change will happen sooner than we ever expected, but I will do my best to create a wildlife sancuary😃❤🌿🌺🐞🦋🐛🐝🐦🐸

[@wildlifegardener-tracey6206]

Watched every minute. Lived up to all my expectations Joel, great interview could listen to him for ever. What I absolutely love is that my garden absolutely reflects Brett's, even down to the unusual insects from the Conopid fly to the Currant Clearwing both recorded in my garden along with one summer a White admiral. We've also had a species of long-horn moth though ours was Yellow_barred. I just need now to get some Greater celendine to see if I can attract the Horseshoe ladybird. Our garden is Victorian long and narrow with native trees and shrubs with areas of sunny spots basically identical to Bretts. Well worth the wait loved watching. Thank you for setting this interview up it was excellent.

[@helenhawkins4054]

Fascinating , I so enjoyed this video so many informative stories. Just brilliant.🤗👍

[@davidcobb8422]

Fantastic & Interesting video such a knowledge bloke have not heard some of his pronouncements of certain instects in years hopefully you will do other video with him when you have time Joel.

[@beckyscheller9358]

Fascinating interview Thanks for showing.

[@UkAmphibians]

What a brilliant interview joel Brett certainly knows his stuff Watched the full 2hrs and 20mins especially liked the mention of newts in the book for some reason 😊🐸💚🐸

[@george-1961]

Just finished watching the 2nd half Joel 🙂 First time I’ve sat and listened to Brett Westwood and thoroughly enjoyed it and picked some tips from this video. Keep up the good work Joel

[@spencersanderson1894]

Can’t wait to watch this later tonight!! Hope you’re well Joel!

[@Paula-he7qe]

Loved the film chaps thanks very much for sharing.

[@helenehoglund4286]

Im creating a wildlife garden in the north of sweden thanks for your inspiration

[@uggali]

36:02 yes i agree, a mosaic of connected habitat should be the vision. I hear too many conservationists discrediting the impacts of small restoration projects in favour of huge scale rewilding which IMO doesn’t actually address the root of the problem which is our disconnection and therefore apathy and ignorance toward the natural world. Humans can be very productive animals and contrary to the narrative of “the experts” I think the presence of people can enhance biodiversity and increase the carrying capacities of ecosystems. We need to support the species we share our immediate environments with and emulate nature so we can leave our children with more than we have

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

This is brilliant, thanks so much. I am actually ready to upload a video this evening which should be available tomorrow, discussing this very subject - "to wild, or rewild" - but you make some very good points here and I totally agree with what you've said. In this video from last month, I talk about a "mowsaic" of habitats and I think it may well resonate with you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3maoph5ZZuZqtU Best wishes, and thanks again - Joel

[@uggali]

27:27 I like this part I think it brings up the phenomenon of blood memory and epigenetics. There is a proverb in my language that translates to ‘you are not yourself, but your collective ancestors.’

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Thank you again, just reading through your comments and I really appreciate your take on this, love that proverb!

[@nickiramsay2421]

Thanks Joel, that was brilliant. What a mine of information Brett is! I hope it encourages everyone watching to do some citizen science in their gardens and local areas. It’s quite timely with the Big Garden Birdwatch coming up this weekend. I do the BTO garden survey and the BC butterfly garden survey and hoverfly surveys as well as iRecord things I see on walks in the hope that my little contributions will help proper naturalists in their researches. I love how Brett is so easily distracted by the wildlife, I’m a bit like that when I’m out on a walk, I’ll suddenly veer off course because I’ve seen an insect I want to identify 😂, may we all never lose the joy of observing wildlife 😊

[@volvosafe4662]

Really appreciate the information ℹ️ There’s a new movement here to add native plants 🌱 for moths and insects 🐜- Atlanta, Georgia

[@CEREBROBELFAST]

Candide was written by Voltaire. Only posting this to show off the fact I knew that.

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Brilliant, that made me laugh - thank you though, this is what this community is about :) Best wishes, Joel

[@volvosafe4662]

I would also recommend a show we had in the 1980s called “Our wild America “ by Marty Stauffer🐕

[@george-1961]

Garlic mustard by the bucket loads but never seen the orange tip 😢

[@priscillawillis6071]

To conservation !

[@lewisfensome8133]

"Its about Jiz" 😮

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

I kept a straight face though, did you notice?

[@lewisfensome8133]

@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshtonI did! I was astonished, I replayed that part a few times 😄