Hello and welcome to this week’s Wildlife Matters Podcast. I’m your host, Nigel Palmer.It’s Springtime here in the UK, and nature is bursting back into life. There are so many shades of green - and every shade is so fresh and vibrant. The birds are in full song, and the buds have burst into blossom.And we are at the start of Series Four. It has been just over two years since we launched the podcast, and it has been such a fun and exciting journey. We have come a long way, and with this new series four, we will evolve again. Nothing in nature is ever completely still, so we feel the drive to keep improving. So, for series four, we will have a Wildlife Matters main feature or A Wildlife Matters Investigates, and we will bring you lots more interviews with people working with wildlife or in nature conservation.Wildlife Matters has been concerned about the state of our rivers for several years now and has recently collaborated with the Rivers Trust, Surfers Against Sewage and the Friends of the River Wye; I felt it was about time we did a Wildlife Matters Investigates into UK River Pollution and Ask Are our Rivers dying?I have also had a lot of questions about myself, the Wildlife Matters organisation and the projects and Campaigns we are working on. We have decided to do our first Q&A episode, but I wanted to give you a chance to ask your question, so if you would like to ask a question, please email us at [email protected] that’s [email protected] before 26th April, and we will try to answer as many as we can on a Q&A episode on Wednesday 8 May.The state of our rivers is shocking, and we have begun two projects that will use citizen science volunteers to regularly monitor the water quality of their local rivers at multiple points. This week’s Mindful Moments is from June last year when I worked on a project in Nottinghamshire. As usual, I was wild camping in my camper van, and I like to get up and out early to nature. I took a walk along the Chesterfield Canal, and the birdsong was incredible that morning, so I recorded it to share with you.Isn’t it wonderful to spend a minute or so in nature? I can remember that day so well. The canal runs alongside a road and eventually under a bridge. The day was warm and bright, and summer meadows smelled in the air. Retford is a beautiful town with a lot of history, and the people were very friendly. I was surveying the idle Valley Nature Reserve, which Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust runs. Do visit if you get the chance.How many of these did you identify? Great Tit, Dunnock, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion crow, Robin and GoldfinchRemember to send me your questions for our May Q&A, and thank you for joining me today. We appreciate every one of you.Wildlife Matters will return in two weeks on Wednesday, 24th April, but until then, Keep on the wild side. I’ve been your host, Nigel Palmer, and this is Wildlife Matters -signing off.

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