Biodiversity is in trouble pretty much everywhere. Our new series explores biodiversity, habitat loss and threats to wildlife. In this first episode we speak to Professor Andy Purvis, Research Leader at the Natural History Museum and take a walk around the magical nature reserve of RSPB Minsmere with Ian Barthorpe, Visitor Experience Officer.
Our guests:
Professor Andy Purvis is a Research Leader at the Natural History Museum in London. He heads the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems), which aims to model globally how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human pressures and to use these models to project potential biodiversity futures under alternative scenarios of socioeconomic development. He was a Coordinating Lead Author on the first IPBES Global Assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services, scientific advisor on Sir David Attenborough’s documentary, “Extinction: The Facts”, and is a contributor to Greta Thunberg’s forthcoming Climate Book.
Ian Barthorpe is Visitor Experience Officer at RSPB Minsmere, where he has worked since 2003. He is a lifelong birdwatcher, naturalist and geographer, with a particular interest in birds, butterflies and flowers as well as the varied landscapes found throughout the UK. He enjoys walking, travel and photography with his wife and son.