What if the answer to seriously undesirable garden wildlife visitors isn't eradicating them, but learning to live alongside them? I'm joined by Kevin Newell, founder of Humane Wildlife Solutions, to explore humane ways to manage conflicts with species such as rats, mice, foxes, squirrels and badgers, and why changing our own behaviour can make all the difference.

Benny's Insect of the Week: Long-winged conehead

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If you enjoyed this week's episode with Kevin, you might also enjoy these episodes from the archives:

Episode 303: Slugs and Snails

Jo Kirby explains why the usual methods of slug and snail control often don't work, what these creatures eat, and importantly, what eats them. It's a great companion to Kevin's advice on understanding wildlife and finding ways to manage garden conflicts without harming other species.

Episode 17: Foxes in the Garden

Animal behaviour expert Terry Woods explores the challenges of sharing our gardens with foxes, from digging up plants to common misconceptions about these often-maligned animals. Like Kevin, Terry offers a practical, humane perspective on living alongside wildlife.

Could feeding the birds in your garden actually be doing them more harm than good? This week I'm joined by Adrian Thomas from the RSPB to unpack the research behind the headlines, from declining greenfinches and chaffinches to bird feeding hygiene, trichomonosis and how we can help garden birds.

Benny's Insect of the Week: Mexican Grass-Carrying Wasp sponsored by Kipos

Kipos makes garden tracking social. We house your entire gardening journey in one spot, you can see your hard work, and you get to share the results with friends—real effort from real people. Use code 'ROOTSFORALL' during sign-up to gain a year of free access to Kipos.

Use code 'ROOTSFORALL' on Kipos for a year of free access - download the app HERE

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If you enjoyed this week's episode with Adrian, you might also enjoy these episodes from the archives:

Episode 290: Saving Song Birds

This episode looks at the pressures facing our songbirds and what we can do to support them, making it a natural companion to Adrian's discussion of declining greenfinches and chaffinches, and the role our gardens can play in helping struggling bird populations.

Episode 244: The Biodiversity Gardener

Paul Sterry explores how we can make our gardens better for wildlife by thinking beyond individual species and creating richer, more diverse habitats. It complements Adrian's advice on planting for birds, providing food and shelter, and making our gardens genuinely useful to wildlife.

Jon Davies and Steve Williams of Wild City Studio discuss their fresh, unconventional approach to urban horticulture, their collaborative design journey, their experimental playground at Markfield Park, and how embracing a lighter touch can transform rigid cityscapes into thriving ecological havens.

Benny's Insect of the Week: The Small Copper Butterfly

What You'll Learn

• Redefining Urban Wildness: How nature-connection and human culture intertwine to make modern cities far wilder than traditional notions suggest.
• Markfield Park Experiments: Insights into using crushed waste substrates, food forestry, and self-seeded corridors for resilient urban landscaping.
• Community-Led Design: Moving away from rigid, sterile design templates to allow local communities and natural processes to shape public spaces.
• Horticultural Rebellion: Why creative outsiders and designers find a new vehicle for expression and disruption through plants and landscape architecture.

Episode 391: Letting the Wild In: This deep-dive archive episode looks closely at how natural ecological processes and spontaneous vegetation interact with modern design choices, matching Jon and Steve's focus on stepping back from rigid control and letting urban spaces breathe.

Episode 179: Ecological Gardens with Sid Hill: An extensive look into building resilient, nature-led garden systems, directly echoing the punk horticulture ethos and practical structural approaches discussed in this episode.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

What Does Wild Look Like in a City?

Jon and Steve discuss the challenge of finding the right vocabulary to talk about nature connection when humans are inherently part of the ecosystem. Rather than viewing cities as static, controlled environments, they advocate for a light-touch approach that embraces dynamic ecological processes, like weeds breaking through concrete.

Markfield Park: An Experimental Playground

As a legacy project originating from the Chelsea Flower Show, Markfield Park serves as an ongoing test bed for substrate design and food forestry. The duo explains how stepping back from rigid control allowed self-seeders and the local community to collaboratively shape a more vibrant, dynamic landscape.

Letting Go of Design Control

Community engagement is rarely neat or predictable. Jon and Steve share how unexpected interactions with local residents and school groups transformed their original vision into something far more holistic and meaningful. They draw inspiration from international projects like the Groningen project and Paris's Jardin de Joyo, where self-sufficient natural spaces thrive with minimal human intervention.

Horticultural Rebels and Changemakers

Reflecting on their paths into horticulture from creative backgrounds like art and photography, Jon and Steve explore why landscape design attracts people looking to disrupt traditional systems. Rather than following strict red tape, they encourage gardeners to bring authenticity, passion, and their own unique perspectives to public spaces.

Links & Resources Mentioned

You can find more details and purchase the book via the Penguin Random House Wild City Book Page.

Learn more about Markfield Park Community Garden: https://www.markfieldpark.org.uk/

Explore the Roots and All website and archive: https://rootsandall.co.uk/podcast/

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