Ep. 030: Tor to Shore - Landscape Level Recovery

Written By Tom Constable

There is a vision in Cornwall, one of large scale nature recovery from land to sea. In this episode we hear the story and the vision of ‘Tor to Shore’, eloquently described by Matt Walpole, CEO of Cornwall Wildlife Trust. We discuss unexpected challenges (looking at you beavers), the importance of joined up landscapes and the power of community engagement. 

Your Hosts:

Grange Project Contact & Social Media:

Our Guest:

As an ecologist by training, Matt spent ten years conducting conservation research in Africa and Asia at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent. He then moved to Cambridge and the conservation charity sector, where he has been for the last 18 years.

Matt has worked in leadership roles for international charities such as the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and Fauna & Flora International. He is a longstanding member of the judging panel of the World Responsible Travel Awards and has acted as a trustee for various conservation organisations, including the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire where he is currently Chair of the Conservation, Education and Communities Committee. He also directed a ground-breaking UK-wide assessment of the value of nature to society for Defra and the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwalpole71/?originalSubdomain=uk

  • Website: https://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/

Resources:

  • https://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/tor-to-shore

Listen out for:

[00:00:00] Tom and Chloe update on the project, including a few rewilding facts and the value of pig ‘micro-habitats’.

[00:08:35] Our guest for today, Matt Walpole, introduces himself and the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

[00:13:01] We discuss what ‘rewilding’ means to the Trust and how they are applying these principles.

[00:18:10] Tom and Chloe question Matt about the role of animals on the landscape. 

[00:20:51] Matt gives us an overview of the Tor to Shore project, including the opportunity to increase carbon sequestration through seagrass habitats.

[00:24:46] Chloe asks Matt about the meaning of ‘nature friendly farming’ and how Tor to Shore are working to engage farmers, including the role of data collection.

[00:31:55] We discuss the meaning of marine rewilding, the associated interventions and the engagement of fishermen and women. 

[00:35:53] Chloe asks Matt about the challenges they’ve experienced as part of the project to date, including an unexpected arrival.

[00:39:33] Closing the conversation, we discuss the importance of landscape scale recovery, the funding behind it and where listeners can go to find out more.  

[00:44:45] Chloe and Tom reflect on the interview and what resonated most for them.

Tom Constable
Next

Ep. 029: Failure and Success: 12 Months of Rewilding at the Grange Project