Being in lockdown has unleashed our love for nature. Get Birding is a podcast for budding birdwatchers and aims to help everyone, anywhere, discover more about the birds on our doorsteps. We want to break down barriers to birdwatching and believe that access to nature should be a right, not a privilege. In this episode of Get Birding Hamza considers the way in which birds are important to us as families and explores his passion for inspiring children about the magic of birds and the natural world with his guests.

Rachel Ball and her daughter Hope are avid listeners of Get Birding. The podcast has been a companion to their growing exploration of local bird life as a family. Hamza and Rachel discuss the value of birding for children with additional needs and how birding can be a fantastic way for the whole family to spend time together.

Generation Wild is a project by the Wildlife and Wetland Trust that will connect 45,000 children and their families with nature, fostering a life-long love of the natural world for a new generation. We learn about the project and are introduced to Ava, who was just like any other osprey until the day she landed on a mysterious giant nest and a magical transformation took place.

Charles Foster is a writer, barrister and traveller. He's written books on travel, evolutionary biology, natural history, anthropology, theology, archaeology, philosophy and law. Including his latest 'Being a Human'. He has a lifelong love of birds and talks about this as he considers what birds can teach us about ourselves and our families.

Host: Hamza Yassin

Guests: Rachel Ball, Charlotte Levene and Charles Foster

Producer: Jo Barratt

Executive Producers: Jane Gerber & Katie Derham

Production Co-ordinator: Louis Facey

All music by Poddington Bear. Additional birdsong and nature recordings by taavhaap, earthsounds and benboncan under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence

Podcast art by Make Productions

Sponsored by birding binoculars specialist Swarovski Optik. To Find out more visit: https://www.swarovskioptik.com/gb/en/birding

Swarovski Optik, headquartered in Absam, Tyrol, is part of the Swarovski group of companies. Founded in 1949, the Austrian company specialises in the development and manufacturing of long-range optical instruments of the highest precision in the premium segment of the market. The binoculars, spotting scopes and optronic instruments are products of choice for demanding users. The company’s success is based on its innovative strength, the quality and intrinsic value of its products, and their functional and esthetic design. The appreciation of nature is an essential part of its company philosophy and is reflected commendably in its environment-friendly production and its long-term commitment to selected nature conservation projects.

Sponsored by Zurich Insurance - insuring conservation groups across the UK. To find out more visit Zurich.co.uk/getbirding

Zurich insure more than 14,000 not-for-profit organisations of all shapes and sizes including conservation, gardening and ornithological groups across England, Scotland and Wales. They are part of the Zurich Insurance Group Ltd, a global group which became carbon neutral in 2014 and is working to eliminate single use plastics and reduce paper usage by 80% globally. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd is committed to creating a brighter, more sustainable future.

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