22 May 2024
The third series of Kew’s award-winning podcast is out now
Our new podcast series 'Unearthed: Nature needs us' explores essential connections in nature – from the soil to the skies.
In celebration of International Day for Biological Diversity, we’ve launched our new podcast series Unearthed: Nature needs us.
Join us as we explore nature’s critical role in solving our biodiversity crisis, and highlights how understanding the links between large and small scale are crucial to tackling some of the world’s most urgent problems.
Narrated by Dr Mya-Rose Craig, the environmentalist, ornithologist, and diversity activist known as Birdgirl, the third series of our award-winning podcast takes a deeper look into transformative and nature-based solutions that make use of the vast range of biodiversity found across our planet.
Hear from our presenter
Dr Mya-Rose Craig says: “With a huge increase in critically endangered wildlife, extinction is rapidly increasing with many habitats under strain. In Unearthed, myself and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew invite you to explore how plant and fungal knowledge can be harnessed to change our planet for the better. In this new series, I take you on a journey from soil to sky, scaling the tangle of nature’s systems and interactions to help us tackle the biodiversity loss and climate change crises.”
The new series takes you inside the conservation techniques being used today to help protect our biodiversity in a changing climate, such as using soil analysis to uncover new fungi species, and seed banking to ensure the future of vital plants.
Dr Craig and her guests also explore the real-world uses of our scientific knowledge, from restoring ecosystems to developing new forms of sustainable farming. The discussions show us how mixing traditional wisdom with scientific innovation is leading to incredible new ways to protect our natural world.
What to expect from the new series
Episode 1 is now available on your favourite podcast platform, with new episodes releasing every other week.
Episode 1: What is the biodiversity crisis? - 22 May 2024
Nature needs us!
In series 3 of Unearthed, Dr Mya-Rose Craig begins the journey into what biodiversity loss means and why it matters to protect what we have left.
We find out what might happen if we continue to ignore the impacts of climate change and habitat destruction in terms of its impacts on our lives, along with future life on the planet. We also explore how human action has brought us to the current dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.
But there is still plenty of hope that we can slow down or halt these destructive processes thanks to scientific research and action across different levels of society.
Episode 2: Soil - 5 June 2024
Our second episode digs into the ground beneath our feet to explore the overlooked importance of soil, home to complex mycelium networks and an enormous store of carbon.
Episode 3: Seed - 19 June 2024
In episode three, learn about the importance of seed banking, which not only protects species for the future, but provides a key store of genetic material to improve the diversity of species under threat.
Episode 4: Pollination - 3 July 2024
Without pollinators, plants couldn't survive, and neither could we. Our fourth episode explores the pollinator crisis, and how work at Wakehurst is helping to understand how best we can support Britain's bees.
Episode 5: Regeneration - 17 July 2024
With all the research and knowledge, what are we doing with it? Episode five asks what will happen if we don't act now, and what regeneration of our natural biodiversity might actually look like.
Episode 6: Systems and scale - 31 July 2024
Our final episode takes a look back at all the different elements of biodiversity, and examines how they fit together. How do different ecosystems, climates and animal species play a role in protecting our natural world?
