How to Save It

Kate Humble and Edward Whitley mark Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday live from the 2026 Whitley Awards to celebrate his very special relationship with the NGO. This episode discusses the collective action that Sir David inspired and features the "Bat Man of Mexico" Professor Rodrigo Medellin, and dentist Dr Hotlin Ompusunggu, who gives free treatment in exchange for planting tree saplings in Indonesia. Edward explains that Sir David could see that "our winners were the missing part of the picture to protect life on earth and to ensure that the Blue Planet really did stay blue." Kate reaches back to 2018 to an interview with Sir David for WFN on why he thinks it's a "remarkable organisation". With gratitude to Sir David, who since 1998 has been a trustee, ambassador, a judge and ceremony compere as well as narrator of the winner films Special thanks to: Dr Hotlin Ompusunggu, Dr Farina Othman, Dr Dino Martins, Dr Pati Medici and Prof Rodrigo Medellin Watch and comment on the film of our birthday tribute to Sir David: https://bit.ly/SDA_WFNFilm_HowToSaveIt How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s leading conservationists. To learn more about their work and to receive updates, sign up here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_NewsletterSignup Follow us on https://www.instagram.com/whitleyawards/ and https://uk.linkedin.com/company/whitley-fund-for-nature Executive Producer: Sarah Treanor Illustrations: Emily Faccini Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The brown spider monkey and its "orchestral" Magdalena River Valley habitat in Colombia have been the focus of Dr Andrés Link's work for 20+ years. Birds, not monkeys were his original plan, he tells Kate and Edward, but the monkey's graceful movement and complex social behaviour drew him to the species whose forest habitat had become fragmented, cleared for ranching and palm oil. Reconnecting it is crucial for survival and Andrés and his team at the NGO he founded Fundación Proyecto Primates are not only winning support from local landowners, they're helping them to plant trees. It’s a project Andrés says has the potential to be replicated across Colombia, home to almost 10 percent of the world's biodiversity. How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s leading conservationists. To learn more about their work and to receive updates, sign up here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_NewsletterSignup Find out more and watch Andrés film here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Link Follow us on https://www.instagram.com/whitleyawards/ and https://uk.linkedin.com/company/whitley-fund-for-nature For more on reconnecting habitat for tree-dwelling mammals, listen to our episode with Fernanda Abra who is building low-cost canopy bridges in the Amazon https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Abra Executive producer: Sarah Treanor Illustrations: Emily Faccini Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a happy accident for the Javan gibbon that Rahayu Oktaviani could not find funding to study orangutans and switched to gibbons for purely practical reasons. She was hooked once she heard “the most beautiful song” of her life in the forest and is working with her team at KIARA, the NGO she founded, to make sure that it doesn’t disappear. Less than 10 percent of forests remain in Java, one of the most densely populated islands on earth. Rahayu, known as Ayu, is part of a new generation of conservationists inspired by Sir David Attenborough as well as primatologists Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas. She tells Kate and Edward that she wants to raise awareness of the Javan gibbon in the same way the legendary women helped chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans to win hearts and minds around the world. How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s leading conservationists. To learn more about their work and to receive updates, sign up here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_NewsletterSignup Find out more and watch Ayu’s film https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Oktaviani Follow us on https://www.instagram.com/whitleyawards/ and https://uk.linkedin.com/company/whitley-fund-for-nature For more on primates, listen to our episode with Kuenzang Dorji in Bhutan who works with Gee’s Golden Langur monkeys https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Dorji Executive producer: Sarah Treanor Illustrations by Emily Faccini Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The healing powers of Nepal's orchids and yew trees have always been prized by local communities but global demand is stripping the forests of its healers. Step in Reshu Bashyal who's not only raising awareness of illegal harvesting of what she calls "the tigers of the plant world" but has a plan to protect these natural resources. Reshu tells Kate and Edward that she grew up understanding that plants are special but they did not appear to be recognized in wildlife conservation. She’s changing that. Reshu and her colleagues at NGO Greenhood Nepal want to empower forest groups, clear invasive species, plant thousands of new yews and rehabilitate fallen orchids. She’s also - crucially - working with government and forest officials to formalise a sustainable harvest and trade. How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s leading conservationists. To learn more about their work and to receive updates, sign up here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_NewsletterSignup Find out more and watch Reshu’s film here: https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Bashyal Follow us on https://www.instagram.com/whitleyawards/ and https://uk.linkedin.com/company/whitley-fund-for-nature For more stories on Nepal, listen to our episode with Nepal’s “Owl Sir” https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Acharya Executive producer: Sarah Treanor Illustrations by Emily Faccini Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Argentina’s Somuncura Plateau in the Patagonian steppe resembles a vast rocky lunar landscape. It’s where a volcanic stream allowed for the evolution of a tiny amphibian, the El Rincón stream frog which has found its biggest champion in Dr Federico Kacoliris. "Unlike most people, I was drawn to those often seen as ugly or feared – frogs, snakes, lizards, but also many insects. I like them. I don’t know why..." he tells Kate and Edward. The frog was one of the most endangered amphibians in the world. In this episode, Federico explains to Kate and Edward how his team at his NGO Fundación Somuncura brought the frog back from the brink of extinction through captive breeding and finding solutions for people living in this remote landscape whose livestock were a threat. Federico is now scaling up and creating a nature reserve to share his enthusiasm for the extreme landscape that he loves with tourism on the agenda to see his favourite frog and other fauna.... How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s leading conservationists. To learn more about their work and to receive updates, sign up here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_NewsletterSignup Find out more and watch Federico’s short film https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Kacoliris Photo credit: Hernán Povedano Follow us on https://www.instagram.com/whitleyawards/ and https://uk.linkedin.com/company/whitley-fund-for-nature For more on the discovery of new species, listen to our episode with Leroy Ignacio in Guyana https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Ignacio Executive producer: Sarah Treanor Illustrations by Emily Faccini Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.