Megan McCubbin - From nurture to nature

Megan McCubbin  is a zoologist and presenter passionate about communicating how wonder nature is. Her interest stems from a childhood growing up in and around the Isle of Wight Zoo and is best known for presenting wildlife shows for the BBC such as Planet Defenders,  Springwatch, Autumnwatch Winterwatch and for ITV Thismorning  ITV's This Morning’s Nurture Your Nature series.   In late 2020, Megan published her first book with step father Chris Packenm  called Back To Nature: How to Love Life and Save it. a handbook with practical solutions for people to help bring wildlife back to a sustainable level and invite it into their outdoor spaces.

Find Megan on Instagram - @meganmccubbinwild

Megan's website -https://www.meganmccubbin.com

You can find this episode on iTunes, Spotify and many other podcast platform 💙

If you have any questions or would like to suggest a guest please get in touch! You can email India via indiapearsonclarke@gmail.com or send a message via Instagram  @india_outdoors / @finandflow / www.indiapearson.co.uk

~Music - Caleb Howard Almond / @oakandalmondcarpentry ~ 

You can find this episode on iTunes, Spotify and many other podcast platform

If you have any questions or would like to suggest a guest please get in touch! You can email India via indiapearsonclarke@gmail.com or send a message via Instagram @india_outdoors / @finandflow / www.indiapearson.co.uk

~Music - Caleb Howard Almond / @oakandalmondcarpentry

Transcript

India Pearson  0:01  
Hello, I'm India and welcome to start a ripple the podcast that celebrates moving in nature. You see, I believe it was a made when we connect movement with nature, not only for our mind and body, but also the environment too. And on this series I'm speaking to some amazing guests that share that passion. I have their own story to tell. All right, time to introduce this week's guest. Megan McCubbin is a su ologists and presenter passionate about communicating how wonderful nature is. Her interest stems from a childhood growing up in and around the arctic white Zoo, and is best known for presenting wildlife shows for the BBC, such as Planet defenders spring watch or to watch winter watch. And for ITV, this morning's nature your nurture series. In late 2020. Megan published her first book with stepfather Chris packin. called back to nature, how to love life and save it a handbook with practical solutions for people to help bring wildlife back to a sustainable level and invited into their outdoor spaces. Megan's passion for sustainability and wildlife comes through wholeheartedly in this episode. And I'm so excited for you to listen and say hello, mega podcast. Thank you, India. Nice

Megan McCubbin  1:21  
to be here.

India Pearson  1:23  
It's really great to have you on I've got some really exciting questions I want to ask you. Because of your your background. It's just it's quite different to a lot of the other guests I've had on. And so see, I'm going to dive right in. Now, I'm going to start the fact that you lived in and around Zoo. Now this is a really cool, that's a really cool start in life. But is it was it the childhood dream that we kind of all imagined it to be?

Megan McCubbin  1:53  
Yeah, so I got to know the Isle of Wight zoo, which is now known as the wild heart trust. But I was 12. So I really got to know all of the animals at that kind of pivotal age in your teenage years, when you're changing, you're learning to be an adult. And you know, you're going through that hard time that a lot of teenage girls or teenage boys go through. And so I was really lucky that I had the zoo, because I got to kind of volunteer there and then I would work there every summer I lived on the mainland but I would travel back and forth. Weekends, summers Easter breaks any opportunity to be in amongst, you know, those animals, which I grew to know incredibly well. There were kind of four Tigers there in particular, that just kind of honestly just shaped my life massively. They were hand read from when they were really really young. A couple were rejected by mom. And they were given to like one of my closest friends and when they're close to members, my family Charlotte corny to read and she, you know, got told by her dad basically, you know, you can go to university or here you can raise his tiger cubs. So she had the most amazing life in you know, really, she really grew up in the zoo that was, you know, her life and her dad bought this suit. And kind of she gave me that opportunity to get to know these cats. And by the time I met them, they were about 1213 years old themselves. So we were kind of like the same age and I always felt like we were kind of growing up together, although their lifespan is a lot shorter than mine. So unfortunately, they've all passed away now but they were kind of really pivotal because they were really used to people so they were kind of, you know, get to know me and see me and I remember the first time that one of them Zia followed me around her enclosure and they do this chuffing sound when they kind of greet one another, which is a friendly sound sounds, but I'm terrible at it. I'm really sorry. And it sounds like there's so that's a tiger chaff. And we're the first time that she did that to me. I mean, I was just hooked on those cats and I spent forever just sat by them, chatting to them, which visitors must have thought I was insane because I was kind of young girl chopping away at these animals. Yeah, but they really kind of kind of inspired me, I guess to really put my career into conservation. And it's since going to change to a sanctuary so it's x circus and X pet trade sanctuary. So it's a kind of a rehabilitation place where animals can come and live out their final days after often going through a really traumatic kind of cruel past. So yeah, I kind of got the flair for rehabilitation. I spent a lot of time studying how to rehabilitate animals and the illegal wildlife trade stuff. So yeah, I have a lot of love for the place. It's it really is kind of home. And it's amazing, because every day is different. And you get to know the characters in so much depth and they're quite cheeky and naughty and brilliant. And yeah, it's amazing. It really is.

India Pearson  4:39  
Yeah, it's really really shaped your, your career. And I guess, for anyone who doesn't maybe know your background, can you sort of give us a little bit of a brief rundown as to what happened next after kind of growing up around the zoo?

Megan McCubbin  4:54  
Yeah, of course. So I studied biology and I During University of Liverpool, but every summer I was very much aware to get anywhere into ology you have to have practical experience as much as the degree. So I would kind of go out every summer and do internships, volunteer schemes anywhere I could in the UK and abroad. And I was quite fortunate when I was younger, because I grew up with Chris Baca was my stepdad. And he would take me on all of his worksheets, anything that he could, I was there. So I kind of grew up around film crews, and was really lucky to grow up travelling around the world. So I got to see kind of communities and wildlife and everything all over the place. And which kind of really drove me I guess, to kind of the campaigning environmental side, which I'm involved in today. And yeah, I started doing that. And I didn't really know exactly what field I would go into. I knew it was kind of campaign sciency but I didn't ever have any anticipation to go into presenting. I never really strongly aimed for it. But, you know, on lock to the first lockdown in March 2020, we started something called the Sapphire staking Berg club. And we were broadcasting and our everyday initially for a very long time we ran for I think, like a year and a half. We didn't do it everyday towards the end. But we we certainly did it beginning and then yeah, I kind of fell into doing preserve spring watch and everything like that. But I actually started presenting in 2017 I did a story of illegal bear bile farming in Vietnam. So I started presenting before spring watch and you know, I'd done presented for zero Earthrise. I've done quite a few different bits and pieces. But yeah, my idea was always to get a PhD and go in science but I love presenting I love science communicating it's best way to describe it science communication, because yeah, you just get to talk about animals that I love and get to you know, infuse other people about them too, which is really good fun.

India Pearson  6:45  
Exactly. You're so passionate about it. I love watching you on spring watch. digs about the birds. I don't know what it is. When you talk about birds. You're I'm always like, no birds really? Yeah, I did. I kind of find this when your baseline set the most. Even though I know it's not it's not your biggest passion because having done a bit of research. I've learned that it shut your big shark fanatics.

Megan McCubbin  7:07  
Yeah, massively into sharks. I'm obviously obsessed. And for those that can't see but my wall behind I've got a shark on my wall behind me. I wouldn't shark and I just loved them. I think they are the most misunderstood charismatic, wonderful creatures that we have. And I worked a lot with predators. I told you about the Tigers that I worked with before but and then I my first filming was with bears and I went out and did a bear internship. I lived in China for three months working to rehabilitate bears that were rescued from the illegal wildlife industry. And I'd worked with cheetahs and I went did an internship in Namibia and I was working with cheaters a lot. I did some stuff with hyenas and things and I was really into predatory ecology, I wanted to learn all about predatory behaviour. And it dawned on me that I had missed out one of the biggest predators VO and I hadn't actually dipped my toe very much into the marine environment. So I was kind of just before I started university, I was 18 and I was investigating where to go on, you know, for an internship and volunteer scheme. And I found them any biological field station. And they work specifically on sharks and is really important little island which is a mangrove island just off the Gulf Stream. So all these sharks come in off the Gulf Stream of long migrations and they give birth there some of the species, but it's kind of a refuge. It's really important tiny island, but there's so much so much diversity of sharks you've got in a lemon sharks, tiger sharks now sharks, reef shark, everything that you could want hammerheads, bull sharks the lot. So yeah, I applied and, you know, got the opportunity to go first for a month and I went back again for another two months. Yeah, and just studied sharks and bohemian island for ages. And I loved it. There's, you know, not many experiences that are similar to being in the water with sharks. But that was that was my first experience. It's got me hooked on them.

India Pearson  8:55  
I'm not surprised and I know that you've been swimming with blue sharks off the coast of Cornwall.

Megan McCubbin  9:01  
Yeah, yeah. So that was, it was amazing. It was good because I worked like I said, quite internationally. And going and working with sharks in the Bahamas is brilliant. Obviously, it's, I mean, it's hard work. Don't get me wrong. It is very much an internship programme. And it is a lot of physical work to do, but it is brilliant. But I never really got to see sharks in the UK very much. I mean, people are always surprised when I say that we've got 40 different species of sharks in the UK. Some of them are here all year round, some that kind of come and go. And I just hadn't really dipped my toe into diving freediving in UK waters is cold. I know. But I just I really wanted to give it a try. And when the opportunity to film for a CBBC series called Planet defenders came about and it was really a great series because the producers directors asked us what we were passionate about. And I said no sharks and there's this amazing story here in the UK about how you know a critically endangered species of shark spiny dogfish is being sold in fish. Ship shops have something called Rock salmon. And it's devastating, really horrible. So we got to do the documentary about that. But part of the documentary was me going to see sharks in the UK and blue sharks are just unbelievable, you know, you put your head under the water. And they're the streamlined, quite thin sharks. But they are electric blue and purple as the sunlight hit their skin, these demo denticles. And it's just utterly gorgeous. It's hypnotising. And they're really curious and they come and kind of boop, your GoPro because they're interested in electromagnetic fields, they can feel it, or they've got a sixth sense. They've got these jelly likes, acts around their nose and the lateral line down the side of their body. And so that's how they detect praise, they pick up electrical currents, because every living being has an electrical current within them. So when a GoPro or camera is in the water, they get quite interested in what that is. So yeah, I had a blue sharks booping my GoPro, which is always really good fun. But yeah, it was amazing. And I'm really excited. I'm hoping, you know, to go back out and do it again in the summer.

India Pearson  10:59  
Yeah, and I bet just being able to experience something like that, so close to home, must have felt even more special. Because in my mind, if I'm gonna, if I was to ever go swimming with sharks, I think I'd have to go, you know, across the other side of the world to do it. But to do it in Cornish waters, and to think that they're so close to where we live, must have been incredible. Did you? Did you feel very much at one with them when you were swimming? Yeah, diving?

Megan McCubbin  11:28  
Absolutely. You just kind of connect to them, you're in their world, you know, the moment you put your head under the water, you're in their environment, you've gone into their territory. And it's very much a kind of a mutual respect, I suppose you know, they're still sharks, and you do obviously have to be cautious and know how to behave around them, I'd say that's really important. But when you you know, enter that different universe. It is something just indescribable. And to see them and how agile they are and how they interact with you how they interact with one another is just an insight, a snapshot into their lives, which we still don't know very much about. So that for me is what's really exciting. But you can swim with blue sharks in various different places around the UK, Wales is a good place as well. And you know, the loads of different shark species, the basking shark species that we've got, sometimes we get threshers threshers are amazing, they've got this amazing tail, where they're kind of the top lobe of the tail is elongated, it's huge. It's at the size of their body over the size of their bodies, and they use it to whip their fish. So they stun their fish with these amazing tails, and then can kind of whip around and eat them. And they're just all the shark diversity we have in the UK is just amazing. And we don't need to go across the other side of the world to see wildlife. And I think, you know, over the last few years, that's what many people have learned is that we have amazing species on our doorstep, in the waters, you know, around where we live. And it's about appreciating that and protecting that too. And it's wonderful, of course to look abroad and see you know, the elephants in Africa and you know, the bears in Asia, the sharks in Bahamas, but we have it all here we just you know sometimes forget to appreciate it for what it is.

India Pearson  13:07  
Oh, absolutely. I can definitely vouch for that. I live near a canal and overlooked down I there was a pair of swans who had eggs and then the cygnets in their head and then the eggs hatched the sickness and because it was over spring, you saw the whole process happen and then on to summer and then you know the cygnets getting older and then going off. And I just thought I'd never I'd never really noticed it before. You know, they'd always been there every year. And I never noticed their cycle and how wonderful and how beautiful they are. And I definitely feel that that lock down period is good game, but you say gave so many of us a newfound appreciation for what is on our doorstep. And but but even for us conversation, I had no idea that we had that really sharks in the UK and I spent quite a lot of time in court or myself and I've seen dolphins but I really want to go looking for sharks now. You've totally inspired me.

Megan McCubbin  14:00  
I couldn't recommend it more you there's lots of trips that you can go and do. And they just put some chum in the water. And you know, Thomas, Tom is quite gross. It's actually fish oil, fish flakes, leftover fish scraps, but you put it in the water and it attracts the sharks to you. Especially things like blue sharks, because they're so pelagic, they spend so much distance in the water. They're kind of open water specialists and they can just travel phenomenal distances. And one of the most abundant sharks we have around the world in the pelagic ecosystem. And but you put a bit of chum in the water and yeah, they're, they're gonna spoil it and they'll be attracted into you. So that's, you know, how you get those up close personal experiences is by putting a little bit of fish in the water to tempt them out. It doesn't smell very nice. I would recommend that you don't get in your snorkel. Because from personal experience, it doesn't end very well. Oh, wow. It's still absolutely worth it.

India Pearson  14:52  
Oh my goodness. Yeah, I could imagine what that smells like. But like you say just a breathtaking experience. And so obviously, you've heard quite a bit about your worksite. And you get to, you know, be smack bang in the middle of nature, embracing it every day. But how would you like to spend your kind of personal time in nature? Do you? How do you like to get out? How do you like to move? What? What did Megan like to do for you?

Megan McCubbin  15:22  
So my life work or personal is always around nature and wildlife. Regardless, it doesn't really make much of a difference. I'm always outside doing something environmental. And I live quite close to the New Forest. And that's, you know, an amazing site is where I grew up walking my dogs, we've got family dogs, we've got Sid and Nancy, two minutes of that poodles, who are the most devious, cheeky fussy things on the planet, but love them, you know, wholeheartedly. They're amazing. And so you know, going out and walking, the poodles is really brilliant. And it really helps kind of get you connected. Obviously, kind of careful where to take them, especially spring in the New Forest to ground nesting birds. They're always on leaves and everything, but it's good because it gets you out there and gets you walking every day and seeing often the same patch and you see it change through the seasons, which was which is always really nice. I spend quite a lot of time up in the highlands, especially over the last six months. So I'm always out kind of walking around, you know, the mountains and trying to go and see various different kinds of animals. They're got the red squirrels, the pine Martens and everything. So yeah, I'm always quite active, always quite busy. Always trying to do something at the moment. I've been spending a lot of time at my laptop because I'm busy writing so I kind of look out the window just kind of dreaming of getting my walking boots on or going out for a paddleboard. I've got a paddle board, which I really love.

India Pearson  16:40  
My favourite thing is, I love it. I think it's the most amazing way that you're walking on water.

Megan McCubbin  16:47  
Yeah, it's amazing. And I haven't fallen in yet, which is even more incredible. I mean,

India Pearson  16:52  
I haven't any to try doing step back turns and then

Megan McCubbin  16:56  
okay, I might even get you to show me how to do that. I'm still quite new to it, but But I absolutely love it. So yeah, I mean, just I love that watersports and diving freediving paddle boarding all of that kind of stuff I'm really into. So yeah, I'm always kind of up for adventurous type of things, I suppose. Yeah, and kind of trying to push the boundaries and see what kind of animals I can find along the way, which is,

India Pearson  17:23  
I guess that's what's quite incredible about what you do is that you're out and you're moving your body, and you're getting kind of all those endorphins and everything you need for your mind and your body. But you're also have this kind of other hidden agenda where you're looking for wildlife or marine life, and, and it's all part of your research and learning, which is really, really cool. If if you had to, if you had to spend a whole year in either wetsuit or walking boots, what would it be?

Megan McCubbin  17:56  
I think that will very much depend on where I was in the world, whether I can have my walking boots on and be in Africa, which is a place that I spent loads of time growing up. And I absolutely love it. I feel really at home in the bush out there. But I'd have to say, You know what, I think I'd probably have to go with wetsuit. Probably.

India Pearson  18:18  
Yeah, you gotta love to my own heart. I love her. Hi, but I just cannot be near water.

Megan McCubbin  18:23  
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. That I've always always really close to the water. I just, there's something really calming about it. And yeah, it just kind of grounds you, I think and to be in the water. And even if it's freezing cold doesn't really matter.

India Pearson  18:36  
Oh, yeah, that kind of makes you feel even more alive. I think a lot of the time,

Megan McCubbin  18:40  
I'd be a shorter time period that you're in there for but

India Pearson  18:43  
and now it's a moment ago, you were saying that you're kind of inside writing and and you know, what was it but a year ago, you you're you wrote a book with Chris Perkins about a year ago.

Megan McCubbin  18:54  
Yeah, but longer than that.

India Pearson  18:57  
Time is just a bit of a blow at the moment. And then after the pandemic, it's called back to nature, how to love life and how to love life and save it. So it's a handbook of practical solutions for people to help bring wildlife back to a sustainable level and invite it into that outdoor spaces. So can you share some tips from the book with with us today on how to do just that? Because, you know, I think it's something that we all kind of would love to do, and it's so beneficial. So yeah, have you got any advice? Of course,

Megan McCubbin  19:27  
I mean, I think there's different levels of of what people can do. First of all, it's a mindset thing. You know, there is this really dangerous mindset that I'm just one person, what difference can I make? And it's the worst thing, it's something I hear all the time and I absolutely hate it. It's my pet peeve. Because I always say to people, well, David Attenborough is just one person, you know, look at the difference he's made. And you know, there's so much that we can all do, and if we all do something that all cumulatively adds up. So every single person is important, and I'd argue every single decision is important if you wake up one day and do something different. From yesterday, then it's a benefit, it's going to be a good thing. You know, we've all impact the planet, we're all living beings. So

India Pearson  20:05  
I mean, you never know, you never know what that one item that you removed from the beach might have saved

Megan McCubbin  20:09  
exactly one item that can break down into millions of bits of microplastic. You know, you can get into millions of different birds, you know, it's just worth doing. It doesn't take that much time. You didn't even have to think about it, it should just be instinctively if you want to go and enjoy a natural place. You know, why would you leave your rubbish behind? You want to go and enjoy because its pristine, and yet you leave your rubbish that doesn't just add in it, it confuses me a lot. So yeah, I mean, there's always things we can do. You know, I think, you know, change our mindset challenge ourselves. And, you know, don't be afraid to question your own behaviour. It's something I do personally, all the time, I'm constantly thinking, Okay, should I be buying this, let's look at the ingredients do I really need it. And I'm constantly trying to push myself to be better even on the decisions that are hard, because it's, you know, something that's a habit of purchasing or something that is, you know, while everyone else has it, it's, you know, I always have to try and challenge myself. So that's the first thing is a mindset thing. The second thing is making your immediate environment more green. So you know, if we're lucky enough to have a garden, there's loads of things you can do. You know, feeding the birds is a really good thing, I'd argue all year round. Personally, some people say that, you know, maybe in the springtime, we shouldn't do it, because lots of natural food there. But lots of studies have shown that birds will actually, you know, will still be foraging and kind of eating their natural food. And, you know, the, the seed that we provide is kind of just a an additional bonus for them, which I think is really good because it's a really energetically expensive time of year when they're breeding and go through the mating season and things so a little bit of a boost, I think it's always good. So you know, feed the birds sunflower, hearts always really good. Put out to different horse dishes at different heights for the birds, they like it a little bit further up higher so that you know they're not gonna get caught by any lurking predators on the ground. So little birdbath is really good to give them a bit of a drink, especially in the heat waves, which I think are coming. So you know, put some water out, it's always really important. But then put some water out down low as well a shallow dish and I think drown in it. And make sure to put around so anything that does get stuck and get out again. But so then you know animals are all different levels have access to water, you can put in a pond ponds are really good. And when I say pond, I'm not talking a giant thing that's really expensive. I'm just thinking of old washing up bowl that you can sink into the ground foot, put a few pebbles in some oxygenating plants again around. And then before you know it, you might have dragonfly nymphs and toads and frogs and all the good stuff moving in pretty quick. So there's always things that you can do to make your your gardens greener hedge your calories and all of that. And there's loads of information online as to how to do it. And now's the time, really, we're into spring. So now's the time to do it. But then, you know, on a community level as well. So we can connect with our communities, we can talk to our neighbours and say, Hey, do you mind if I put this hedgehog highway in, maybe you should ask your neighbour to do the same problem we've got with hedgehogs, you know, now cast is vulnerable to extinction back in 2020. But you know, they can't move around, we've got collectively our gardens, more space than all the national parks combined. And if we would put holes in it, it mean in our fences, and I don't mean big holes. I mean, you know, this idea of size of a CD case, if you don't have CD cases anymore, like I don't, it's about 13 centimetres by 13 centimetres. It allows animals to move through find mates find resources that are really valuable, and they can keep their population strong. So you know, ask your neighbours, whether that's okay, maybe, you know, share wildflower seeds together, do that thing get, you know, communities sometimes come together to buy areas of land that could be used for development, and they campaign and they put fundraisers and they buy this land and they turn it into the most amazing kind of wildlife sanctuary. There's an example called Kidston meadows, which is amazing it's community that came together to buy the soccer football pitch that they were going to put blocks of flats on. But now it's this beautiful meadow filled with invertebrates and it's amazing, the community there's a bench there they come and walk around and enjoy it. It's a really kind of lovely thing. And then there's the the bigger level, you know, we need to have political action we have to do you know, we making individual choices is vital, really important. We also need the big companies to be taking lead and to really kind of put in parameters that protect our climate. So campaign, use your voice, your voice is your strongest tool. So you know, message, your representative message, your MP, mine's probably quite annoyed at me because I message her all the time. But you know, they're always really good. Always get a response. Whether it's this response you want or not, it's not important. Just keep going and keep having those conversations. Keep talking. Share on social media, amplify the voices amplify the campaigns that mean a lot to you, and get involved and activism can mean different things to different people. It can mean getting out on the street and protesting and if that's for you, brilliant, go ahead, get your placards baby, be creative. Go

India Pearson  24:53  
out and do it.

Megan McCubbin  24:54  
If activism is feeding the birds, that's fine too. It's all good. Just do so anything, just do anything. And that's, you know, better than not doing anything at all.

India Pearson  25:03  
I think it's so true. And I think we have to remember it. And it was a quote that I've pulled out. But where you basically sort of say that Nature needs us as much as we need it. And this is something is so important to remember, because we obviously need nature to function, but also, to have a healthy happy life, like what would the world be like, if we didn't have it? We'd be miserable. And then, so we need it. So we need to look after it. Yeah, so important to remember that, you know, and, and, and to let it thrive. And it's only going to benefit us in the long term as well. So yeah, totally, totally makes sense. Now, you were talking just a minute ago about being a sort of environmental campaigner? Do you ever get eco anxiety? Obviously, from what you see on a day to day basis with your work? Yeah. And how does that sort of make you feel? How do you cope with that?

Megan McCubbin  26:05  
Yeah, I mean, the nature of my job is to communicate the science that is out there and being published on a daily basis. And often that science isn't good news. Often, it's quite, you know, terrible, devastating statistics, you know, this species is close to extinction, this area is getting hotter, there's flooding happening over there. And it is really worrying. Because, you know, I've read, you know, a lot of these papers, I try and kind of trying to be as knowledgeable as possible on what's happening all around the world, to all different communities and cultures. And it can be quite difficult, especially when I don't understand the mentality, or when I see an obvious solution, I think, Well, surely that would just work. Why isn't it happening? Why isn't anyone doing this, it can be quite infuriating and frustrating that we're not moving fast enough, we're moving. But at the moment, we're not quite there. And we're not quite acting as if this catastrophe and disaster is as important as it is, we're kind of, you know, distracting ourselves with other issues. You know, just everyday type things. Because it's people, I think people are quite nervous of the scale of this problem. And therefore, it's quite hard to kind of grasp it and understand it. So like, you want to push it to your back of your brain, and you just kind of forget about it. And now that's, you know, for the next generation to worry about, well, that's happened over the last generations. And now we're the generation that's going to face this, with, you know, really at the start of that really harsh point, where, you know, I'm 27 years old, but especially, you know, my brother is only 12. And people younger than him, it is their future, they're going to experience these different, you know, extreme events, and it is really nerve wracking. But I think, as scary as it is, there is also a lot of hope, and a lot of things to be grateful for and excited about, we've still got enough here to save, we've still got all these amazing creatures is amazing environment. Yes, they're shrinking down. But the fact that they're still here is motivation enough to do something. I always say to people, you know, there's a lot of things out there that are hard to watch, they're hard to hear, they're hard for me to talk about, if I'm quite honest at times. But ignorance is no longer bliss, we can't keep kind of going on the way we are, because quite frankly, it isn't working and it hasn't been working. And so we need to be aware of the issues so that we're more able to tackle them. So that's kind of my perspective on it, the more aware I am, the more I know what to do about it. And I try and get people to feel the same. I try and get people to feel empowered and to feel like they can make a difference. Because I think that's really critical. So for me, whilst sometimes talking about it is challenging. For me, it's the only thing to do. It's the only option. I can't not talk about it because it's happening. And I cannot act because yeah,

India Pearson  29:07  
I mean, I guess is that saying knowledge is key, isn't it? Yeah. And the more we know, the more we understand, the more we want to help. And I think, you know, like, like you kind of said earlier earlier on, we can all do a little bit and it can make a big difference. And actually you you're you are doing stuffing can I know it's helped me with any hacker anxiety that I sort of feel I do as much as I can and, and social media, you can share what you can what you're doing so that hopefully other people will do it, who and you just think as together as a community, we can all join forces and make this happen. And you know, and people like you that are sort of on these bigger platforms on TV sharing, this is what we need to keep that message going. So yes, thank you for the Whatever you're doing, and

Megan McCubbin  30:01  
sure, you know, it's challenging it is I do, I do absolutely love it. And I think, you know, there's such a pressure to be perfect. You know, I feel it as somebody who you know, talks about being green and tries to encourage others to do the same. You know, people look to me and expect me to be perfect. I'm not, I mean, I'm a human being, you know, and I try my hardest to do everything that I can, but it's okay not to be perfect, it's okay to be figuring this out, it's okay to be going through a transition. And don't feel pressured. Because, you know, you're not going to do something because, you know, the next day, you can't do it, you know, every little bit helps. And it's just a case of kind of getting on with it. Now, we've spoken about it a lot. We've talked about the solutions, we know that what those solutions are both on an individual level and kind of a larger scale as well. We have the solutions, we just need to get on, put them in and implement them. You know, we're just gonna get on with it now.

India Pearson  30:56  
Absolutely. I think it's such a brilliant thing to remind people, you don't have to be perfect. Because it's not people saying, well, I can't change the world. So what's the point? You know, and and we're not perfect. You know, I, I've run on all the time about using don't use single use plastic, but I can't avoid using single use plastic in my day says I'm still using it. Not as much as I tried to avoid as much as possible, but it still crops up of course. Yeah. So we are when we're not perfect, but we can strive to do better.

Megan McCubbin  31:26  
Yeah, exactly that and every little change is something to be celebrated. So you know, just take it as a bit time. It's in transition. We're all transitioning. And we're all learning as we go. So that's okay. You got to allow yourself time to learn.

India Pearson  31:39  
Yeah, absolutely. Now, I'd love to talk a little bit about your work on spring, autumn and winter watch, because I love programmes. So what is your favourite season? What do you love? Kind of what season Do you love working in the most?

Megan McCubbin  31:54  
Tricky, it's a really tricky one. Because I think, you know, if we're talking watches related, you know, spring, autumn, and winter all have, they're really exciting bits. And I think, you know, as in terms of a favourite, it would probably have to be spring, because it just everything comes alive. You know, it's just following the stories of these animals as they're going through, you know, their breeding process and kind of giving birth raising young you get this intimate view of their lives and what they are, and you see things that you've never seen before you we always capture new behaviours, and it's always really exciting because you never know what you're gonna see. That's the joy of having live cameras set up all around various different locations. Because literally, you know, you go to sleep one night, you who knows what's gonna happen, and we will get an email when we wake up in the morning to tell us, you know, the, the happenings of the night and it's really exciting. It's like, you know, your own little mini wildlife EastEnders, when you wake up in the morning, and you read through, you know, all the ongoings and the characters that you've gotten to know, over the first couple of weeks. And you know, what's, what's happened? So, yeah, I mean, I think for me, it would probably be spring, it's also quite nice, you know, when it comes to doing the live shows that it's light that the sun is still up. And it's quite, you know, it's good, because we get to kind of show the locations much more than we do in autumn and winter, because you can see it live during daytime. And when I say daytime, it's still 8pm. But you know, the sun is still up in the sky. So you can kind of really get to know the locations really well as you know, a viewer. And I really liked doing that as well, because I just think it kind of really shows off, you know, all different parts of the UK. And yeah, it's something really fun about it. And it's nice. It's nice doing it in the warm weather. It's lovely.

India Pearson  33:38  
Oh, yeah, definitely. Is there a reason why there isn't summer watch?

Megan McCubbin  33:41  
Yeah, well, I think basically, spring watch is always kind of, at the beginning of summer, it's towards the end of spring. And that's because we're busy filming. So I'm going to be filming this week. And there's still some time to go before spring watch airs. So we're, we're documenting the whole of spring, you know, with our films and RVTs, as we call them, videotapes, pts. And then, you know, when we go live, we want to have, you know, three weeks or three weeks worth of stories, which is always really exciting. There's more stories and can ever be shown, you know, we could be going all year, to be honest. There's always more to talk about. Are there I'm not sure the producers were pull their hair out. Go. Yeah. And but yeah, so you know, by the time it gets to the live shows, we then have the whole of spring to talk about and catch people up on and show people what's been happening. So that's why it's kind of positioned at the end. And we also try and time it for when animals are fledging. So if we're really, really, really lucky, you know, we could get live kind of fledglings happening or at least you know, this happened too early, two hours earlier, which is quite a common phrase. But you know, it's always really exciting to see so we try and kind of time it for that season. So That's why it is where it is in the at the end of spring and then autumn watch really isn't that far away from Spring watch. We've only got a couple months and then we're in torch and watch. So we want to squeeze the summer watch in the middle. And you know, I think that'd be quite a quite a tricky squeeze. But um, yeah,

India Pearson  35:15  
it's great. Your break? Yeah, well, yeah. When it comes to wildlife who needs brakes, but yeah, but about also, I guess, you know, you'd like to think in the summer everyone's out and about and not sat watching TV so

Megan McCubbin  35:27  
themselves, which we always say what was that? It is three weeks long spring watch. So you know, you have a good chunk of it. Yeah,

India Pearson  35:35  
it's brilliant. What's the most amazing thing that you have kind of reported on Monday shows?

Megan McCubbin  35:41  
Well, it's tricky one because there's always so much. I really enjoy wacky science, you know, really surprising groundbreaking stuff that, you know, no one would have ever expected. And I actually, I probably say one of my favourite stories was this last winter watch. Because we I was at Castle SP in Northern Ireland, WWE tea site, and gorgeous location, anyone in Northern Ireland or anyone going there, I'm really highly recommend visiting because it's beautiful, beautiful sight is beautiful estuary. And there's this gunpowder room that's been leftover, you know, no longer really in use by people. But you can go and visit as part of the history and you can go in. And just by luck, you know, one of the volunteers at Castle SP went inside there and noticed this tiny miniscule fungus growing on the side of the wall. And he kind of noticed it noticed that it was a bit unusual, hadn't really seen anything like it took a couple photos, and then our camera guy went in to get some macro shots. So really up close details of what the fungus was. And it's only about the size of your kind of Pinky fingernail, I suppose. So you've got these most amazing shots. And when you look into the data, what you actually see is a spider. And this fungus grows out of this spider. And we sent it off to all these fungi experts. And it came back as a group of fungi. But this particular species was something that was believed we're still waiting for the results. It's in the lab at the moment, and we'll be reporting on it when spring watch happens. But it's believed to be new to science. So you know, to be part of that process of seeing that volunteer coming in our crew coming in and taking the shots they're discussing with a scientist in this new and all their samples have been sent off to him now. So we will find out but it's crazy. This fungus the spores basically, land on these spiders, it's really species specific. So the fungus is a perfect match for that species of spider. So when the spores land on the on the spider, they work their way through the exoskeleton of the animal. And then they essentially take over the brain of the host the spider and make the spider crawl up as far to the top of the gunpowder shed in this case as possible. So as high up as the spider can go, and then it liquefied insides and essentially dries the spider out. And then all of these kind of spores and arms of the fungus grow out of the spider. And then the spores are released and trickled down again to find a new host. And the whole process happens again.

India Pearson  38:15  
I mean, it's unbelievable blows your mind like I know, it's crazy, isn't it? Because you if someone said that you think this is some sort of alien invasion or something like you're out of this world. But it's not. It's right here on this planet. And it's around us. And we're discovering new things every day. And it just shows just how amazing the natural world is.

Megan McCubbin  38:36  
I know. It's unbelievable. It's so so cool. When it's, you know, this kind of zombie spider fungus, which is just, you know, you could easily just walk past you wouldn't even if it was it

India Pearson  38:47  
was so small, like, I mean, what the chances of even finding that in the first place and then to be able to kind of report about it on on the automobile. She said

Megan McCubbin  38:55  
she said winter watch this one. Yeah.

India Pearson  38:58  
So that is absolutely amazing. And I will be watching with beady eyes to see what what the results are like.

Megan McCubbin  39:05  
So I'm very excited to find out the results. Yeah, you never know. And we're finding out new things all the time, which is why it's so important to protect things because it before we know it, it could be gone before we even understand what it is and how important it is to that ecosystem. So we've got to, you know, get a move on and start protecting these places

India Pearson  39:23  
because there's still so much left to learn. Absolutely. Okay, so I have a question that I asked all my guests at the very end of the podcast, and it's, it's all related to kind of you and your experience being in nature. And the question is looking back at the ripples you've made in your life, what are the biggest lessons you've learned for keeping your mind and body healthy when outside?

Megan McCubbin  39:49  
And there's lots of things you know, that I tried to prioritise and try being a big word, because often I get you know, I'm, I get sucked into, you know, working a lot and I do I work a lot, you know, I didn't really know what weekends are anymore. You know, I didn't. That was a weird concept to me that people have weekends off. I mean, Saturday Sunday, bizarre. But you know, a great thing to do. So I guess for me like because I can get I get so sucked into my work and I get so kind of all consumed by it, I have to remind myself to take a step back in time to time and to go outside. And whether that is a walk with the poodles in the New Forest, or whether that is you know, I've got I live in Southampton and I live kind of by the water. And I there's a 20 minute walk, I can go down to a park called Mayflower park and I just go and I sit by the park. And it's nice as an ice cream van there, people come with their kids and stuff. But I didn't need to look at the people, I tend to look at the water and the birds and things. And I can just kind of sit there and just stop and look, watch the girls and everything like that, I think it's really important to remind yourself of what you're fighting for. And sometimes, you know, if I'm stuck my head's in my laptop, or I you know, I'm busy kind of doing kind of more admin type things, it's really nice to go outside and get that hit of motivation again, because you see the birds that you love, you see the sharks that you love, you see, you know, whatever animal it is what even if you don't see an animal, just getting some fresh air, it can really help to reground you and just, you know, remind you of why you're doing this in the first place. And I think that's a lesson that I've learned is that I need to give myself time to explore and to investigate and kind of allow my childish curiosity to kind of take over I suppose, and go and look at worms in the ground or to try and find a bird's nest or something like that, in order to kind of, you know, start the day off, right, and kind of really keep on fighting.

India Pearson  41:47  
Yeah, I think that's a really lovely answer, actually. And just that thing he said at the end, which I've not heard anybody say on this podcast, and I can really relate to that is that childish curiosity, like, still let it be alive, because it can easily grow up and we can kind of lose it. And I know, I went through a phase of doing that. And it wasn't until I allowed it to come back. And I remember, I remembered, you know, being a kid and loving camping and having my my hands dirty, and just being in the waves and everything that I rediscovered myself again, actually. So I think that is what is so important because all kids do don't know, they just get in the mud and they're picking out worms. And thankfully, they were great.

Megan McCubbin  42:27  
And we need a bit more of that carefree attitude. And that just pure enjoyment of things again, you know, we get ourselves so bogged down by everyday troubles and things which are important. And there's a time to think about it and sorted out and stuff, of course, but we have to just allow ourselves time just to be a bit more carefree again, and to connect with where we came from. And you know, we are one with nature, there's not us and nature, we are an integral part of that system, we are, you know, part of it, we're not necessarily at the top of it. And that's really important to say we're not at the top of it, but we are it's a circle, and you know, to go and to be outdoors to engage with wildlife is to kind of reconnect yourself to, you know, everything of what we humans are. So go and be a child go outside and climb a tree. I climbed a tree for the first time in a couple of years, the other month, and it was brilliant. It was great. It was great fun. And we're just set up there. And we were up in Scotland over a lock just set up this tree and it was wonderful. We need to go and do something like that. Go and be carefree and allow your childish instinct to take over for a minute.

India Pearson  43:29  
Oh, I love that so, so beautifully. And so Megan, if anyone wanted to sort of find, find you and follow you watch you wherever, where can I do this?

Megan McCubbin  43:39  
I will I'm on all the usual social media platforms haven't quite braved it on to tick tock yet. But I know I wake up. And apparently it's a really important platform. But we'll work our way up to that. So I'm on Instagram, I'm making them a couple and wild I think. But on Facebook and Twitter as well. If you just search my name, I should pop up. But yeah, otherwise just kind of putter around and do various different bits and pieces on the watches. And I'm also on this morning from time to time doing some wildlife and environmental corresponding for them. And yeah, you know, books and things as well. So yeah,

India Pearson  44:13  
oh, amazing. Well, I can't wait to watch you on spring watch when it all comes out and to find out about this little spider and the fungus and everything. And yet good luck with with the rest of the year ahead.

Megan McCubbin  44:28  
Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

India Pearson  44:29  
Thank you so much for listening to this episode for start a report podcast. If you liked what you heard, then please do write a review. It helps other like minded souls find this podcast too. If you want to get in touch and the best way to speak to me is probably via Instagram. And my handle is at with underscore India. All right, take care and speak to you soon. And