My name’s Talia Randall. I’m a writer and podcaster and right now I’m in one of my favourite places in the world – Epping Forest. I’ve woken up at a ridiculously early hour to hear this – the sound of the dawn chorus
Epping Forest covers 6,000 acres of land. It stretches across London and Essex and is owned and managed by the City of London Corporation. This place is home to thousands of ancient trees. These are some of the oldest living plants in Europe. Beyond the woodlands, Epping Forest is home to grasslands, heaths, bogs, ponds, marshes. The wildlife here is rich and precious, as you can hear right now.
Like me, there are plenty of people who love Epping Forest. People of all ages and all walks of life. In this podcast, I’ll be meeting some of them and they’ll tell me what they love about this place.
I love a walk, in the fresh air, in the the forest, I love the forest
I really love the textures of nature; some leaves are actually furry
It just feels like its a really old place, it doesn’t feel like its a manicured place
But this podcast won’t shy away from the barriers that some people might face in accessing nature more broadly.
You got comments like, oh, yeah, but the nature is free. No one’s stopping you. But you know, actually less stop because you’re not in our shoes. You try and be in our shoes and then say what you’re saying.
In this podcast, I’m teaming up with Essex Cultural Diversity Project and Epping Forest Heritage Trust to explore what can be done to make more people feel like they truly belong in nature.
You don’t have to be anything other than yourself here. Nature’s not looking like staring at you, figuring you out. You haven’t got to keep a wall up or pretend that you are someone that you’re not.
I’m Talia Randall and this is Voices of Epping Forest
About Voices of Epping Forest
Many people in the UK struggle to access nature. Podcaster Talia Randall has teamed up with the Essex Cultural Diversity Project and the Epping Forest Heritage Trust to encourage more people to enjoy what Epping Forest has to offer. Epping Forest is owned and managed by the City of London Corporation.
Voices of Epping Forest doesn’t shy away from the visible and invisible barriers many people face when getting into the outdoors. The podcast also celebrates the diversity of those who visit Epping Forest. Community voices are at the heart of this podcast—these are the people broadening nature access for everyone.
To find out more about the Podcast and listen to the full series, please follow this link.
