Counting the Earth

From chocolate and shampoo to food, palm oil can be found in a range of packaged goods on the supermarket shelves and is used throughout industry. Its versatility makes it difficult to replace yet its production remains controversial due to high greenhouse gas emissions, the extensive deforestation carried out in Southeast Asia in the 1990s to make way for oil palm plantations, and habitat loss for a range of endangered species.  So how can the oil palm industry become more sustainable? In this episode Alice Hope and Sue Nelson visit the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to meet palm house manager Will Spoelstra, who offers insight into the plant.  
  
UKCEH scientists Dr Julia Drewer and Professor Niall McNamara share insights from their research in Malaysia to improve soil quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Plus Sue and Alice hear from the Malaysian partners in that research – Dr Reza Azmi from the Social Enterprise Wild Asia - about how this trial is helping small-scale producers adopt more sustainable practices to support livelihoods and the environment. Finally the conversation shifts to Africa, where the oil palm originated from, as Dr Nick Cowan explains how lessons learned in Asia are being applied to new regions.
Hosts: Sue Nelson and Alice Hope
Producer: Rachael Buchanan
Counting the Earth is a Boffin Media Production for the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Find out more:

Building a sustainable future for oil palm in West Africa  
 
Wild Asia  

Innovations in Practice : The Pathway to Nature-Positive, Low-Carbon Palm Oil

Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil 

WWF Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard

Let’s talk drought. Yes, that’s right, drought! Our weather is experiencing extremes - from flooding to drought - so Alice and Sue delve into this whiplash weather with UKCEH senior hydrologist Lucy Barker. With the latest Hydrological Summary showing that January has been much wetter than average, they explore whether that is enough to replenish water reserves following the extended drought in 2025.
Alice and Sue also catch up with UKCEH micro-meteorologist Dr Jon Evans at a COSMOS-UK field site at Chimney Meadows Nature Reserve in Oxfordshire, one of 39 sites which make up a national soil moisture monitoring network that’s literally out of this world. Soil moisture is just one measure alongside rainfall, river flows, groundwater data that UKCEH gathers in partnership with others to produce monthly hydrological summaries – an essential tool for environmental regulators, government agencies, water companies, researchers and farmers. 
Hosts: Sue Nelson and Alice Hope
Producer: Rachael Buchanan
Counting the Earth is a Boffin Media Production for the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Find out more:  
Hydrological Summary
UK Water Resources Portal brings together all the data from the Hydrological Summaries – including COSMOS-UK – in near real time. 
COSMOS UK
Floods and Droughts Research Infrastructure (FDRI)
Water UK’s Waters Worth Saving page.

Wildfires are evolving. Around the world they are becoming bigger, burning hotter, and harder to control with devastating impacts on humans, the economy and the environment. In this episode, Alice and Sue talk to UKCEH wildfire scientist Dr Douglas Kelley who outlines the causes of this change, drawing on examples from California and the Pantanal, the worlds’ largest tropical wetland.  

Closer to home, it has been a record year for wildfires in the UK. Alice catches up with Station Commander and Wildfire Tactical Adviser Andy Elliott from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service. They visit Holt Heath National Nature Reserve in Dorset, the site of a fierce large scale blaze in August. Andy reveals that, due to the fire’s intensity, the lowland heath landscape may take up to 30 years to recover. 
 
Hosts: Sue Nelson and Alice Hope

Producer: Rachael Buchanan

Counting the Earth is a Boffin Media Production for the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Find out more:
 
UKCEH press release on the State of Wildfires report.

The State of Wildfires project, including the latest report.  The State of Wildfires project is co-led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, University of East Anglia, the Met Office and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

The National Fire Chiefs Council Wildfire Aware campaign.

What do raccoons, purple pitcher plants, signal crayfish and the yellow-legged hornet all have in common? No, this is not a joke - far from it. They are all on the GB invasive non-native species alert list. The introduction of invasive non-native species is one of the top causes of biodiversity loss worldwide. In this episode Sue and Alice meet up with UKCEH ecologist Professor Helen Roy to delve into the challenges posed by invasive non-native species and explore their environmental, economic, and social impacts.

They also catch up with Dr Olaf Booy, Technical Coordinator for the GB Non-native Species Secretariat, part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency, to find out about the work that goes on to identify, detect, monitor and eradicate invasive non-native species. Olaf also spoke about how events such Invasive Species Week (12-18 May) help to raise awareness of the issue and what you can do to help and get involved.

Hosts: Sue Nelson and Alice Hope

Producer: Rachael Buchanan

Counting the Earth is a Boffin Media Production for the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Find out more:
Invasive Species Week – 12-18 May 2025
Non-native Species Secretariat
ID sheets for Invasive Non-native Species
Check, Clean, Dry
Be Plant Wise
Record a sighting of an invasive non-native species, especially an alert species

In this episode, Alice and Sue visit the River Kennet and the Reading Sewage Treatment Works to explore antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a growing global issue. In 2021 1.14 million deaths were attributed to antimicrobial resistant bacterial infections, according to the UN Environment Programme. AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites become resistant to the medicines that are meant to kill or treat them. Microorganisms from our waste, along with chemicals from our homes (like medications, cleaning products, and antifungal shampoos), contribute to this problem when entering our watercourses, along with agricultural and urban runoff. 

Alice and Sue meet with Dr Holly Tipper and Dr Isobel Stanton, molecular microbiologists at UKCEH, to learn more about their research on AMR, what we know and where the knowledge gaps are and role of the environment in the development of AMR in microbes. Then, they put on boots, hats, Hi-Viz jackets, and goggles to see for themselves the wastewater journey through the treatment works with Dan Freeman, lead for Thames Water’s Chemical Investigation Programme, providing insight into monitoring of emerging contaminants.  

Hosts: Sue Nelson and Alice Hope 

Producer: Rachael Buchanan

Counting the Earth is a Boffin Media Production for the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. 

Find out more about AMR research at UKCEH
https://www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/blogs/our-research-will-inform-action-tackle-amr-environment-and-risk-human-health

The Naked Scientist podcast on AMR, featuring Dr Andrew Singer from UKCEH
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/naked-scientists-podcast/amr-unleashed-silent-pandemic