Always smaller than we think but incredibly strong and so vital to the health of our soils. These little creatures need a lot more respect than we give them. It's their lawn, not ours.

With many thanks to Sam Corfield, author, horticulturist and wildlife expert @the_hairy_horticulturist

This one comes from the collection I made for The Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Producer, Presenter: annabel@annabelross.com

www.messagesfromthewild.com

This Cinnabar Moth is part of an installation, Voices from the Meadow, commissioned by Wakehurst (wild sister of Kew Gardens) for their Meadowland exhibition last year.

It has a slightly different feel to the usual recordings with Alice Boyd, composer and sound designer, providing the beautiful music and field sounds.

These interviews with meadow animals were heard coming out of the giant Gramophone designed by sculptor, Donnacha Cahill.

Many thanks to Eva Owen for making it happen and Steve Robinson for embodying the cinnabar moth.

"Daydream of a summer meadow and I will bet there is a buzz of a passing bumblebee, a colourful flash of butterfly wing and the hypnotic chorus of crickets. And rightly so. Insects are the beating heart of a meadow, providing the soundtrack and magnifying its vibrancy." Iain Parkinson, Meadow

Producer/Presenter: annabel@annabelross.com

This Scissor Bee is part of an installation, Voices from the Meadow, commissioned by Wakehurst (wild sister of Kew Gardens) for their Meadowland exhibition last year.

It has a slightly different feel to the usual recordings with Alice Boyd, composer and sound designer, providing the beautiful music and field sounds.

These interviews with meadow animals were heard coming out of the giant Gramophone designed by sculptor, Donnacha Cahill.

Many thanks to Eva Owen for making it happen and Janine Griffiths-Lee for embodying the scissor bee.

"Hay meadows are tightly-woven landscapes interlaced with an intricate mix of plants, including wild flowers, grasses, some sedges and rushes, and even a couple of tiny yet fascinating ferns. With such a richly layered flora, it should be no surprise to learn that hay meadows also support and astonishing range of fauna." Iain Parkinson, Meadow

Producer/Presenter: annabel@annabelross.com

This Grasshopper is part of an installation, Voices from the Meadow, commissioned by Wakehurst (wild sister of Kew Gardens) for their Meadowland exhibition last year.

It has a slightly different feel to the usual recordings with Alice Boyd, composer and sound designer, providing the beautiful music and field sounds.

These interviews with meadow animals were heard coming out of the giant Gramophone designed by sculptor, Donnacha Cahill.

Many thanks to Eva Owen for making it happen and Francis Annette for embodying the grasshopper.

"Traditionally managed hay meadows are now exceptionally rare (in the UK), but, by virtue of their enduring character, surviving examples demonstrate a resilience to change that is worth celebrating." Iain Parkinson, Meadow

Producer/Presenter: annabel@annabelross.com

This Dipper is part of a series commissioned by

University of Derby’s Nature Connectedness Research Group for The River Derwent.

With many thanks to Mark Cocker, author and naturalist.

"I think it’s a fantastic quiet bit of politics because the central challenge of our entire species and our civilisation is to understand our dependence on the rest of life and this project allows those organisms, as close as possible, to speak for themselves about the issues that affect not only them but more centrally humans themselves and I think that’s the beauty of it.” Mark Cocker on Messages from the Wild

Thank you to Teet Sirotkin for the beautiful sound of The Dipper.

further info: annabel@annabelross.com

This Mayfly is part of a series commissioned by

University of Derby’s Nature Connectedness Research Group for The River Derwent.

With many thanks to Charles Foster, author and academic.

further info: annabel@annabelross.com

This Water Vole is part of a series commissioned by

University of Derby’s Nature Connectedness Research Group for The River Derwent.

With many thanks to Christine Gregory, writer, photographer and painter.

The Water Vole: The Story of One of Britain's Most Endangered Mammals

further info: annabel@annabelross.com

This episode is especially made to accompany the work of the painter and print maker, Frances Gynn, for her exhibition on Fairy Shrimps as part of her Public Erasures series. It's powerful stuff so please go along if you can.

Public Erasures at the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) Bristol.

Featuring the Fairy Shrimp (Chirocephalus diaphanous)

Endangered translucent crustacean

Living in temporary ponds

Main source of food to many organisms

Important indicator of a healthy eco-system

With many thanks to Frances for inviting me along to open her Fairy Shrimp Public Erasure and for being such a great Fairy Shrimp herself.