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THE LIVING WORLD
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PROGRAMME INFO |
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The Living WorldÌýis a gentle weekend natural history programme, which aims to broadcast the best, most intimate encounters with British wildlife.
nhuradio@bbc.co.uk |
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LISTEN AGAIN Ìý25min |
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PRESENTER |
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"The Living World is the next best thing to being there. Our contributors are skilled naturalists who are able to reveal those fascinating facts about animals and plants that you don't always find in books. It's like having a personal guided tour of the countryside, without needing to leave the house."
Brett Westwood |
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PROGRAMME DETAILS |
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Brett Westwood and Martin Scott study the Machair of the Western Isles
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The Machair of the Western Isles
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Known only by its Gaelic name, the machair are the coastal grasslands, formed from the fragments of shells worn down by the waves of the Atlantic Ocean and then washed up on the shore where they are further broken down. As marram grass takes root, soils are built up and a low fertile plain results. They only occur on the Western Isles, Shetland, Orkney and West coast of Ireland, making them one of the rarest habitat types in Europe.
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The rich and varied greens of the grasslands are punctuated by the purples, pinks and yellows of a huge variety of wild flowers. The machair is also home to numerous wading birds, like lapwing redshank, twite, oystercatcher and curlew whilst dunlin and ringed plover nest there in the early summer in higher densities than anywhere else in the world.
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The sound of bird calls and the sense of timelessness is enchanting and with the grazing of sheep and cattle by local people, this is a landscape - although fragile, which will continue for many years to come.
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