Dr Richard Benwell (@RSBenwell) is a policy advisor at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He’s former Head of Government Affairs for the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (which is the role he was in at the time of this interview).

In this conversation we discuss how we can restore our waterways to good health, why regulation, policy and legislation are so important for our wildlife, how Brexit can be an opportunity to increase environmental protection and his advice on the skills that are needed for a career in environmental politics.

Richard is a good friend and we’ve worked together over a number of years, particularly when we were both working at the RSPB. So it was really good fun to interview him for the podcast. He’s one of the most eloquent, well-informed and friendly people I know in the environmental movement.

The Wild Voices Project podcast tells the stories of people saving nature. We are part of WILDVoices media, a global production team bridging emerging storytellers with aspiring environmental professionals.  Find out more about us at  wildvoicesproject.org. Learn more about the global community at wild-voices.org.