Interview: Richard Fishbourne

When did your interest in gardening and the environment begin?

I’ve always been mesmerised by our natural history, we grew lots of veg when I was a child and I had my own little plot, but it wasn’t until I was in my early thirties that I began to grow our own food on any scale.

How did your career develop?

When I was a child I used to stay with my Uncle Jim on weekends and holidays in his house in the woods. There was no electricity and the tapwater was piped from a pond a mile away! That undisturbed, mixed semi ancient woodland saw me collecting insects, finding birds’ nests and being amazed at sights like roving woodcock. This contrasted greatly with the naughty little Fishbourne that, with his best mate Dan and partner in crime, used to go off scrambling in Uncle Jims truck without him knowing – although I’ve a sneaky suspicion that he always knew, but didn’t let on! We were always outside, fishing, climbing and we would cycle everywhere. I’m too lazy now to cycle anywhere although I’ve still got the push bike I had when I was 15!

l left home at 16 and really for the next few years partying became something of a feature with fishing and surfing still playing their part subject to other commitments!

Most of my late teens and early twenties was spent either fish farming or studying it, at Sparsholt College. College was an adventure, but unfortunately I’d had enough of fish farming and fishery work when I left and haven’t worked with cultivated fish since!

After graduating from Sparsholt, I did quite a lot of casual work mainly, building sites and bar work. It gave me the cash to travel and I went off to work in New Zealand as a deck hand on a big game boat and back packed my way around the most fabulous of places. When I came back I met my wife Sarah and we subsequently travelled around Canada and the States, working in Bingo Halls in Florida, Orchards in the Okanagan Valley in BC and a palatial B&B in Niagara on the Lake. Life was good!

When we came back I began working with Children with special needs and went back to University at the same time. University was an ends to a means it gave me a ticket to get into a fiercely competitive environmental work sector and for a while I worked in the voluntary sector. But like all good things funding for my work came to an end. As it happened one of the contractors employed by that company also worked for Wiggly Wigglers and mentioned that they might be looking for somebody to do the shows and other development work, so I went over to Wigglys HQ and the rest is history.

I have always wanted to work for myself though and a couple of years ago I had the chance to do just that and Bugs and Beasties was born... it’s still very much in its infancy though, and I have other ideas....!

Your Tales from the Hill podcasts are hugely popular but do you remember when you produced your first ever podcast and what was it about?

The first time I did a podcast it was for Wiggly Wigglers, Heather, Phil and I waxed lyrical about all things farmy and barmy!

You are involved in a number of projects but what element of your work do you enjoy most?

The most enjoyable way that I make a quid is probably by giving talks, I love showing off, but in a way that makes others feel good. Making people laugh and inspiring change by merely awakening a latent sense of observation and sympathy for wildlife is a thrill. I don’t think I could say that I prefer working with children or adults, children are more open minded but changing the mindset of a staunch metaldehyde user has its own rewards! I love building and landscaping using natural products and I love the joy that children exude when confronted with a new space to explore.