BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

April 2020

JAMALEDWARDSMBEisanentrepreneur

andfounderofSB.TV.In2019,hesetupDelve,

a projectaimedatrefurbishingandreopening

youthcentres.

Inourseriesaboutpeoplewithapassionforaspecies,weaskonline

musicplatformfounderJamalEdwardsabouttheblackgardenant.

JA M A L E DWA R D S M B E

Whychampiontheblack

gardenant?

WhenI wasyoung,I wasobsessed

withthefilmsAntzandA Bug’s

Life– theyreallyinspiredme.I would

watchtheinsectsinmyowngarden

andwasfascinatedbyhowsociable

andindustrioustheywere.Didyou

knowtherecanbeasmanyas15,000

blackgardenantsina singlecolony?

Thisfamiliarandabundantspeciesis

commoninmanyhabitats,withnests

oftenformingunderpavingstones,in

soilandbetweenbrickwork.

Whatelsehaveyoulearnt

aboutthespecies?

Whenadultsfinda foodsource,they

leavea trailofpheromonesbackto

thenestforotherstofollow.The

blackgardenant’sdietis variedbut

it includes‘milking’aphidsfortheir

honeydew.InJulyandAugust,winged

malesandfemalesemergeformating

f lights– afterthis,themalesdieand

thefemalesshedtheirwingstoseek

suitablenestsites.

Howhasapassionforwildlife

influencedyourcareer?

WhenI otmyfirstcamera,I would

debris.Thesesimplechanges can

makea bigdifferencetowildlife.

Whydidyourecently team

upwithChrisPackham?

TheNationalLotterycelebrated its

25thanniversaryin2019.To mark

theoccasion,anditscontribution to

nature,TheWildlifeTrusts,Woodland

TrustandRSPBjoinedforces to create

a listof 10 easywayspeoplecan help

wildlife[bit.ly/3bcZ7hp].I met up

withChrisPackhamanda group of

participantsat WoodberryWetlands in

Hackneytoputsomeoftheadvice into

practice.I wantedtolearnmoreabout

whatI candotohavea positiveimpact.

Howcanyoungpeoplein

urbanareasgetinvolved

withwildlifeconservation?

Theyjustneedtorolluptheirsleeves

andgooutintotheirgardensornearby

outdoorarea.If youliveinLondon,

charityKeepingIt Wildrunsactivities

acrossthecapital,whichempower

youngpeopletoconserveandenjoy

wildspaces.Weneedtodoourbitto

ensurewedon’tlosethenaturewe

haveonourdoorstep!

WILDLIFECHAMPION

VIEWPOINT

see. My enthusiasm

for the natural world

enabled me to better

understand how the

camera functioned

as I experimented

with angles and

lighting to achieve

the best footage.

I continued to use theseskillswhen

I startedrecording myfriends,which

hing my onlinemusic

My passionforwildlifelaid

ions of anamazingfilm-

er.

uld we welcome

to ourgardens?

Nature 2019 report

per cent ofspeciesstudied

d since 1970.Weneed

to preserveexisting

bitat to enableplantsand

to thrive,startingwith

ns. I’ve leftcertainareas

en alonetogrowwild

stalled a bughotelmade

materialsandnatural

Theexpertview

A blackgardenantnestinsummeris

warm,damp,denselypopulatedand

haswastedisposalissues.Isit a slum

inwhichdiseasemightspreadlike

wildfire?No,theriskis managed.Humansfacing

a contagiousdiseasemightavoidpublicplaces

suchasschoolsandcinemas.Inthepresenceof

pestilence,blackgardenantsreactquickly,also

restrictingtheiraccesstooneanother.

ProfessorNigelFranksis formerheadof

TheAntLabatUniversityofBristol.

I wouldgointo

mygardenand

trytolmand

photograph

anyanimals

I couldsee.

S

T

Jamal: Ollie Ali; ant: Getty

Interview by Leoma Williams