Why do we feel so hopeless about the future of the natural world? Is nature really collapsing everywhere we look or have we simply been told a one-sided story? And what if our lack of control over ecosystemsHow ecosystems function An ecosystem is a community of lifeforms that interact in such an optimal way that how ecosystems function best, is when all components (including humans and other animals) can persist and live alongside each other for the longest time possible. Ecosystems are fuelled by the energy created by plants (primary producers) that convert the Sun's heat energy More turns out to be our greatest strength? Listen to the Conservation and Science Podcast with Tommy’s Outdoors.
‘A refreshingly balanced, middle-of-the-road conversation that gives you something rare these days, a genuine sense of agency’ – Tommy Serafinski, Tommy’s Outdoors.
In this episode I welcome back ecologist and author Simon Mustoe to pics up where his previous book left off, building on the idea that we are not separate from nature but central to it.
Simon explains how we sit right in the middle of the trophic pyramidThe gradual reduction in energy content, increase in body size and reduction in number of animals, that occurs the higher you go up the food chain. At the base of the pyramid are a vast number of high-metabolism, tiny creatures and at the summit, are the top predators. To be stable, the pyramid has to have creatures at all levels. More. How we depend entirely on the animals around us to keep energyEnergy and nutrients are the same thing. Plants capture energy from the Sun and store it in chemicals, via the process of photosynthesis. The excess greenery and waste that plants create, contain chemicals that animals can eat, in order to build their own bodies and reproduce. When a chemical is used this way, we call it a nutrient. As we More moving through the systems that sustain life. Simon reframes how we think about our place on this thin, living veneer of the planet.
Watch the interview or listen online by visiting Tommy’s Outdoors here: https://tommysoutdoors.com/2026/06/21/230-lessons-from-nature-with-simon-mustoe/
