#001 - Mark Bradfield: The Hidden Life of Nairn’s Dunes

For our very first episode of The Nairnshire Community Newspaper Podcast: Stories from Land to Sea, we sat down with conservationist Mark Bradfield, who moved from Oxfordshire to the Highlands purely out of love for wildlife… and somehow found himself knee-deep in marram grass on Nairn’s Central Beach.In this episode, Mark takes us on a fascinating tour of the Dune Resilience Project, a pilot scheme designed to protect one of Nairn’s most cherished places - the dunes many of us stroll through daily, often without realising how essential they are in keeping the sea out of Fishertown.We cover everything:Why Nairn’s dunes are more fragile than they lookHow rising sea levels, stronger storms, and even our own footprints affect the coastlineThe surprising role of marram grass (it’s basically the unsung hero of the Highlands)How butterflies, bees, and even moths depend on healthy dune ecosystemsWhy fencing matters, and why Mark really hopes we don’t step over itWhat the community can do right now to help protect the dunesHow citizen science - and a couple of good apps - can turn all of us into naturalistsAnd what’s next for the project as monitoring and data collection beginMark’s passion is contagious, his explanations wonderfully grounded, and he left us seeing the dunes with completely fresh eyes. Honestly - you might never look at marram grass the same way again.Chapters:00:00 Intro: Meet conservationist Mark Bradfield02:00 Moving to the Highlands & first impressions of Nairn 05:00 What conservation really is09:00 Water voles, mink, and how ecosystems fall out of balance 14:00 What the Dune Resilience Project is trying to achieve17:00 Why dunes matter more than you think20:00 Climate change, storms, and the future of Nairn’s coastline25:00 Marram grass: the quiet superhero of coastal defence29:00 Wildlife on the dunes: butterflies, moths, bees and more33:00 What’s threatening the dunes - and how we can help37:00 Clearing scrub, planting grasses, and volunteer power42:00 Citizen science and the apps that make it easy46:00 What’s next for the project & how to get involved50:00 Closing thoughts: patience, hope, and nature’s pace