Sacha Dench - adventure meets conservation (Naturespace with Haith’s podcast)
Sacha’s early childhood was spent in the remote Australian bush, a manor house in Suffolk and villages in Switzerland and France.
A love of the natural world and a passion for wildlife developed during these early years and whilst studying for her master’s degree in the UK she discovered freediving.
After being invited to set up a unit to film for the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Sacha realised she needed to get herself airborne to work in these remote areas. But first she would have to overcome her fear of flying.
Facing her fear, she learnt to fly and soon became the ‘human swan’ travelling over 4,000 miles from arctic Russia back to the UK on a paramotor. Her mission was to find out why Bewick swans were declining so fast.
The journey was epic – travelling from the Russian tundra to Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands,Belgium, France and finally back to England.
We talk to Sacha about her migration following the swans across the arctic tundra, braving freezing temperatures, battling through snow, storms, plus surviving an horrific injury.
By joining the Bewick’s on their migration, Sacha and her team gathered vital information and found for themselves just why the swans are unable to survive the journey.
Take a listen to our podcast with Sacha and we guarantee you will be inspired by her adventurous spirit and passion for wildlife.
